This review was written for the theatrical release of "Enchanted".Enchantment only goes so far in Disney's "Enchanted", a sometimes clever, other times grating mix of live action and animation that plays tricks with levels of movie reality as the world of fairy-tale animation invades contemporary New York.
The film from director Kevin Lima, who has worked in both formats (the animated "Tarzan" and live-action "102 Dalmatians"), has moments of hilarious inspiration. But the overwhelming default mode is youthful slapstick, so the movie might strain adults' patience even as it tests the attention span of children with its 107-minute running time.
Warner Bros. animators of old could mix genres and play with reality in the space of a three-minute Looney Tunes short: One of the great existential moments in cinema occurs when Daffy Duck experiences a mental breakdown as his landscape and genre keep changing thanks to a sadistic animator named Bugs Bunny. But here things are more belabored. Perhaps a Disney film can't quite satirize the fantasy world on which so much of the Disney empire rests.
The film starts out in an animated world of 1930s Disney, the world of Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, where a pretty young girl named Giselle (a buoyant Amy Adams) lives in a forest, chats with chirpy animals and sings songs by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz while awaiting "true love's kiss." Prince Edward (James Marsden) delivers this kiss, just after rescuing Giselle from an ogre, and the two agree to wed the next day.
But the prince's wicked stepmother, Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon, going full throttle), anxious not to lose her throne to this upstart, casts Giselle into a deep, deep well, thus banishing her to "a place where there is no happy ever after." This turns out to be live-action Manhattan.
Popping through a manhole in Times Square, Giselle is utterly lost. She eventually comes under the protection of Robert (Patrick Dempsey), a divorce attorney -- no happy ever after indeed! -- and his young daughter, Morgan (Rachel Covey), who is delighted to have a princess in the household. Following Giselle down the well into the world of live action is Prince Edward, his duplicitous servant, Nathaniel (Timothy Spall), and Giselle's chipmunk pal Pip, who loses his powers of speech in this new world.
The animation invasion produces two amusing sequences. When Giselle summons her animal friends to clean up Robert's high-rise apartment, what responds are New York wild life -- flies, pigeons, rats and cockroaches, who cheerfully freshen up the place. Giselle embarrasses Robert by bursting into song in Central Park, but soon park workers, street musicians and the like join in until it looks like the reunion tour of the Village People.
Alas, slapstick takes over, and lame bits about poison apples and the stepmother turning into a cheesy dragon dominate the second half. Then the logic of the two unbridgeable worlds gets murky. Giselle starts to adapt to real life: She learns about "dates," the glories of shopping and stops singing. Her growing attraction to Robert at the expense of her prince works to a degree, but the prince pairing off with Robert's fiancee, Nancy (the supertalented but thoroughly wasted Idina Menzel), moments after meeting her makes no sense. The CG-animated chipmunk plays terrifically in the "real world," but the prince with his sword and frilly get-up works only for a mild gay joke.
You get the sense that Lima and writer Bill Kelly barely scratched the surface of possibilities of their clever but largely unexplored gimmick. Instead, the film settles for the obvious and heavy-handed. Meanwhile, it fails to fully exploit its cast, with the exception of Adams, who believably transitions from a cartoon to flesh-and-blood character without losing her fairy-tale outlook.
ENCHANTED
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures presents a Barry Sonnenfeld/Josephson production
Director: Kevin Lima
Screenwriter: Bill Kelly
Producers: Barry Josephson, Barry Sonnenfeld
Executive producers: Chris Chase, Sunil Perkash, Ezra Swerdlow
Director of photography: Don Burgess
Production designer: Stuart Wurtzel
Music: Alan Menken
Costume designer: Mona May
Editors: Stephen A. Rotter, Gregory Perler
Cast:
Giselle: Amy Adams
Robert Philips: Patrick Dempsey
Prince Edward: James Marsden
Nathaniel: Timothy Spall
Nancy: Idina Menzel
Morgan Philips: Rachel Covey
Narrator: Julie Andrews
Queen Narissa: Susan Sarandon
Running time -- 107 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
The film from director Kevin Lima, who has worked in both formats (the animated "Tarzan" and live-action "102 Dalmatians"), has moments of hilarious inspiration. But the overwhelming default mode is youthful slapstick, so the movie might strain adults' patience even as it tests the attention span of children with its 107-minute running time.
Warner Bros. animators of old could mix genres and play with reality in the space of a three-minute Looney Tunes short: One of the great existential moments in cinema occurs when Daffy Duck experiences a mental breakdown as his landscape and genre keep changing thanks to a sadistic animator named Bugs Bunny. But here things are more belabored. Perhaps a Disney film can't quite satirize the fantasy world on which so much of the Disney empire rests.
The film starts out in an animated world of 1930s Disney, the world of Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, where a pretty young girl named Giselle (a buoyant Amy Adams) lives in a forest, chats with chirpy animals and sings songs by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz while awaiting "true love's kiss." Prince Edward (James Marsden) delivers this kiss, just after rescuing Giselle from an ogre, and the two agree to wed the next day.
But the prince's wicked stepmother, Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon, going full throttle), anxious not to lose her throne to this upstart, casts Giselle into a deep, deep well, thus banishing her to "a place where there is no happy ever after." This turns out to be live-action Manhattan.
Popping through a manhole in Times Square, Giselle is utterly lost. She eventually comes under the protection of Robert (Patrick Dempsey), a divorce attorney -- no happy ever after indeed! -- and his young daughter, Morgan (Rachel Covey), who is delighted to have a princess in the household. Following Giselle down the well into the world of live action is Prince Edward, his duplicitous servant, Nathaniel (Timothy Spall), and Giselle's chipmunk pal Pip, who loses his powers of speech in this new world.
The animation invasion produces two amusing sequences. When Giselle summons her animal friends to clean up Robert's high-rise apartment, what responds are New York wild life -- flies, pigeons, rats and cockroaches, who cheerfully freshen up the place. Giselle embarrasses Robert by bursting into song in Central Park, but soon park workers, street musicians and the like join in until it looks like the reunion tour of the Village People.
Alas, slapstick takes over, and lame bits about poison apples and the stepmother turning into a cheesy dragon dominate the second half. Then the logic of the two unbridgeable worlds gets murky. Giselle starts to adapt to real life: She learns about "dates," the glories of shopping and stops singing. Her growing attraction to Robert at the expense of her prince works to a degree, but the prince pairing off with Robert's fiancee, Nancy (the supertalented but thoroughly wasted Idina Menzel), moments after meeting her makes no sense. The CG-animated chipmunk plays terrifically in the "real world," but the prince with his sword and frilly get-up works only for a mild gay joke.
You get the sense that Lima and writer Bill Kelly barely scratched the surface of possibilities of their clever but largely unexplored gimmick. Instead, the film settles for the obvious and heavy-handed. Meanwhile, it fails to fully exploit its cast, with the exception of Adams, who believably transitions from a cartoon to flesh-and-blood character without losing her fairy-tale outlook.
ENCHANTED
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures presents a Barry Sonnenfeld/Josephson production
Director: Kevin Lima
Screenwriter: Bill Kelly
Producers: Barry Josephson, Barry Sonnenfeld
Executive producers: Chris Chase, Sunil Perkash, Ezra Swerdlow
Director of photography: Don Burgess
Production designer: Stuart Wurtzel
Music: Alan Menken
Costume designer: Mona May
Editors: Stephen A. Rotter, Gregory Perler
Cast:
Giselle: Amy Adams
Robert Philips: Patrick Dempsey
Prince Edward: James Marsden
Nathaniel: Timothy Spall
Nancy: Idina Menzel
Morgan Philips: Rachel Covey
Narrator: Julie Andrews
Queen Narissa: Susan Sarandon
Running time -- 107 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
- 11/19/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Opens Nov. 21
Enchantment only goes so far in Disney's Enchanted, a sometimes clever, other times grating mix of live action and animation that plays tricks with levels of movie reality as the world of fairy-tale animation invades contemporary New York.
The film from director Kevin Lima, who has worked in both formats (the animated Tarzan and live-action 102 Dalmatians), has moments of hilarious inspiration. But the overwhelming default mode is youthful slapstick, so the movie might strain adults' patience even as it tests the attention span of children with its 107-minute running time.
Warner Bros. animators of old could mix genres and play with reality in the space of a three-minute Looney Tunes short: One of the great existential moments in cinema occurs when Daffy Duck experiences a mental breakdown as his landscape and genre keep changing thanks to a sadistic animator named Bugs Bunny. But here things are more belabored. Perhaps a Disney film can't quite satirize the fantasy world on which so much of the Disney empire rests.
The film starts out in an animated world of 1930s Disney, the world of Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, where a pretty young girl named Giselle (a buoyant Amy Adams) lives in a forest, chats with chirpy animals and sings songs by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz while awaiting "true love's kiss." Prince Edward (James Marsden) delivers this kiss, just after rescuing Giselle from an ogre, and the two agree to wed the next day.
But the prince's wicked stepmother, Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon, going full throttle), anxious not to lose her throne to this upstart, casts Giselle into a deep, deep well, thus banishing her to "a place where there is no happy ever after." This turns out to be live-action Manhattan.
Popping through a manhole in Times Square, Giselle is utterly lost. She eventually comes under the protection of Robert (Patrick Dempsey), a divorce attorney -- no happy ever after indeed! -- and his young daughter, Morgan (Rachel Covey), who is delighted to have a princess in the household. Following Giselle down the well into the world of live action is Prince Edward, his duplicitous servant, Nathaniel (Timothy Spall), and Giselle's chipmunk pal Pip, who loses his powers of speech in this new world.
The animation invasion produces two amusing sequences. When Giselle summons her animal friends to clean up Robert's high-rise apartment, what responds are New York wild life -- flies, pigeons, rats and cockroaches, who cheerfully freshen up the place. Giselle embarrasses Robert by bursting into song in Central Park, but soon park workers, street musicians and the like join in until it looks like the reunion tour of the Village People.
Alas, slapstick takes over, and lame bits about poison apples and the stepmother turning into a cheesy dragon dominate the second half. Then the logic of the two unbridgeable worlds gets murky. Giselle starts to adapt to real life: She learns about "dates," the glories of shopping and stops singing. Her growing attraction to Robert at the expense of her prince works to a degree, but the prince pairing off with Robert's fiancee, Nancy (the supertalented but thoroughly wasted Idina Menzel), moments after meeting her makes no sense. The CG-animated chipmunk plays terrifically in the "real world," but the prince with his sword and frilly get-up works only for a mild gay joke.
You get the sense that Lima and writer Bill Kelly barely scratched the surface of possibilities of their clever but largely unexplored gimmick. Instead, the film settles for the obvious and heavy-handed. Meanwhile, it fails to fully exploit its cast, with the exception of Adams, who believably transitions from a cartoon to flesh-and-blood character without losing her fairy-tale outlook.
ENCHANTED
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures presents a Barry Sonnenfeld/Josephson production
Director: Kevin Lima
Screenwriter: Bill Kelly
Producers: Barry Josephson, Barry Sonnenfeld
Executive producers: Chris Chase, Sunil Perkash, Ezra Swerdlow
Director of photography: Don Burgess
Production designer: Stuart Wurtzel
Music: Alan Menken
Costume designer: Mona May
Editors: Stephen A. Rotter, Gregory Perler
Cast:
Giselle: Amy Adams
Robert Philips: Patrick Dempsey
Prince Edward: James Marsden
Nathaniel: Timothy Spall
Nancy: Idina Menzel
Morgan Philips: Rachel Covey
Narrator: Julie Andrews
Queen Narissa: Susan Sarandon
MPAA rating PG, running time 107 minutes.
Enchantment only goes so far in Disney's Enchanted, a sometimes clever, other times grating mix of live action and animation that plays tricks with levels of movie reality as the world of fairy-tale animation invades contemporary New York.
The film from director Kevin Lima, who has worked in both formats (the animated Tarzan and live-action 102 Dalmatians), has moments of hilarious inspiration. But the overwhelming default mode is youthful slapstick, so the movie might strain adults' patience even as it tests the attention span of children with its 107-minute running time.
Warner Bros. animators of old could mix genres and play with reality in the space of a three-minute Looney Tunes short: One of the great existential moments in cinema occurs when Daffy Duck experiences a mental breakdown as his landscape and genre keep changing thanks to a sadistic animator named Bugs Bunny. But here things are more belabored. Perhaps a Disney film can't quite satirize the fantasy world on which so much of the Disney empire rests.
The film starts out in an animated world of 1930s Disney, the world of Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, where a pretty young girl named Giselle (a buoyant Amy Adams) lives in a forest, chats with chirpy animals and sings songs by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz while awaiting "true love's kiss." Prince Edward (James Marsden) delivers this kiss, just after rescuing Giselle from an ogre, and the two agree to wed the next day.
But the prince's wicked stepmother, Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon, going full throttle), anxious not to lose her throne to this upstart, casts Giselle into a deep, deep well, thus banishing her to "a place where there is no happy ever after." This turns out to be live-action Manhattan.
Popping through a manhole in Times Square, Giselle is utterly lost. She eventually comes under the protection of Robert (Patrick Dempsey), a divorce attorney -- no happy ever after indeed! -- and his young daughter, Morgan (Rachel Covey), who is delighted to have a princess in the household. Following Giselle down the well into the world of live action is Prince Edward, his duplicitous servant, Nathaniel (Timothy Spall), and Giselle's chipmunk pal Pip, who loses his powers of speech in this new world.
The animation invasion produces two amusing sequences. When Giselle summons her animal friends to clean up Robert's high-rise apartment, what responds are New York wild life -- flies, pigeons, rats and cockroaches, who cheerfully freshen up the place. Giselle embarrasses Robert by bursting into song in Central Park, but soon park workers, street musicians and the like join in until it looks like the reunion tour of the Village People.
Alas, slapstick takes over, and lame bits about poison apples and the stepmother turning into a cheesy dragon dominate the second half. Then the logic of the two unbridgeable worlds gets murky. Giselle starts to adapt to real life: She learns about "dates," the glories of shopping and stops singing. Her growing attraction to Robert at the expense of her prince works to a degree, but the prince pairing off with Robert's fiancee, Nancy (the supertalented but thoroughly wasted Idina Menzel), moments after meeting her makes no sense. The CG-animated chipmunk plays terrifically in the "real world," but the prince with his sword and frilly get-up works only for a mild gay joke.
You get the sense that Lima and writer Bill Kelly barely scratched the surface of possibilities of their clever but largely unexplored gimmick. Instead, the film settles for the obvious and heavy-handed. Meanwhile, it fails to fully exploit its cast, with the exception of Adams, who believably transitions from a cartoon to flesh-and-blood character without losing her fairy-tale outlook.
ENCHANTED
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures presents a Barry Sonnenfeld/Josephson production
Director: Kevin Lima
Screenwriter: Bill Kelly
Producers: Barry Josephson, Barry Sonnenfeld
Executive producers: Chris Chase, Sunil Perkash, Ezra Swerdlow
Director of photography: Don Burgess
Production designer: Stuart Wurtzel
Music: Alan Menken
Costume designer: Mona May
Editors: Stephen A. Rotter, Gregory Perler
Cast:
Giselle: Amy Adams
Robert Philips: Patrick Dempsey
Prince Edward: James Marsden
Nathaniel: Timothy Spall
Nancy: Idina Menzel
Morgan Philips: Rachel Covey
Narrator: Julie Andrews
Queen Narissa: Susan Sarandon
MPAA rating PG, running time 107 minutes.
- 11/19/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Six Flags Inc. said it intends on strengthening its ties to Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and the other Looney Tunes while extending its brand beyond thrill rides, and it has recruited another former ESPN talent to get the ball rolling. President and CEO Mark Shapiro, formerly of the Walt Disney Co.'s ESPN sports franchise, said Wednesday that a new Six Flags entertainment and marketing department will be headed by Mike Antinoro, who until late last year was executive producer of ESPN Original Entertainment. Antinoro was named executive vp of the department, which will oversee promotions, licensing agreements, advertising, investor relations and more. In Thursday trading, shares closed 6.95% or 64 cents higher at $9.85.
- 1/12/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Six Flags Inc. said it intends on strengthening its ties to Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and the other Looney Tunes while extending its brand beyond thrill rides, and it has recruited another former ESPN talent to get the ball rolling. President and CEO Mark Shapiro, formerly of the Walt Disney Co.'s ESPN sports franchise, said Wednesday that a new Six Flags entertainment and marketing department will be headed by Mike Antinoro, who until late last year was executive producer of ESPN Original Entertainment. Antinoro was named executive vp of the department, which will oversee promotions, licensing agreements, advertising, investor relations and more.
- 1/11/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It will never be confused with the groundbreaking "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", but when it comes to a zippy live-action-meets-animation kid flick with plenty of grown-up gags, "Looney Tunes: Back in Action" does not disappoint.
It moves at such a fast pace that small children are sure to feel it's all a bit of a blur, which may not be unintentional. The film is a celebration of the Warner Bros. troupe of anarchic cartoon characters: Irreverence, insanity, insult and insinuation are exactly what that tradition and this release are all about. There's no holiday tie-in, but "Looney Tunes" should make plenty of holiday dough nonetheless.
Director Joe Dante, as buffs well know, was an ideal choice. As the director of "Gremlins", "Innerspace" and "Matinee", Dante knows his subject inside out. The film is filled with human and animated cameos that are both welcome and brief. Happily, the busy and colorful periphery never sidetracks the thrust of screenwriter Larry Doyle's farcical plot.
That plot is carried by four leads (Brendan Fraser, Jenna Elfman, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck). D.J. Drake (Fraser) is a wannabe stuntman at Warner Bros., the studio at which his father, Damien Drake (Timothy Dalton), is the biggest star. Studio executive Kate Houghton (Elfman) sets the story in motion when she recommends dumping veteran cartoon actor, Daffy Duck. Daffy's longtime rival Bugs Bunny, is bemused by the whole thing (in fact, Bugs pretty much allows Daffy to run with the movie).
Daffy appoints himself D.J.'s sidekick and, after they learn that D.J.'s kidnapped father may be a secret agent, the two head off for Las Vegas. Soon, Kate and Bugs are in pursuit, and the gang encounters Dusty Tails (Heather Locklear), a lustful casino entertainer. D.J. finds himself in the middle of a good old-fashioned barroom brawl, courtesy of Yosemite Sam, and a car chase.
The peripatetic action leads our heroes into various spatial dimensions: a wacky sci-fi lab, headed by kooky scientist Mother (Joan Cusack)
the Louvre in Paris
a Lara Croft-style jungle tomb
even the far reaches of the solar system. Intermittently, Dante cuts to The Chairman (Steve Martin, sending up every mad villain in film history). The Chairman and his council of yes men (including character actor Marc Lawrence in his 71st year in movies) keep constant surveillance on both D.J.'s progress and their own henchmen's torturing of D.J.'s dad.
Blending of animation and live action continues to evolve so that the computer-generated work, visual effects and tech credits overall are impressively seamless, and the cartoonish lighting should enthrall the tykes.
Human performances are, of course, over the top: Martin is fun, if fairly one note, while Fraser scores best as the broadly appealing, yet humble, hunk.
Looney Tunes: Back in Action
Warner Bros. Pictures
A Baltimore/Spring Creek/Goldmann Pictures Production
Credits: Director: Joe Dante
Screenwriter: Larry Doyle
Producers: Paula Weinstein, Bernie Goldmann
Executive Producers: Chris De Faria, Larry Doyle
Director of Photography: Dean Cundey
Production designer: Bill Brzeski
Music: Jerry Goldsmith
Editors: Marshall Harvey, Rick W. Finney
Special effects supervisor: Scott F. Johnston
Cast:
D.J. Drake/Himself/Tazmanian Devil/Tazmanian She-Devil: Brendan Fraser
Kate Houghton: Jenna Elfman
Bugs Bunny/Daffy Duck: Joe Alaskey
Mr. Chairman: Steve Martin
Damien Drake: Timothy Dalton
Dusty Tails: Heather Locklear
Mother: Joan Cusack
Mr. Smith: Bill Goldberg
MPAA rating: PG
Running time -- 83 minutes...
It moves at such a fast pace that small children are sure to feel it's all a bit of a blur, which may not be unintentional. The film is a celebration of the Warner Bros. troupe of anarchic cartoon characters: Irreverence, insanity, insult and insinuation are exactly what that tradition and this release are all about. There's no holiday tie-in, but "Looney Tunes" should make plenty of holiday dough nonetheless.
Director Joe Dante, as buffs well know, was an ideal choice. As the director of "Gremlins", "Innerspace" and "Matinee", Dante knows his subject inside out. The film is filled with human and animated cameos that are both welcome and brief. Happily, the busy and colorful periphery never sidetracks the thrust of screenwriter Larry Doyle's farcical plot.
That plot is carried by four leads (Brendan Fraser, Jenna Elfman, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck). D.J. Drake (Fraser) is a wannabe stuntman at Warner Bros., the studio at which his father, Damien Drake (Timothy Dalton), is the biggest star. Studio executive Kate Houghton (Elfman) sets the story in motion when she recommends dumping veteran cartoon actor, Daffy Duck. Daffy's longtime rival Bugs Bunny, is bemused by the whole thing (in fact, Bugs pretty much allows Daffy to run with the movie).
Daffy appoints himself D.J.'s sidekick and, after they learn that D.J.'s kidnapped father may be a secret agent, the two head off for Las Vegas. Soon, Kate and Bugs are in pursuit, and the gang encounters Dusty Tails (Heather Locklear), a lustful casino entertainer. D.J. finds himself in the middle of a good old-fashioned barroom brawl, courtesy of Yosemite Sam, and a car chase.
The peripatetic action leads our heroes into various spatial dimensions: a wacky sci-fi lab, headed by kooky scientist Mother (Joan Cusack)
the Louvre in Paris
a Lara Croft-style jungle tomb
even the far reaches of the solar system. Intermittently, Dante cuts to The Chairman (Steve Martin, sending up every mad villain in film history). The Chairman and his council of yes men (including character actor Marc Lawrence in his 71st year in movies) keep constant surveillance on both D.J.'s progress and their own henchmen's torturing of D.J.'s dad.
Blending of animation and live action continues to evolve so that the computer-generated work, visual effects and tech credits overall are impressively seamless, and the cartoonish lighting should enthrall the tykes.
Human performances are, of course, over the top: Martin is fun, if fairly one note, while Fraser scores best as the broadly appealing, yet humble, hunk.
Looney Tunes: Back in Action
Warner Bros. Pictures
A Baltimore/Spring Creek/Goldmann Pictures Production
Credits: Director: Joe Dante
Screenwriter: Larry Doyle
Producers: Paula Weinstein, Bernie Goldmann
Executive Producers: Chris De Faria, Larry Doyle
Director of Photography: Dean Cundey
Production designer: Bill Brzeski
Music: Jerry Goldsmith
Editors: Marshall Harvey, Rick W. Finney
Special effects supervisor: Scott F. Johnston
Cast:
D.J. Drake/Himself/Tazmanian Devil/Tazmanian She-Devil: Brendan Fraser
Kate Houghton: Jenna Elfman
Bugs Bunny/Daffy Duck: Joe Alaskey
Mr. Chairman: Steve Martin
Damien Drake: Timothy Dalton
Dusty Tails: Heather Locklear
Mother: Joan Cusack
Mr. Smith: Bill Goldberg
MPAA rating: PG
Running time -- 83 minutes...
It will never be confused with the groundbreaking "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", but when it comes to a zippy live-action-meets-animation kid flick with plenty of grown-up gags, "Looney Tunes: Back in Action" does not disappoint.
It moves at such a fast pace that small children are sure to feel it's all a bit of a blur, which may not be unintentional. The film is a celebration of the Warner Bros. troupe of anarchic cartoon characters: Irreverence, insanity, insult and insinuation are exactly what that tradition and this release are all about. There's no holiday tie-in, but "Looney Tunes" should make plenty of holiday dough nonetheless.
Director Joe Dante, as buffs well know, was an ideal choice. As the director of "Gremlins", "Innerspace" and "Matinee", Dante knows his subject inside out. The film is filled with human and animated cameos that are both welcome and brief. Happily, the busy and colorful periphery never sidetracks the thrust of screenwriter Larry Doyle's farcical plot.
That plot is carried by four leads (Brendan Fraser, Jenna Elfman, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck). D.J. Drake (Fraser) is a wannabe stuntman at Warner Bros., the studio at which his father, Damien Drake (Timothy Dalton), is the biggest star. Studio executive Kate Houghton (Elfman) sets the story in motion when she recommends dumping veteran cartoon actor, Daffy Duck. Daffy's longtime rival Bugs Bunny, is bemused by the whole thing (in fact, Bugs pretty much allows Daffy to run with the movie).
Daffy appoints himself D.J.'s sidekick and, after they learn that D.J.'s kidnapped father may be a secret agent, the two head off for Las Vegas. Soon, Kate and Bugs are in pursuit, and the gang encounters Dusty Tails (Heather Locklear), a lustful casino entertainer. D.J. finds himself in the middle of a good old-fashioned barroom brawl, courtesy of Yosemite Sam, and a car chase.
The peripatetic action leads our heroes into various spatial dimensions: a wacky sci-fi lab, headed by kooky scientist Mother (Joan Cusack)
the Louvre in Paris
a Lara Croft-style jungle tomb
even the far reaches of the solar system. Intermittently, Dante cuts to The Chairman (Steve Martin, sending up every mad villain in film history). The Chairman and his council of yes men (including character actor Marc Lawrence in his 71st year in movies) keep constant surveillance on both D.J.'s progress and their own henchmen's torturing of D.J.'s dad.
Blending of animation and live action continues to evolve so that the computer-generated work, visual effects and tech credits overall are impressively seamless, and the cartoonish lighting should enthrall the tykes.
Human performances are, of course, over the top: Martin is fun, if fairly one note, while Fraser scores best as the broadly appealing, yet humble, hunk.
Looney Tunes: Back in Action
Warner Bros. Pictures
A Baltimore/Spring Creek/Goldmann Pictures Production
Credits: Director: Joe Dante
Screenwriter: Larry Doyle
Producers: Paula Weinstein, Bernie Goldmann
Executive Producers: Chris De Faria, Larry Doyle
Director of Photography: Dean Cundey
Production designer: Bill Brzeski
Music: Jerry Goldsmith
Editors: Marshall Harvey, Rick W. Finney
Special effects supervisor: Scott F. Johnston
Cast:
D.J. Drake/Himself/Tazmanian Devil/Tazmanian She-Devil: Brendan Fraser
Kate Houghton: Jenna Elfman
Bugs Bunny/Daffy Duck: Joe Alaskey
Mr. Chairman: Steve Martin
Damien Drake: Timothy Dalton
Dusty Tails: Heather Locklear
Mother: Joan Cusack
Mr. Smith: Bill Goldberg
MPAA rating: PG
Running time -- 83 minutes...
It moves at such a fast pace that small children are sure to feel it's all a bit of a blur, which may not be unintentional. The film is a celebration of the Warner Bros. troupe of anarchic cartoon characters: Irreverence, insanity, insult and insinuation are exactly what that tradition and this release are all about. There's no holiday tie-in, but "Looney Tunes" should make plenty of holiday dough nonetheless.
Director Joe Dante, as buffs well know, was an ideal choice. As the director of "Gremlins", "Innerspace" and "Matinee", Dante knows his subject inside out. The film is filled with human and animated cameos that are both welcome and brief. Happily, the busy and colorful periphery never sidetracks the thrust of screenwriter Larry Doyle's farcical plot.
That plot is carried by four leads (Brendan Fraser, Jenna Elfman, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck). D.J. Drake (Fraser) is a wannabe stuntman at Warner Bros., the studio at which his father, Damien Drake (Timothy Dalton), is the biggest star. Studio executive Kate Houghton (Elfman) sets the story in motion when she recommends dumping veteran cartoon actor, Daffy Duck. Daffy's longtime rival Bugs Bunny, is bemused by the whole thing (in fact, Bugs pretty much allows Daffy to run with the movie).
Daffy appoints himself D.J.'s sidekick and, after they learn that D.J.'s kidnapped father may be a secret agent, the two head off for Las Vegas. Soon, Kate and Bugs are in pursuit, and the gang encounters Dusty Tails (Heather Locklear), a lustful casino entertainer. D.J. finds himself in the middle of a good old-fashioned barroom brawl, courtesy of Yosemite Sam, and a car chase.
The peripatetic action leads our heroes into various spatial dimensions: a wacky sci-fi lab, headed by kooky scientist Mother (Joan Cusack)
the Louvre in Paris
a Lara Croft-style jungle tomb
even the far reaches of the solar system. Intermittently, Dante cuts to The Chairman (Steve Martin, sending up every mad villain in film history). The Chairman and his council of yes men (including character actor Marc Lawrence in his 71st year in movies) keep constant surveillance on both D.J.'s progress and their own henchmen's torturing of D.J.'s dad.
Blending of animation and live action continues to evolve so that the computer-generated work, visual effects and tech credits overall are impressively seamless, and the cartoonish lighting should enthrall the tykes.
Human performances are, of course, over the top: Martin is fun, if fairly one note, while Fraser scores best as the broadly appealing, yet humble, hunk.
Looney Tunes: Back in Action
Warner Bros. Pictures
A Baltimore/Spring Creek/Goldmann Pictures Production
Credits: Director: Joe Dante
Screenwriter: Larry Doyle
Producers: Paula Weinstein, Bernie Goldmann
Executive Producers: Chris De Faria, Larry Doyle
Director of Photography: Dean Cundey
Production designer: Bill Brzeski
Music: Jerry Goldsmith
Editors: Marshall Harvey, Rick W. Finney
Special effects supervisor: Scott F. Johnston
Cast:
D.J. Drake/Himself/Tazmanian Devil/Tazmanian She-Devil: Brendan Fraser
Kate Houghton: Jenna Elfman
Bugs Bunny/Daffy Duck: Joe Alaskey
Mr. Chairman: Steve Martin
Damien Drake: Timothy Dalton
Dusty Tails: Heather Locklear
Mother: Joan Cusack
Mr. Smith: Bill Goldberg
MPAA rating: PG
Running time -- 83 minutes...
- 11/10/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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