pixrox1 Review of The Castaway

The Castaway (1931)

The 2000 remake of this film is much better . . .

[5/10 · 25 December 2021]

. . . than the original from 1931. First of all, there is no back story provided here for the rodent being tossed about in heavy seas. In the remake, we know that THE CASTAWAY is part of the crew for an airborne parcel delivery service. Then, in this unsatisfactory earlier attempt at an adventure story, the main character endangers a swordfish during his implausible beaching on a tropical island. In this 1931 misfire, the isle is cluttered with a zoo's worth of incompatible critters, some of which the stranded mini rat abuses, and some of which abuse him. However, if this sounds like it has the makings of a pop music ballad, guess again. No one involved with this banal Dizzy Nature outing seems capable of thinking outside the box. At one point Mickey Big Buttons bounces Wilson off a lion's noggin, but this potentially intriguing tangent is not pursued any further. Nor is there any dentistry-by-ice-skate attempted here. Plus the close leaves viewers hanging, unlike the bittersweet conclusion of the original. If Minnie had remarried Donald Duck during the vexing vermin's absence, this could have been a contender.