Around the World in 80 Days (2004)

To win a bet, an eccentric British inventor beside his Chinese valet and an aspiring French artist, embarks on a trip full of adventures and dangers around the world in exactly eighty days.

Director:

Frank Coraci

Writers:

Jules Verne (novel), David N. Titcher (screenplay) (as David Titcher)

Stars:

Jackie Chan, Steve Coogan, Jim Broadbent

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jackie Chan	...	Passepartout / Lau Xing
Steve Coogan	...	Phileas Fogg
Cécile de France	...	Monique La Roche (as Cécile De France)
Robert Fyfe	...	Jean Michel
Jim Broadbent	...	Lord Kelvin
Ian McNeice	...	Colonel Kitchener
David Ryall	...	Lord Salisbury
Roger Hammond	...	Lord Rhodes
Adam Godley	...	Mr. Sutton
Howard Cooper	...	Academy Member #1
Karen Mok	...	General Fang (as Karen Joy Morris)
Daniel Hinchcliffe	...	British Valet
Wolfram Teufel	...	Belgian Dignitary
Tom Strauss	...	Academy Member #2
Kit West	...	Academy Member #3

Storyline

An adventurer, Passepartout, ends up accompanying time-obsessed English gentleman, Phileas Fogg, on a daring mission to journey around the world. Fogg has wagered with members of his London club that he can traverse the world in 80 days. Along the way, they encounter many interesting 19th Century figures and have many exciting and suspenseful situations in their voyage around the world.

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Plot Keywords:

queen victoria character | woman in black | statue of liberty | irish american cop | blonde woman | 

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Taglines:

The race begins: June 16.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for action violence, some crude humor and mild language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA Germany Ireland UK

Language:

English Cantonese French German Hindi Turkish

Release Date:

16 June 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Around the World in Eighty Days

Filming Locations:

Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$110,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,576,132, 20 June 2004, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$24,008,137

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$48,170,758

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walden Media, Spanknyce Films, Mostow/Lieberman Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Feature film debut of Will Forte (Young Bobby).

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Goofs

In the opening shot, Big Ben is shown on the south of the Thames, when it should be on the north.

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Quotes

Prince Hapi: You two men may leave but Miss La Roche stays here.
Phileas Fogg: Why does she stay?
Prince Hapi: She will be my wife. One of seven.
Monique La Roche: Surprised. You have seven wives?
Prince Hapi: One for every day of the week. Do Tuesdays work for you?

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Alternate Versions

Some commercial television prints cut out the Arnold Schwarzenegger cameo sequence.

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Connections

Version of La véritable histoire du Chat Botté (2009)

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Soundtracks

River of Dreams
(Instrumental)
Written by David A. Stewart and Aidan Love
Produced by David A. Stewart and Aidan Love

User Reviews

"...so Fogg can marry Belinda Maze..." Whoops, wrong version. Fortunately.

Okay, let's see what we've got here; a new movie version of "Around the World in 80 Days" with Steve Coogan as Phileas Fogg. And one in which the top billing goes to the actor playing Passepartout. This should not work - but it turns out to be Jackie Chan's best American movie to date (admittedly the closest competition is "Rush Hour," but it's still an achievement), and it almost doesn't matter that he's the one playing Passepartout.

The plot's been given some changing by the three credited writers (all of whom, curiously enough, are called David) - in every other version, including the Australian cartoon and the one with Willy Fog, our hero was a very English gentleman off around the world on a gentlemanly bet; this time Fogg is a man of a scientific, visionary bent who's challenged by the head of the Royal Academy of Science (Jim Broadbent) to travel the world in 80 days or never invent again (money is not a temptation here). The comedy is marked up here, both slapstick - like a fight between Chan and the Chinese pursuing him in an art gallery which results in their creating a painting - and more seamy (like Fogg dressing in woman's clothing and indicating he may have a taste for it) - but it's a tribute to Coogan's ability as a comic performer and an actor that he never truly comes across as a buffoon, more like an eccentric yet sincere genius. Such restraint isn't so clear elsewhere, especially with Ewen Bremner's Fix - along with the cameo from Rob Schneider, the most clear sight that this was from the director of "The Waterboy."

Fortunately, like that movie, it's also very funny and attention-holding; like the most famous film version with David Niven, the movie's laden with cameos (most of which don't really add anything to the movie, apart from Arnold Schwarzenegger's hilarious turn as a prince, the Wilson brothers as the Wright brothers, and Kathy Bates as Queen Victoria - I mean, really, did we need Macy Gray to be there?), and Fogg's love interest here is a French artist (lovely Lucy from "Twin Peaks" lookalike Cecile de France) instead of an Indian princess.

The movie does neglect the chance for a tense climax offered by the original book, the special effects by Rhythm & Hues, Jim Henson's Creature Shop et al are uneven and sometimes glaringly bad, and I can only blame the fact that Walt Disney Pictures has the North American rights for the decision to have the Baha Men (gak!) sing "It's A Small World" (double gak!) over the end credits when more of Trevor Jones's score would have been better. But Coogan and Chan make a fun and winning team, it's speedy and colourful, and the movie's got all the fun and action notably lacking in the likes of "Troy" and "Thunderbirds." Essentially, this really is one for the whole family - the kind of thing Hallmark used to be so good at making for television before "The Snow Queen," "Dinotopia" and other sleep-inducers. I liked it.