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Reviews
Zebra in the Kitchen (1965)
Liked it as a kid, found it dumb as an adult
I first saw this movie as part of the TV show "Off to See the Wizard" (1967), a competitor to "The Wonderful World of Color" (early title for "The Wonderful World of Disney"). Like the Disney show, "Wizard" had family films and specials every week, "hosted" by animated characters from Oz. This particular two-parter entertained me as a kid, but when I saw it again as an adult (when it was broadcast on The Disney Channel), I realized how lame it was (although kids may still enjoy it).
Too many elements of the show defy logic. The family drives an entire day with their son Chris (Jay North) in the back of the pickup, apparently not stopping once because if they did they would surely discover the pet cougar that Chris hid in the truck bed. And despite that distance, when the father surmises that Chris will take Sunshine (the cougar) back to their previous home, he immediately calls a former neighbor to watch for the boy.
At least twice the movie reuses footage of elephants chasing townsfolk down the street -- the film speeded up, of course! The camera lingers far too long on monkeys and chimps playing in a toy store, and on another chimp that watches a Laurel and Hardy scene with an overacting man sitting next to it, 'til the man finally spots the chimp and we're treated to the weak payoff of the man simply running away. And the scenes at the zoo -- frequently as voiceover to a glut of irrelevant animal closeups -- are accompanied by a soundtrack of background animal calls, looped so often that I was able to predict each sound just before it announced itself!
We're also led to believe that a man sitting in a bathtub reading a magazine will fail to notice the large elephant trunk noisily sucking the tub dry, that an obvious man-in-a-bear-costume riding a bike is supposed to be the same genuine bear we see in closeups, that a boa constrictor can make its way into a news studio and wrap around a chandelier, and that a ceramic panther and a snapshot of a tiger are supposed to be in-the-moment threats.
And as mentioned by others in these reviews, what judge would release a zookeeper who perjures on the witness stand, or would impose a family-friendly "sentence" on a boy who freed all the zoo animals and terrorized the whole town?
Even the dramatic climax rings false, when the same boy -- who argued earlier that Sunshine wouldn't hurt anyone -- now warns off Dr. Hartwood (Martin Milner) because "Sunshine might kill you". (I will admit that I do believe the fanciful plot device in which a snarling cat and dog could actually be calmed by spraying whipped cream in their faces, though why Hartwood would hide the spray can from the animals using brown paper is a mystery.)
If you have kids who never tire of seeing animal footage and laughing at silliness, show them this film. Just be prepared to roll your eyes if you watch with them.
National Treasure: Edge of History (2022)
Pretty enjoyable, likeable characters
I feel sad that there are so many negative reviews for this, but I personally liked it. It attempts to hit the atmosphere and intrigue of the movies but also adds some personal stories with the leading young people, all very likeable. Plenty of humor, and a level of believability regarding how the law operates (which is often glossed over in film). Sure, there were some unbelievable elements -- including in the very first scene with Jess -- but I just chuckled and continued to enjoy the escapades of our appealing heroes. There are a couple of cameos from the movies also. At ten hours, the movie had a few scenes that could've been shorter, but the further along it got, the more I wanted to see what happened next.
Anyway, that's my opinion. I suggest you watch two or three episodes and judge for yourself.