This past week and a half found me and the wifey catching two animated movies. Passed up Brad and George’s “Burn After Reading” for totally lighter fare by taking on the sequel to “Madagascar.” Then went back a few days after to find “Burn” already pulled out, and settled for the “Truman”-esque cartoon pooch “Bolt” voiced by John Travolta.
So in order of viewing…
The events in “Madagascar, Escape 2 Africa” almost immediately follow the first movie, and our zany zoo animals are immediately found preparing to board a patched up plane hooked up to “the biggest slingshot they’ve ever seen.”
And the “plane” was put together and crewed by the four animal stars of the movie, and I don’t mean the lion, giraffe, hippo and zebra. I’m talking about the bad-ass penguins. The Tom McGrath-voiced Skipper-led posse of penguins easily steal the show and provide the no-holds barred humor, while the others pretend to build a story the audience has seen before in another cartoon about a lion and his father, produced by a studio represented by a mouse…
Without being burdened with having to carry the movie, the penguins spit out one-liners faster than those crazy Indians with machine guns running around Mumbai. Those critters easily provide the funniest moments of the movie.
But that’s not saying the others didn’t do a good job. But one can’t help but notice that the supposed stars are merely playing to type. Ben Stiller as Alex is again the lovable delusionary who wins in the end. David Schwimmer as Melmar is the love-sick puppy (or rather, giraffe) who can’t get his balls together to face the girl, but gets her in the end. Chris Rock is again trying to show the world he’s worth something and is somebody. For Better or worse, Jada Pinket Smith, while a big enough celebrity in her own right, doesn’t have any typecasts to fill. Otherwise, I’m sure the writers would’ve used that as well.
The late Bernie Mac does a good job, while I feel that Alec Baldwin wasn’t really given enough opportunities to show his comic chops. Sasha Baron Cohen is also playing something to type. That of the clueless oddball...
So Alex gets accepted by the pride after a traitorous coup attempt by Baldwin’s character, and takes his rightful place by his father’s side (voiced by Bernie Mac), Melman and Gloria hook up, Marty finds his “identity,” and the penguins are still cool.
And yes, they all lived happily ever after… (cue “Circle of Life…”)
The movie just left me wanting more penguins…
****************************************
We saw “Bolt” the night prior to my usual Baguio trip. Indulged the wifey to a “date” before I went off. Was drowsy as hell, even to the point of having napping spells in some parts of the movie. But hey, it’s a movie with a mutt for a star. The wifey and I love dogs, so there…
Like the titular character, “Bolt” was as fluffy a movie as anything the Mouse House would make. Not particularly funny, save for the obsessed fan represented by the hamster in the plastic ball bouncing all over the place. Of course, the stars here are John Travolta voicing the main four-legged protagonist, alongside a little girl voiced by Miley Cyrus, better known to some as Hannah Montana. But hey, hamster steals the show…
But the premise to “Bolt” is actually interesting. See, Bolt is an actor dog in a TV show about a superpowered dog. He’s been trained to react in certain ways to do his job in the show. And through careful stagings by the crew, Bolt has been made to believe that he really does have superpowers. Otherwise, he’d get scared and run away from the “villains” like regular dogs. So the main character is in a TV show but he doesn’t know it. “The Truman Show,” anyone?
And yes, he gets out in the “real world.” How it happened, I don’t know. Must be the part where I dozed off… but when I came to, he was already out there, lost, and desperately trying to find his way back to Penny, his little girl co-star voiced by Miley Cyrus. All throughout his search, he makes friends with a cat and a hamster. But what kept this from turning into “Homeward Bound, the Incredible Journey” is that until almost the last part, Bolt sincerely believes he has powers. Neutralized temporarily by Styrofoam, which he believed to be his kryptonite…
His realization and how he overcame it was done quite well. John Travolta communicates the transition between overconfident superhero to anxious would-be powerless hero excellently. Miley Cyrus is… Miley Cyrus… Didn’t do so bad, but no big deal for me.
Great for kids. Lessons to be learned, and a decent sprinkling of funny parts. Mostly from the hamster…
Speaking of teen stars voicing cartoons, after an overload of “High School Musical” trailers, I must strongly suggest to the producers of any upcoming Chipmunks sequels to use Vanessa Hudgens’ talents. It’ll be a walk in the park for the sound engineers since she already sounds like a goddamn chipmunk. Pretty though… especially that beautiful preteen photo of her in the buff… if she plays a chipmunk, I wouldn’t mind her having my nuts…
*******************************
That’s all for now… catch you later…
So in order of viewing…
The events in “Madagascar, Escape 2 Africa” almost immediately follow the first movie, and our zany zoo animals are immediately found preparing to board a patched up plane hooked up to “the biggest slingshot they’ve ever seen.”
And the “plane” was put together and crewed by the four animal stars of the movie, and I don’t mean the lion, giraffe, hippo and zebra. I’m talking about the bad-ass penguins. The Tom McGrath-voiced Skipper-led posse of penguins easily steal the show and provide the no-holds barred humor, while the others pretend to build a story the audience has seen before in another cartoon about a lion and his father, produced by a studio represented by a mouse…
Without being burdened with having to carry the movie, the penguins spit out one-liners faster than those crazy Indians with machine guns running around Mumbai. Those critters easily provide the funniest moments of the movie.
But that’s not saying the others didn’t do a good job. But one can’t help but notice that the supposed stars are merely playing to type. Ben Stiller as Alex is again the lovable delusionary who wins in the end. David Schwimmer as Melmar is the love-sick puppy (or rather, giraffe) who can’t get his balls together to face the girl, but gets her in the end. Chris Rock is again trying to show the world he’s worth something and is somebody. For Better or worse, Jada Pinket Smith, while a big enough celebrity in her own right, doesn’t have any typecasts to fill. Otherwise, I’m sure the writers would’ve used that as well.
The late Bernie Mac does a good job, while I feel that Alec Baldwin wasn’t really given enough opportunities to show his comic chops. Sasha Baron Cohen is also playing something to type. That of the clueless oddball...
So Alex gets accepted by the pride after a traitorous coup attempt by Baldwin’s character, and takes his rightful place by his father’s side (voiced by Bernie Mac), Melman and Gloria hook up, Marty finds his “identity,” and the penguins are still cool.
And yes, they all lived happily ever after… (cue “Circle of Life…”)
The movie just left me wanting more penguins…
****************************************
We saw “Bolt” the night prior to my usual Baguio trip. Indulged the wifey to a “date” before I went off. Was drowsy as hell, even to the point of having napping spells in some parts of the movie. But hey, it’s a movie with a mutt for a star. The wifey and I love dogs, so there…Like the titular character, “Bolt” was as fluffy a movie as anything the Mouse House would make. Not particularly funny, save for the obsessed fan represented by the hamster in the plastic ball bouncing all over the place. Of course, the stars here are John Travolta voicing the main four-legged protagonist, alongside a little girl voiced by Miley Cyrus, better known to some as Hannah Montana. But hey, hamster steals the show…
But the premise to “Bolt” is actually interesting. See, Bolt is an actor dog in a TV show about a superpowered dog. He’s been trained to react in certain ways to do his job in the show. And through careful stagings by the crew, Bolt has been made to believe that he really does have superpowers. Otherwise, he’d get scared and run away from the “villains” like regular dogs. So the main character is in a TV show but he doesn’t know it. “The Truman Show,” anyone?
And yes, he gets out in the “real world.” How it happened, I don’t know. Must be the part where I dozed off… but when I came to, he was already out there, lost, and desperately trying to find his way back to Penny, his little girl co-star voiced by Miley Cyrus. All throughout his search, he makes friends with a cat and a hamster. But what kept this from turning into “Homeward Bound, the Incredible Journey” is that until almost the last part, Bolt sincerely believes he has powers. Neutralized temporarily by Styrofoam, which he believed to be his kryptonite…
His realization and how he overcame it was done quite well. John Travolta communicates the transition between overconfident superhero to anxious would-be powerless hero excellently. Miley Cyrus is… Miley Cyrus… Didn’t do so bad, but no big deal for me.
Great for kids. Lessons to be learned, and a decent sprinkling of funny parts. Mostly from the hamster…
Speaking of teen stars voicing cartoons, after an overload of “High School Musical” trailers, I must strongly suggest to the producers of any upcoming Chipmunks sequels to use Vanessa Hudgens’ talents. It’ll be a walk in the park for the sound engineers since she already sounds like a goddamn chipmunk. Pretty though… especially that beautiful preteen photo of her in the buff… if she plays a chipmunk, I wouldn’t mind her having my nuts…
*******************************
That’s all for now… catch you later…
