Fine for the smallest of children, presumably the intended audience. Older
children and adults will find it too childish, too long, and not nearly as
well executed as, say, THE FOX AND THE HOUND or FINDING NEMO with which it
bears some similarities plot-wise. Interesting mix, near the end, of CGI
with traditional 2-D animation, particularly in a sequence involving a
marine life-devouring submarine, but not enough to sustain one's full
interest. It doesn't help that it is a foreign cartoon, either. The English
script requires the voice actors to occasionally cram an awful lot of words
into a single sentence, much like a Japanese cartoon. Also, as is often the
case with foreign cartoons redubbed in English, some of the dialogue is
trite, poorly translated or just plain lame. High points: a truly beautiful
execution of Arctic ocean waters and some very funny supporting characters
in the form of four bumbling lemmings who cannot seem to ever get where
theyre going. A prat-falling penguin, which I thought might be this
cartoon's answer to the shaky seagull in THE RESCUERS or Dom DeLuise's
buffoon-ish cat in A MOUSE TALE or even Robin Williams' hysterically goofy
bird in ONCE UPON A RAINFOREST (title?), was simply dreadful and unfunny in
his antics. He makes things worse by performing not one but two very bad
musical numbers. A subplot, involving the titular hero's inadvertent
transportation to a tropical island, completely throws off the movie's
momentum, and was absolutely unnecessary even if this subplot came from the
book upon which the film is based. Steer clear of this one unless you have a
4-year-old starving for something new to watch. It is, unfortunately, nearly
90 minutes in length, to boot.
Movie Released: 4 Oct, 2001
Video Length: 1 hr 18 min
Total Views: 2,355 Times
Website Rating: 0.00/5
IMDB Rating: 2.85/5 (350 votes)