Rob Minkoff (co-director of The Lion King (1994)) helms solo this time and the result is good, with fine pacing and rapid-fire action and jokes. Craig Wright (a playwright who's also written for a number of TV series) wrote the screenplay, based on the original series by Jay Ward, with additional dialogue credited to writing partners Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon (Night at the Museum (2006), Reno 911!, more).
Danny Elfman (most recently scored American Hustle) gives us a rousing soundtrack reminiscent of his for Beetlejuice (1998) (I know it well because I own it). You can hear a number of clips on youtube starting with this one (sorry about the ads). John Lennon's Beautiful Boy is included among the extra songs.
The movie opens with a special Dreamworks logo featuring Sherman as the boy with the fishing pole and ends with a drawing from the original cartoon after prodigiously long credits about which my friends opined that everyone who works at Dreamworks was listed.
If you're not familiar with the original cartoon, here's some history for you, followed by a particular (and peculiar) telling of the Rapunzel story.
Rottentomatoes critics are averaging 77 and audiences 80, but it came in second at the box office when it opened. There was supposed to be a new Rocky & Bullwinkle short preceding it, but something else played instead. We were all disappointed and I've already forgotten what it was.
Nonetheless, we recommend this feature for kids of all ages, including members of AARP.
No comments:
Post a Comment