Strollerderby : family movie night

Family Movie Night – Happy Feet

Brett Singer — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 20:30:00 GMT

I'm particularly glad to have a chance to write something about this one. While it certainly has its flaws, there are some parts that are terrific.

"Happy Feet" is about a bunch of penguins. According to the movie, each penguin has a "heart song" that develops over time; by singing it, the non-flying birds mate, make more non-flying birds, and life goes on. Mumble, though, is different. When he sings, he sounds like a cross between an elephant seal and fingernails being dragged across a chalkboard. He can, however, do a mean tap dance (the incomparable Savion Glover provides the audio for his fancy footwork). This does not endear him to the tribe, and even his parents would rather he be somewhere else. So, like Rudolph before him, he leaves, eventually meeting up with a group of Hispanic penguins (more on this later), and going on a journey to find out why there aren't as many fish to eat as there once were.

By far the best aspect of "Happy Feet" is the music. It came out in 2006, and by that point the novelty of the "mash-up" trend in music had peaked in popularity. The tunes here aren't original, but the songs chosen, and the arrangements used, are so clever that I was mesmerized. The opening number features Prince's "Kiss", blended together with Elvis' "Heartbreak Hotel", with little musical quotations from Salt N' Pepa ("Let's talk about eggs, bay-bee" – slight lyric change there), Lionel Richie ("Hello"), and even Mr. Mister ("Broken Wings"). If that sounds horrible, give it a try, because in my opinion it works. The animation is also top-notch, almost on a level with Pixar's. This also means that the scarier parts (killer whale attacks, elephant seals, and so on) are that much more frightening, but neither of my kids seemed to mind.

This film generated a ton of controversy from the conservative quarters of the country because of its extremely blunt pro-environment message. While I personally agree with what they were saying, it does get very heavy-handed towards the end of the film, and inserting actual humans is strange, although I have to admit that it is effective. If you look at some of the user reviews on Amazon, there are various complaints that this is not a "happy" film at all. That's not entirely without merit; one character almost chokes to death on plastic soda rings, and there are those icy predators that always seem ready to munch on Mumble and his pals. But again, the proof is in the kids, and both of my boys were fine with the "less happy" parts.

Speaking of those pals, I'm always a little bit surprised about the way certain races are portrayed in animated movies aimed at children. In this case, Mumble hooks up with a group of short penguins who like to whistle at girls ("Ay, mami!") and speak with thick Hispanic accents. He calls them "the amigos" in case anyone misses the joke. Their leader, Ramon, is played by Robin Williams, who also plays a Barry White-style penguin who sits atop a tower of pebbles dispensing advice. Not to be overly politically correct, but this sort of thing happens all the time: the Black and Hispanic hyenas in "The Lion King" are another example (and of course, there are all of these). It's not enough to un-recommend the movie but it's worth mentioning. I'm also not a big Robin Williams fan, but I know other people can't get enough of him. Having him play two somewhat racially insensitive characters in one film is almost too much, but the animation, music and tap dancing more than make up for it (I'm a big Savion Glover fan).

Bottom line: some truly great moments (the music, animation and tapping) offset some weird ones (the ultra-heavy-handed environmental message). Recommended, unless your political sensibilities run heavily to the right, in which case this film will probably make your head explode.

image: Amazon.com

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Family Movie Night – Hairspray

Brett Singer — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Full disclosure: when I first heard a demo CD of the songs from the Broadway musical version of John Waters' film "Hairspray", I said, "Eh. That's not so great. Nobody's going to want to see it. It'll flop."

Um, right. Luckily the producers didn't listen to me, because the show has been running on Broadway for several years (long enough to have Jerry "The Beaver" Mathers play the mom for awhile, which is longer than most shows last, believe me), not to mention all the tours, regional and international productions, and of course the new film.

Unlike the new film version of "The Producers" musical, this new "Hairspray" is more fully re-imagined, which probably accounts for its greater success at the box office ($200 million, enough that there's actually going to be a sequel). The original Waters movie was very low-key, and definitely kept the hardcore gross out stuff to a minimum (if you've never seen Waters' "Pink Flamingos", you shouldn't, but there's a scene at the end that is so disgusting it haunts me to this day). In retrospect, turning "Hairspray" into a Broadway musical was actually a very good idea, since the story is quite sweet and has a positive message about racial inclusiveness, and also points out that fat people shouldn't be ostracized for their appearance. The musical and new film actually hammer that point home much harder than the original; singing about racial equality makes the message much more blunt than just showing it.

In theory, how is this a kids' movie at all? It's not, I suppose, but there's nothing in it that really crosses a line, except for a few lyrics here and there, most of which go over the heads of anyone that you would think is too young to hear them. ("Hey, baby! You look like you could use a stiff one!" – but he's talking about hairspray, so…) I've seen girls as young as six having "Hairspray" themed birthday parties, which is one reason why I think my son was actually willing to watch it. Both of the Things enjoyed it, the older one because it does have a reasonably involving story and good songs, the younger one probably because it's colorful and the music is quite good.

As for the cast, it's a mixed bag. John Travolta is not an upgrade over Divine, but she/he is dead, so that's not really fair. That said, Harvey Fierstein was so incredible on Broadway that they should have let him reprise his role on screen. I understand the need to cast big stars to ensure a film's success, but sometimes it's better to stick with the original. At least they had the courtesy to cut the line, "Hold mommy's waffles," which, when said by Fierstein on stage, actually had me laughing so hard I almost fell out of my chair. (Just take my word for it, it was hilarious.) Travolta is good in a way, but there's something almost too serious about his version of Tracy Turnblad's overweight shut-in mom. He does prove that he's still a terrific dancer, even weighted down with fifty-plus pounds of fat suit. It would be nice to see him do a musical film role that he's better suited for, or even a live turn on Broadway.

The new Tracy, Nikki Blonsky, is quite good. Rikki Lake, who played Tracy in the original, had a much tougher edge but so did Waters' film. I would watch Michelle Pfeiffer read the phone book, but she does more than that and is very good. I would have liked to see more Jerry Stiller, who has a borderline cameo as the owner of a local department store that hires Tracy to be a spokesperson. I had forgotten that he played Wilbur Turnblad in the 1988 film; his role was taken over by Christopher Walken, who I would also watch read the phone book (albeit for different reasons) and gives a solid performance, as always. James Marsden was a surprise as Corny Collins, the host of the local dance show. If that's his actual singing voice he should do another musical. Queen Latifah (Motormouth Maybelle) is no Ruth Brown but she's good enough.

Anyway, somewhat like the Broadway version, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed this new "Hairspray", as did my kids. Recommended.

image: Amazon.com

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Family Movie Night: Meet The Robinsons

Brett Singer — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 21:00:00 GMT

Like "The Wild", this movie could also be subtitled "Why we had to buy Pixar." It's a much more ambitious story than "Wild" but it just doesn't work.

The plot is convoluted but it involves time travel and what happens when you change the past, or something. I normally love that sort of thing (space-time continuum, represent!) but this time (pun intended) it just bothered me. Our hero is an orphan, which is always a pleasurable subject when watching a movie with young children; to be fair to my kids, neither one was fazed, so maybe I'm the one with the problem. The kid looks like Jonathan Lipnicky after he grows up, slims down and becomes truly weird. Of course, he's really a genius, and there's a villain out to get him but it's really the villain's hat that's in charge... or something. It's kind of a blur. The design elements are good. Pixar's John Lasseter was involved, which may account for the above-average visuals. But what works so well for Pixar -- well-written scripts, straightforward stories, combined with by far the best animation currently being produced -- completely eludes the Disney team here. Not nearly as painful to sit through as "The Wild", but still not great.

image: Amazon.com

Family Movie Night: Everyone's Hero

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Family movie night: The Wild

Brett Singer — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 16:00:00 GMT

"The Wild" is a Disney film that should be subtitled, "Why we had to buy Pixar for $7.4 billion." It's so bad that you really start to wonder what the Mouse House was thinking. The animation is so-so, the plot verrry similar to the slightly better 'Madagascar'. My son, displaying Hollywood executive-level powers of verbiage, called it "Madagascar meets The Lion King". He also told me, after it was over, that he found it "hilarious", but there weren't a lot of laughs coming from the kinder while we were watching.

As in seemingly every Disney film, mom is nowhere to be found. This time, dad is a lion who dazzles crowds at the "Manhattan Zoo" with his big lionly roar. Sonny boy lacks roaring ability, which is a source of much shame. Dad tells son stories of heroic derring-do in "the wild", but it turns out (SPOILER ALERT! Ah, who cares) that pops is a big fat liar who has never set foot in the jungle -- that is, until son ends up there after stowing away in a crate in an effort to prove his mettle to dad. You will be shocked to learn that dad finds his animal senses again and saves the day, son learns to roar, there are other animals that display truly, deeply, wacky behavior. There is even inter-species romance between a squirrel and a giraffe. (I'm as tolerant as the next guy, but, like, ew.) Many elements show up from other, better films: bad guy wildebeests ('Lion King'), a stampede ('Lion King again), chameleons who spell out the direction that Big Daddy Lion must go to find his son using oddly hallucinogenic arrows (the jokey school of fish in 'Finding Nemo'). The kids didn't care too much, but with the bevy of family films available on DVD, cable, et al, there's no need for parents to suffer through this nonsense. But Brett, what do you really think? Not recommend.

image: Amazon.com

Family Movie Night – Curious George

Family Movie Night: Everyone's Hero

Brett Singer — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 17:00:00 GMT

It's Father's Day, so I picked a flick with a daddy-theme.

My oldest son shows little interest in baseball, and I've started to accept the fact that he probably will never join me in rabid Yankee fandom. His love of this film, though, gives me a little bit of hope that he may still develop an interest in America's pastime (which it really isn't anymore, but why spoil a cliché?)

'Everyone's Hero' isn't terribly daring, the animation is only so-so, and the plot is utterly unbelievable in almost every way. But somehow the film works, with plenty of laughs, some tugging at heartstrings in the right places, and a perfectly triumphant sports-movie ending.

Yankee Irving -- his parents named him for the team -- is a lousy baseball player, but that doesn't stop him from being a huge fan of the team his dad works for as a clubhouse attendant. Then Babe Ruth's favorite bat gets stolen, and Yankee's father is blamed, and then fired. This is a real problem for the family -- it's the 1930's, and there are no jobs. Yankee's dad thinks Yankee stole the bat, and, shockingly, he doesn't really buy his son's assertion that all will be cleared up if the team President would only speak to his new friend, the talking ball. Yes, Yankee has found a magical talking ball. Of course, the ball only talks to Yankee (shades of Mr. Ed), but we know Yank's not a loony-tunes since the ball can be seen moving around on its own by everyone. The ball was a foul, and wishes it could have been a homerun, but unlike every DreamWorks movie, this isn't a major plot point; it helps that the ball is an obnoxious New Yorker with a kid-friendly potty mouth. Eventually they find the bat, who also talks and is an egomaniac because of her "relationship" with the Babe. They also, you know, save the day, after some heroics.

The movie shows a teeny bit of depth when Yankee is befriended by a Black girl whose father is a star in the Negro Leagues. Yankee ends up riding on his team bus, and the players show him some ball techniques that make him a better player in the end. It's all presented very matter-of-fact, as a piece of history but without any self-conscious judgment, which serves to make it more poignant in a way. The same is true of a scene with a bunch of hobos, all of whom are just down on their luck as opposed to being drug addicts or something else sinister.

This is also a rare children's film where both parents are alive and well. Dad is unemployed for a little while, and part of Yankee's journey to get the bat back is motivated by a desire to prove to his father that he didn't steal it (it was taken by the owner of the perennially-losing Chicago Cubs). That's about as sad as it gets. All is forgiven, dad even feels bad for not believing in his son, good feelings abound. Even the ball cheers up.

In a field of kiddie films crowded with wacky animals that spew fart and dick jokes, it's nice to see something that, while it doesn't take many chances, just presents a sweet, straightforward story. Oh, and the baseball thing helps, at least for me. Highly recommended.

image: Amazon.com

Family Movie Night – Curious George

Brett Singer — Tue, 27 May 2008 16:00:00 GMT

I had seen Curious George when it first came out and didn't remember much about it. On a second viewing, it's actually quite cute. Despite giving the Man in the Yellow Hat a real name (Ted), and creating some cockamamie story about a museum and a giant monkey idol, the movie stays true to the spirit of the books without actually doing the stories themselves. This was a smart move, since stretching one of the ten page Curious George tales to 90 minutes would have probably have been pretty painful to sit through.

As Ted, Will Ferrell is somehow more subdued when rendered as an actual cartoon character, as opposed to the live action one he usually plays on screen. Drew Barrymore is very sweet in her usual role as every geek's dream woman. Even David Cross, as the son of the museum owner, is amusing. Very sweet, easy to watch with the whole family, enjoyed by younger and older child in attendance. Recommended.

UPDATE: Per mtlmama's comment below, the soundtrack is quite nice. I'm not a big Jack Johnson fan in general but his music works incredible well here.

Family Movie Night: Short Circuit

Brett Singer — Mon, 05 May 2008 22:45:00 GMT

Once a week we try to sit down and watch a flick as a family. I will periodically post my thoughts about the films we see. This week: Short Circuit.

Believe it or not, it wasn't Jen's post about a pending remake that inspired us to see this 1986 Steve Guttenberg movie. Amazon.com has a video-on-demand service called UnBox, which you can use to download movies directly to your Tivo (or computer if you like that kind of thing). I had been meaning to give the service a try, and there was a 99-cent sale on sci-fi movies. Short Circuit was a choice, so we figured for a buck, why not?

The UnBox service worked great. I've heard mixed reviews about download speeds, but we were able to start watching the movie after about 3 minutes while it continued to download in the background. This is with a Tivo connected to the Internet via a cable modem. (As with all things technical, your mileage may vary.)

What about the movie? Well, it holds up pretty well after 20 years. The special effects aren't anything to get excited about, but the robot, Number Five, is mostly cute and reasonably charming. Fisher Stevens plays a somewhat politically incorrect engineer with a thick Hindi accent. A lot of his laugh lines come because of his accent ("Ooh. Her pants are blazing for you, Newton Crosby.") and/or the occasional malapropism ("Newton, we are wasting valueless time here.") It's basically the same kind of thing as Apu from The Simpsons (except that Short Circuit came out first). There are a few four-letter words, which I had forgotten about (Newton Crosby [Gutenberg]: Holy shit. Number 5 (robot): No shit. Where see shit?). My kids didn't think anything of the cussin'; we didn't make a big deal about it and so far no one has walked up to their teacher and used the s-word. The line "Life is NOT a malfunction," spoken by Stephanie Speck (played by Ally Sheedy) sounds very pro-life when seen today. That's probably reading too much into it (although looking at the image to the right, I'm wondering if I might be onto something.)

None of this would make me not recommend the film, which is refreshingly low-key compared to what comes out today (Speed Racer, I'm looking at you, although when I do I get a headache because there are so many colors on screen.) I like the big stuff too, but it's nice to take a break every now and then. Plus the soundtrack is so 80's I started seeing leg warmers everywhere I looked. Short Circuit is more of a "family movie" (think E.T.) rather than a "kids' movie". As for the remake, I don't see any reason to do one, but now that the kids have seen the original, they'll probably want to check out the copy as well. So like Jen said, it's probably a good business idea (though not much of an artistic one).

Bottom line: Recommended, with mild language reservations.

image: Amazon.com

Strollerderby : family movie night

Family Movie Night – Happy Feet

Family Movie Night – Hairspray

Family Movie Night: Meet The Robinsons

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Family Movie Night – Hairspray

Family Movie Night: Meet The Robinsons

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Family Movie Night: Everyone's Hero

Family Movie Night – Curious George

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Family movie night: The Wild

Family Movie Night: Everyone's Hero

Family Movie Night – Curious George

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Family Movie Night: Everyone's Hero

Family Movie Night – Curious George

Family Movie Night: Short Circuit