Third Time Not Quite the Charm with "The Mummy: Dragon Emperor"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 80 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux


The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008)
Running time: 112 minutes (1 hour, 52 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for adventure action and violence
DIRECTOR: Rob Cohen
WRITERS: Alfred Gough and Miles Millar
PRODUCERS: Sean Daniel, Bob Ducsay, James Jacks, and Stephen Sommers
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Simon Duggan
EDITOR: Kelly Matsumoto and Joel Negron
COMPOSER: Randy Edelman

ACTION/ADVENTURE/FANTASY/HORROR

Starring: Brendan Fraser, Jet Li, Maria Bello, John Hannah, Michelle Yeoh, Luke Ford, Isabella Leong, Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, Russell Wong, Liam Cunningham, Jessey Meng, and David Calder

The subject of this movie review is The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, a 2008 fantasy adventure film from director Rob Cohen. It is a sequel to The Mummy (1999) and The Mummy Returns (2001) and is based upon John L. Balderston’s 1932 screenplay and Stephen Sommers’ 2001 screenplay. Tomb of the Dragon Emperor moves from the Egyptian setting of the first two films to China, and is set some 13 years after the events depicted in The Mummy Returns.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor opens in ancient China and tells the story of Han (Jet Li), a brutal and tyrannical warlord. He unites the various kingdoms of China to form a single empire, and he also orders the construction of the Great Wall of China. Han becomes the Dragon Emperor, a master of the five elements (fire, water, earth, metal, and wood). His quest for immortality leads to the downfall of him and his empire.

In 1946, Alexander Rupert “Alex” O’Connell (Luke Ford) discovers The Dragon Emperor’s tomb in the Ningxia Province of China. His parents, Rick O’Connell (Brendan Fraser) and Evelyn Carnahan O’Connell (Maria Bello), aren’t exactly pleased to find their son engaged in the kind of archeology that got them into so much trouble in Egypt. The family doesn’t have much time to fight, though. The rogue General Yang (Anthony Wong Chau-Sang) has hatched a conspiracy to resurrect the Dragon Emperor.

Now, Rick, Evey, and Alex, with Evey’s brother, Jonathan Carnahan (John Hannah), reluctantly following, must stop the Dragon Emperor from gaining immortality. Their allies include the mysterious mother-daughter tandem of Zi Yuan (Michelle Yeoh) and Lin (Isabella Leong) and also the drunken pilot, Mad Dog Maguire (Liam Cunningham). Can this group stop the Dragon Emperor and his Terracotta Army?

I am a big fan of Stephen Sommers’ The Mummy films, but I had only a passing interest in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor when it was first released back in 2008. I wanted the franchise to stick with its Egyptian themes, not move to China. I have watched bit and pieces of Tomb of the Dragon Emperor on television, but was not really interested in seeing the entire movie. I finally rented a copy so that I could watch it in its entirety in order to review it, and I only want to review it so that I can post it as a set with the first two films.

That said, I enjoyed The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. It’s ridiculous and frivolous and played entirely for fun, which is a bit different from the first film. The Mummy, for all its Raiders of the Lost Ark leanings, was something of a horror movie. Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is more like The Mummy Returns – a family affair. This is a fantasy adventure about a cast of characters that are family in one form or another, and this is for family viewing even with the profanity, mild sexual innuendo, and gunplay.

Yes, I did have problems with Maria Bello playing Evelyn Carnahan O’Connell. After all, my “Evey” is still Rachel Weisz. I eventually stopped thinking about the change, watched the movie, and accepted Bello, who is a good actress. I have watched The Mummy and The Mummy Returns, in parts or whole, countless times, and the first film is one of my all-time favorite movies. I won’t take The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor to heart in that manner. It is harmless entertainment, and because it is a way to see favorite characters again, it’s worth seeing… now and again.

5 of 10
C+

Sunday, October 21, 2012

"Burning Love" Returns to Yahoo! Screen

PARAMOUNT’S INSURGE PICTURES AND YAHOO! ANNOUNCE HIT COMEDY SERIES ‘BURNING LOVE’ WILL RETURN TO YAHOO! SCREEN FOR TWO MORE SEASONS

Breakout Series is Produced by Ben Stiller’s Red Hour Digital, Abominable Pictures, Ken Marino and Erica Oyama

Los Angeles, CA (October 25, 2012) Paramount’s Insurge Pictures and Yahoo! today announced that Burning Love, the popular comedy series that spoofs reality dating shows, will return for two more hilarious seasons on Yahoo! Screen (http://screen.yahoo.com) in 2013.

“At Yahoo!, we program based on insights about what our users want to watch,” said Erin McPherson, VP and Head of Video at Yahoo!. “We knew we found a hit with Burning Love given the caliber of the talent and the subject matter—and it was proven shortly after the launch with all the binge viewing that took place. We’re excited to offer two more seasons of it to our audience.”

“The success of Burning Love is a testament to the unparalleled creative team that delivered a truly hilarious series and set a new bar for original digital entertainment,” said Amy Powell, President of Insurge Pictures and EVP of Interactive Theatrical Marketing for Paramount Pictures. “Yahoo! did a tremendous job of getting the series in front of their audience, and we are thrilled to be working with them to bring the next two seasons to fans.”

The first season of Burning Love (www.BurningLove.com) launched June 4th domestically on Yahoo! Screen to critical acclaim. The series media called ‘ridiculously awesome’ (Buzz Sugar), and ‘a hilarious parody series’ (Entertainment Weekly), followed fireman Mark Orlando (Ken Marino) in his search for the perfect woman to marry or at least be engaged. Burning Love featured an impressive line up of comedic actors from film and television including Marino, Ben Stiller, Malin Akerman, Kristen Bell, Michael Ian Black, Ken Jeong, Adam Scott, Abigail Spencer, Natasha Leggero, June Diane Raphael, Noureen DeWulf, Janet Varney, Kerri Kenney Silver, Paul Scheer, Beth Dover, and many more.

"We are very excited to keep Burning Love on the fire -- get ready for it to get hotter and hotter till it scalds your comedy taste buds off," commented Stiller.

The next two installments of Burning Love will also be written by Erica Oyama (Childrens’ Hospital) and directed by Ken Marino and feature some returning cast including Ken Marino, June Diane Raphael and Natasha Leggero as well as new characters in their quest to find true love.

Season 2 follows Julie (June Diane Raphael), who failed to capture Mark Orlando’s heart in Season 1 of Burning Love, as she searches for love in a group of guys who are hopefully all there for the right reasons.

Season 3 Burning Down The House reunites our favorite rejected guys and girls as they return to the Burning Love mansion to compete for a hefty prize and for each other's affection.

Burning Love is executive produced by Red Hour’s Ben Stiller, Stuart Cornfeld and Mike Rosenstein, Abominable Pictures’ Jonathan Stern, Ken Marino and Erica Oyama’s Dancing Workfriend with Paramount’s Insurge Pictures distributing the project.

Ben Stiller and Red Hour Films have an extensive history creating top tier comedy in film and television as well as for digital platforms, including Tropic Thunder, Zoolander, Dodgeball, Stiller and Meara for Yahoo!, and now Burning Love. Jon Stern’s Abominable Pictures has an impressive track record for creating successful comedy television and digital series including Childrens’ Hospital and NTSF: SD: SUV.

For more information on Burning Love visit www.BurningLove.com or follow Mark Orlando on Twitter at @BurningLoveMark or Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/BurningLoveShow.

Yahoo! sets the bar for best-in-class original video programming. With its recently launched video destination, Yahoo! Screen (http://screen.yahoo.com), the development of women’s, men’s and comedy slates, and collaborations with world-class storytellers, creative partners and original voices, Yahoo! continues to build on its leadership position in video and to provide consumers and advertisers with the best premium content online.


About Paramount
Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. Paramount controls a collection of some of the most powerful brands in filmed entertainment, including Paramount Pictures, Paramount Animation, ParamountVantage, Paramount Classics, Insurge Pictures, MTV Films, and Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Famous Productions, ParamountHome Media Distribution, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., and Paramount Studio Group.

About Yahoo!
Yahoo! is focused on creating deeply personal digital experiences that keep more than half a billion people connected to what matters most to them, across devices and around the globe. Yahoo!'s unique combination of Science + Art + Scale connects advertisers to the consumers who build their businesses. Yahoo! is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. For more information, visit the pressroom (pressroom.yahoo.net) or the company's blog, Yodel Anecdotal (yodel.yahoo.com).

Andy Serkis Has Film Rights to Orwell's "Animal Farm"

The Imaginarium Studios Announces Inaugural Slate of Films

Performance Capture Studio Founded by Andy Serkis and Jonathan Cavendish Secures Rights to “The Bone Season” and “Animal Farm”

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--London-based performance capture studio The Imaginarium has secured the film rights to the highly anticipated book series, The Bone Season, by Samantha Shannon as well as the film rights to adapt George Orwell’s seminal novel Animal Farm, it was announced today by Andy Serkis and Jonathan Cavendish, founders of The Imaginarium.

“The dystopian world created by Samantha in The Bone Season series offers a fantastic setting for a truly extraordinary and thrilling narrative,” said Serkis. “We are honoured that she chose to collaborate with us in the adaptation of her work.”

“Samantha has created a compelling and unique world and a gripping story crafted to span a series of novels. The Bone Season offers the opportunity to create a dynamic franchise with global appeal,” adds Cavendish.

Scheduled for publication on August 20, 2013, by Bloomsbury, The Bone Season was acquired during the London Book Fair in a pre-emptive bid by the publisher.

“Samantha Shannon is an extraordinarily talented writer. The Bone Season is a startling combination of a unique literary voice, a fully conceived, terrifying parallel world and a narrative pace that grips like a vice,” said Alexandra Pringle, Bloomsbury editor-in-chief.

“I am thrilled to be working with The Imaginarium,” said Shannon. “Their name had me from the start: a place devoted to imagination. There is a strong, visual sensibility to my writing process and I am very excited by the creative possibilities for how The Bone Season could translate from page to screen. I am confident that all the members of the Imaginarium team are as passionate about the book as I am, and I look forward to working with them to make this project a reality.”

In addition to The Bone Season, The Imaginarium has negotiated the rights for a feature film adaptation of George Orwell’s classic tale, Animal Farm.

“Both The Bone Season and Animal Farm are perfectly suited to The Imaginarium,” said Cavendish. “With Animal Farm, we will reinvent this iconic story for a new generation, using the unique storytelling techniques offered by performance capture. The acquisition of these two projects marks an exciting time for all us at The Imaginarium.”

Serkis and Cavendish will serve as producers on The Bone Season; Serkis will direct and act in Animal Farm and produce along with Cavendish.

The Imaginarium is represented by CAA and Larry Taube, Principle LA Entertainment; publishing and films rights for The Bone Season and Ms. Shannon were handled by David Godwin Associates, UK (DGA, Ltd.).

“We are delighted to officially announce our involvement in bringing this classic yet controversial fable to life, hopefully allowing it to resonate for our times with a combination of a fresh perspective, real emotional heart, a great deal of humor and satire,” said Serkis. “By utilizing performance capture, a deeply talented and committed cast of actors will be able to explore and fully inhabit Orwell's fairy tale world where ‘some animals are more equal than others.’”


ABOUT THE IMAGINARIUM STUDIOS
Established in 2011 by actor/director Andy Serkis and producer Jonathan Cavendish, The Imaginarium harnesses the power of performance capture to fuel a new generation of storytelling in film, television and videogames. The Imaginarium’s central London studio base acts as magnet to the international film community as well as providing a development and production base for writers, filmmakers and creative visionaries from all over the world. www.theimaginariumstudios.com


ABOUT THE BONE SEASON
The Bone Season begins in 2059. Nineteen-year-old Paige Mahoney is working in the criminal underworld of London. Paige is a clairvoyant, and in this future world, clairvoyance is forbidden and Paige is committing high treason. Attacked, kidnapped, and transported to Oxford, a city that has been kept secret for two hundred years, she meets Warden, a Rephaite with dark honey skin and heavy-lidded yellow eyes. He is the single most beautiful and frightening thing she has ever laid eyes on — and he will become her keeper.

ABOUT SAMANTHA SHANNON
Born in 1991, Samantha Shannon was raised in West London, where she started her first novel at the age of fifteen. She is currently studying for a degree in English Language and Literature at St Anne’s College, Oxford. The Bone Season is the first in a projected series of seven novels.

ABOUT ANIMAL FARM
First published in 1945, George Orwell’s allegorical tale Animal Farm has been hailed by TIME magazine as one of the best 100 English-language novels (1923-2005), is currently listed at number 31 on the Modern Library List of the 20th Century’s best novels and was awarded a retrospective Hugo Award in 1996.

Actor Ray Park-Darth Maul at Wizard World Austin

Ray Park Of 'Star Wars: Episode I' Added To Wizard World Austin Comic Con Lineup This Weekend

Popular Guest Portrayed “Darth Maul”; Joins Sir Patrick Stewart, WWE® Superstar CM Punk®, Eliza Duskhu, Michael Rooker, 'Star Trek: TNG' Reunion At Austin Convention Center

NEW YORK and AUSTIN, Texas, October 23, 2012 – Ray Park, who portrayed “Darth Maul” in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, has been added to the roster of celebrities attending Wizard World Austin Comic Con, Friday through Sunday at Austin Convention Center. He will join stars like Sir Patrick Stewart, WWE® Superstar CM Punk®, Eliza Dushku and Michael Rooker at the event.

A hugely popular Wizard World guest, Park will attend all three days. He will sign autographs, meet fans, pose for photo ops and conduct an interactive Q&A.

Park got his start as an actor and a stuntman in minor roles during 1997’s Mortal Kombat Annihilation. From there, Park was soon cast as “Darth Maul,” his most popular role to date. His turn as a Star Wars villain was embraced by fans for his chilling visual look and Park’s ferocious performance that redefined the sith for the modern audience.

Park has gone on to star or appear in several hit films, including director Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow, Ballistic: Ecks Vs. Sever, Fanboys and X-Men. Park has also been a regular in the popular NBC series “Heroes” and has a key role in the upcoming blockbuster G.I. Joe: Retaliation with Bruce Willis, Channing Tatum, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Adrianne Palicki, due for March 2013 release.

Austin Comic Con will also feature the reunion of eight cast members of “Star Trek” The Next Generation.” Other stars scheduled to appear at Wizard World Austin Comic Con this weekend include Dean Cain (“Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,” “90210”), The Boondock Saints trio of David Della Rocco, Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus and Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino (“Jersey Shore”).

The lineup of superstar comic creators in Austin is also impressive, with Eisner Award Hall of Famer Neal Adams (“Batman,” “Green Lantern”), Eisner winner Bernie Wrightson (“Swamp Thing,” “House of Mystery”), Kaare Andrews (“Astonishing X-Men,” “Iron Man”), Humberto Ramos (“The Spectacular Spider-Man,” “Impulse”) and Mike McKone (“Avengers,” “Green Lantern”) at the top of the deep list.

Wizard World Austin Comic Con, produced by Wizard World, Inc. (WIZD.PK), will bring together thousands of fans of all ages to celebrate the best in pop-fi, pop culture, movies, graphic novels, comics, toys, video gaming, television, sci-fi, gaming, original art, collectibles, contests and more. Show hours are Friday, Oct. 26, noon-8 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 27, 10 a.m. - 7 p.m.; and Sunday, Oct. 28, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

For more on the 2012 Wizard World Austin Comic Con, visit http://www.wizardworld.com/home-tx.html.


About Wizard World:
Wizard World produces Comic Cons and pop culture conventions across North America that celebrate graphic novels, comic books, movies, TV shows, gaming, technology, toys and social networking. The events often feature celebrities from movies and TV, artists and writers, and events such as premieres, gaming tournaments, panels, and costume contests.

The full event schedule can be found at www.wizardworld.com.

Review: "Army of Darkness" Never Loses its Charm (Happy B'day Sam Raimi)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 128 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

Army of Darkness (1993)
Running time: 87 minutes (1 hour, 27 minutes)
MPAA – R
DIRECTOR: Sam Raimi
WRITERS: Ivan Raimi and Sam Raimi
PRODUCER: Robert Tapert
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Bill Pope
EDITOR: Bob Murawski
COMPOSER: Joseph LoDuca

FANTASY/HORROR/COMEDY/ACTION/ADVENTURE

Starring: Bruce Campbell, Embeth Davidtz, Marcus Gilbert, Ian Abercrombie, Richard Grove, Timothy Patrick Quill, Bridget Fonda, and Ted Raimi

The subject of this movie review is Army of Darkness, a 1992 comic horror film from director Sam Raimi. The film, which was released in the United States in February 1993, is the third and final film in The Evil Dead trilogy.

Bruce Campbell reprised the role of Ash, the demon-besieged hero he portrayed in director Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead series, in the 1993 film, Army of Darkness, Raimi’s (kind of) sequel to Evil Dead 2. This time Ash is the head store clerk in the housewares department at S-Mart. As the film opens, Ash narrates the back story of how he and his girlfriend were vacationing in a secluded cabin when all hell (literally) breaks loose. Eventually, demonic time warp sucks Ash and his ’73 Oldsmobile into a vortex that transports them to Dark Ages England, and here the fun begins. To go back to his own time, Ash has to find the Necronomicon (Book of the Dead), an ancient tome bound in human flesh and inked in blood, but Ash doesn’t properly recite an important incantation that goes with the book. This error awakens legions of undead beasts and an army of skeletons, and led by Ash’s diabolical twin, Evil Ash, this army of darkness marches against a small castle and its inhabitants, and only Ash can save them. Will he?

Raimi’s Army of Darkness is a delightful and hilarious sword-and-sorcery mini-epic – a kind of lighted hearted and much smaller version of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy released eight years before LOTR saw the light of day. Bruce Campbell’s Ash is a charming rogue brought together by Campbell’s occasionally hammy acting and his exuberant love of being of in movies; the man never disappoints because he buys into the film fantasy as much as actors way more talented than him.

Sam Raimi was obviously a talent with a knack for filmmaking, as seen in his early low-budget films. Although the Spider-Man film franchise would make him an A-list director, Army of Darkness showed that Raimi loved making movies and always made the best of what he had. I doubt any director other than Raimi (even Spielberg) could, in 1993, make an army of stop-motion skeletons look funny and cool rather than be an embarrassment on the screen, but this was Raimi passing on his joy of making fun fantasy movies to the audience.

For all its hokiness and in spite of its old-fashioned special effects, Army of Darkness is a very good film. Its cheesy looks belie a joyful heart, and I wished more genre filmmakers would deliver movies made by the “seat of their pants” that look like this. Army of Darkness is Saturday matinee gold – pure and simple.

7 of 10
B+

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Review: "Madagascar 3" is DreamWorks Animation's Best to Date

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 79 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux

Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (2012)
Running time: 93 minutes (1 hour, 43 minutes)
MPAA – PG for mild crude humor
DIRECTORS: Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath, and Conrad Vernon
WRITERS: Eric Darnell and Noah Baumbach
PRODUCERS: Mireille Soria and Mark Swift
EDITOR: Nick Fletcher
COMPOSER: Hans Zimmer

ANIMATION/COMEDY/FANTASY/ACTION/FAMILY

Starring: (voices) Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter, Tom McGrath, Frances McDormand, Jessica Chastain, Bryan Cranston, Martin Short, Chris Miller, Christopher Knights, John DiMaggio, Paz Vega, Frank Welker and Vinnie Jones

The subject of this movie review is Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, a 2012 3D computer-animated film from DreamWorks Animation. It is the third movie in the Madagascar film series, following Madagascar (2005) and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008). Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted finds Alex, Marty, Gloria and Melman on the run in Europe and hiding with a traveling circus, which needs their help.

Alex the Lion (Ben Stiller) was the king of New York City’s Central Park Zoo. A series of bizarre incidents found Alex and his friends: Marty the Zebra (Chris Rock), Melman the Giraffe (David Schwimmer), and Gloria the Hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith), as well as four crafty Penguins: Skipper (Tom McGrath), Kowalski (Chris Miller), Private (Christopher Knights), and Rico (John DiMaggio), stranded on the exotic island of Madagascar. They make new friends, the Madagascar lemurs: King Julien (Sacha Baron Cohen), Maurice (Cedric the Entertainer), and Mort (Andy Richter).

Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted finds Alex, Marty, Gloria and Melman headed to Monaco, Monte Carlo in search of the penguins and their two chimpanzee companions, Mason and Phil. What they find is trouble in the form of Captain Chantal DuBois (Frances McDormand) of Monaco Animal Control. On the run from DuBois and her cohorts, Alex and company find a safe haven with Zaragoza Circus. The circus, which has seen better days, needs some help, but its animal denizens are suspicious of the newcomers. Alex sets out to reinvent the circus, a miracle that just may get him and his friends home – finally!

Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted is the best film in the Madagascar franchise. I’d planned on seeing it in a theatre, but I wasn’t really that enthused about it. I rented Madagascar 3 on DVD, and gave the copy to my mother. After watching it, she wanted to know if she could keep the disc to watch it a second time. She rarely watches films a second time, so I knew something was up. After watching the first few minutes of the film, I knew that it was going to be good. By the time the action explodes in the Hotel De Paris sequence, I knew that this movie was going to be something special, and it is. Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted is the best film DreamWorks Animation has produced to date – even better than the exceptional Kung Fu Panda movies. What’s the difference between Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted and the earlier Madagascar films and most other DreamWorks’ cartoons? The difference is the writing/storytelling.

I’ve come across commentary that describes DreamWorks as the tech guys of computer animation and Pixar Animation Studios as the art of storytelling guys. There is some truth to that. DreamWorks is producing computer-animated films in which the quality of the animation in terms of movement of characters and objects is improving by sky-high leaps and bounds. The stories in Pixar’s films have heart and the characters almost seem like real people, as seen in the Toy Story films, Wall-E, and Up. These films captivate adults as much as they capture the imagination of children.

Europe’s Most Wanted has heart. The earlier Madagascar films relied on the personality quirks and the motivation and conflicts of the characters, but the plots and action weren’t as interesting or as funny as the characters. In fact, whenever the characters fell flat in the first two films, the plots could not rise to the level where the characters had been. The first film was interesting, and the second was not quite as good, but had its moments.

Europe’s Most Wanted has one great moment after another; the narrative is entrancing, and the action is exhilarating. This allows the characters, main and supporting, to shine, as excellent performers usually do when they have top-notch material. Of course, the animation is great, some of the best ever; it’s DreamWorks Animation, after all.

This movie also adds three fine new characters: Gia the Italian jaguar (Jessica Chastain), Vitaly the Russian tiger (Bryan Cranston), and Stefano the Italian sea lion (Martin Short). All three of the actors playing these characters give superb voice-acting performances. They help make Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted better than the earlier films – a lavish spectacle of animation brilliance. This story about the meaning of home and friendship is one of the great animated films in recent memory. I want to watch it again.

9 of 10
A+

Sunday, October 21, 2012

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Disney's "The Wild" is Mild, Cute Kid Stuff

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 75 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux


The Wild (2006) – computer animation
Running time: 94 minutes (1 hour, 34 minutes)
MPAA – G
DIRECTOR: Steve “Spaz” Williams
WRITERS: Ed Decter, John J. Strauss, and Mark Gibson & Philip Halprin; from a story by Mark Gibson and Philip Halprin
PRODUCERS: Beau Flynn and Clint Goldman
EDITORS: Scott Balcerek and Steven L. Wagner
COMPOSER: Alan Silvestri

ANIMATION/COMEDY/ACTION and ADVENTURE/DRAMA/FAMILY

Starring: (voices) Kiefer Sutherland, James Belushi, Eddie Izzard, Janeane Garofalo, William Shatner, Richard Kind, Greg Cipes, and Patrick Warburton

The subject of this movie review is The Wild, a 2006 computer-animated film. It was distributed by Walt Disney Pictures and was produced by the now-defunct, Canadian computer animation company, C.O.R.E. Feature Animation (a part of C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures). The film is of note for its similarities to DreamWorks Animation’s Madagascar (2005).

When his son, Ryan (Greg Cipes), an sullen pre-teen lion cub, is mistakenly shipped out of the country, Samson (Kiefer Sutherland), the star lion at the New York Zoo, chases the ship across the ocean with his friends: Benny (Jim Belushi), a savvy and streetwise squirrel; Bridget (Janeane Garofalo), an independent-minded giraffe; Larry (Richard Kind), a dim-witted anaconda; and Nigel (Eddie Izzard), a smart aleck koala in toe. They eventually trek the ship to an island with a highly active volcano. Here, Samson and his friends are confronted by something new to them – a dark foreboding jungle – the wild.

Disney apparently had been preparing for the day that their relationship with Pixar Animation Studios, the makers of such computer animated smash hits as the Toy Story franchise, Finding Nemo, and The Incredibles, among others, might end. However, Disney and Pixar announced their merger a few months ago (as of this writing), but before the happy nuptials, Disney had produced two computer animated feature films independently of their esteemed partners at Pixar. The first, Chicken Little, debuted early last fall. Mid-April 2005 sees the arrival of the second film, The Wild.

The Wild has some high quality computer animation, not Pixar quality, but as good films such as Blue Sky Animation’s (Fox) Ice Age and PDI’s (DreamWorks) Shark Tale. The opening scenes – a fantasy/dream sequence – are electric and alive. The texture and fur on the animals, especially on Samson, Benny, and Nigel is superb. When the narrative reaches “the wild,” the movie comes alive in a world of diverse, vibrant, and rich colors. The characters move with fluidity and grace, and the action sequences are as good as Pixar’s work up to Monster’s Inc.

On the other hand, the script is dust bowl dry and sandpaper scratchy, from the beginning until the heroes reach “the wild.” By then, it would almost be too late to save the movie, except the film’s action and the array of creatures during the last third of the story reach a fever pitch. Most non-Pixar computer animated features generally fail in the story department, and this one barely gets an average grade. In fact, The Wild is embarrassingly (for Disney) similar to DreamWorks late spring 2005 hit, Madagascar. Both films have a lion in an identity crisis as the lead character. Both films also have New York Zoo creatures suddenly tossed back into their jungle (or “wild”) habitats after a forced Atlantic Ocean voyage.

As nice as the film looks, the voice acting is not so nice a listening experience. Kiefer Sutherland’s distinctive voice is lost in a poor character. In fact, Samson is often just the straight guy to Jim Belushi’s Benny, a good character well played by Belushi. Eddie Izzard’s unique vocal style, which works best when he’s on stage doing standup comedy, is neutered as the voice behind a cartoon character. Izzard’s performance here is a good example of why it is not always a good idea to get well-known screen and TV actors to do voice over work for animation. Sometimes a big movie star’s voice and acting style just doesn’t work without the face, so the studios would do better hiring actors who specialize in doing voiceover work for animation.

Overall, The Wild is a B-movie computer animated feature because of story and character, but its technical quality is noteworthy. I’d like to see director Steve “Spaz” Williams and his crew give it another shot, but like the makers of Chicken Little, there may be no place for them at the new Disney, now that Pixar will be calling the cartoon shots for the famed movie studio long into the foreseeable future.

5 of 10
B-

Sunday, April 16, 2006