BEFORE: Last night's film was about the relationship between a girl and her monkey - so let's run with that tonight, the relationship between human and monkey. And Tim Curry carries over as well, voicing Mr. Thornberry last night, and a circus magician named Piccadilly (get it?) tonight.
THE PLOT: The film chronicles George's adventures as he befriends Kayla, a baby elephant, at a magic circus show and helps her travel across the country to be reunited with her family.
AFTER: Yes, it's another traveling quest film - with George, Ted (aka The Man With The Yellow Hat) and an elephant going cross-country. Would it surprise anyone that the monkey seems to be the one with all the plans? Ted's constantly distracted by his upcoming pitch to become head of the museum, so he kind of gets roped into the trip.
But there's a mix-up, and even though Ted's as honest as the day is long, it appears that he kidnapped, err, calf-napped the young elephant. This is sort of a spin on "Dumbo", only the elephant juggles instead of flies, wants to be reunited with her brother and sister, not her mother, and the villain is not a cruel circus-master, but instead an over-zealous security expert.
Pretty standard stuff, from all I've seen this month, but monkeys are cute and mischievous, even when they can't talk. And it's Ted who learns the most important lesson, which is to cut loose, have some fun and enjoy the trip. Though his original pitch is ruined, he's able to pitch the lesson instead and succeed. But, did he really learn to put loved ones first? That girlfriend of his still seemed sort of neglected.
NITPICK POINT: Stuck in a train car, with no way to escape. Am I to believe a man can't call for help, because his cell phone won't work anywhere between New York and St. Louis?
NITPICK POINT #2: California's a pretty big state. This film seems to suggest that once you get there, finding an elephant is going to be simple. Why, the animal park's just up the road! Awful big coincidence, if you ask me.
NITPICK POINT #3: This film makes an interesting distinction between doing what's legal and doing what's right, which is a bit of a strange message to have in a kiddie film. When Ted learns he's on the hook for stealing an elephant, rather than turn himself in and fix things, his reaction is more like "Screw it, I can't get into any more trouble than I'm already in, so let's break some more laws!" Again, kids are watching.
Also starring the voices of Jeff Bennett (last heard in "The Jungle Book 2"), Jamie Kennedy (last seen in "Romeo + Juliet"), animation regulars Fred Tatasciore, Catherine Taber, Frank Welker, Carlos Alazraqui and Cree Summer, with cameos from Jerry Lewis (last seen in "The Patsy"), Matt Lauer and Clint Howard (last seen in "The Missing").
RATING: 4 out of 10 pie charts
No comments:
Post a Comment