Movie theaters show three family films during holidays
Movie theaters show three family films during holidays
By Joko E.H. Anwar
JAKARTA (JP): It's safe for parents to take their children to
movie theaters during this upcoming holiday season. There are at
least three films showing over the holidays that are suitable for
family viewing: Chicken Run, The Grinch (Dr. Seuss' How the
Grinch Stole Christmas) and 102 Dalmatians.
Let's start with great stop-motion comedy Chicken Run, which
tells the story of a bunch of hens "imprisoned" at Tweedy's Egg
Farm in England. They live their days fearing they will end up on
the dinner table if they cannot produce enough eggs for the
vicious, greedy Mrs. Tweedy (voiced by Miranda Richardson).
A spirited hen named Ginger (Julia Sawalha) who dreams of
freedom never gives up plotting an escape, including digging
under a wire fence with a spoon. But she is always caught by Mrs.
Tweedy's husband.
When a loner, American flying rooster named Rocky (Mel Gibson)
accidentally arrives at the farm, Ginger asks him to teach the
hens how to fly so they can escape.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Tweedy has plans to change the focus of the
business, meaning the chickens better hurry up and learn how to
fly if they do not want to be chicken pies.
This first full-length feature from the multiple Academy Award
winning team of Aardman offers plenty of gags for children, and
even more for adults. In fact, adults will get a kick from most
of the film's characters.
Mr. Tweedy tries hard to please his domineering wife. He is
constantly suspicious that the hens are organizing and planning
an escape, but his wife just yells at him, saying chickens do not
organize.
The film, directed by Peter Lord and Nick Park, also features
the old Fowler, the only other rooster on the farm, who bores the
hens with stories of his golden days in the Royal Air Force. A
bit envious of Rocky, Fowler says he is a typical American GI:
"Overpaid, oversexed and over here" (oops, some words might not
please parents).
Chicken Run is an excellent film and you will appreciate it
more once you think about the efforts of the filmmakers in making
the figures come to life.
Every second of film on the screen takes 24 frames. So the
filmmakers had to shoot 24 separate poses of each character for
every second of the film. Each shot shows the small movements of
the on-screen characters to ensure fluidity of movement.
On many days during production, the filmmakers' goal was to
complete just 10 seconds of film.
In the age where technology has enabled filmmakers to make
animated films with the help of computers, these filmmakers opted
to go through the painstaking technique of stop-motion.
Watch it and poultry products will never taste the same.
The second film, The Grinch (Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole
Christmas) is a live-action film based on the classic tale by the
late Theodor S. Geisel, or Dr. Seuss, the world-famous writer of
children stories.
Narrated by Anthony Hopkins, the film tells the story of a
city inside a snowflake called Whoville, which always holds the
most beautiful Christmas celebration.
Everybody is very happy except the Grinch, who lives in a cave
at the top of a mountain and hates Christmas the most. Why?
Nobody knows. Maybe because his head isn't screwed on just right,
or maybe his shoes are too tight or because his heart is two
sizes too small.
Everybody hates the Grinch, except a little girl named Cindy
Lou (Taylor Momsen), who believes there is still goodness in the
Grinch's heart.
Helped by his oppressed dog Max, the Grinch sets out to ruin
the Christmas celebration of the Whoville citizens.
The great physical comedian Jim Carrey was the perfect choice
to play the green and hairy Grinch. He leaps, twirls, stretches
his elastic face muscles to the extreme, as well as giving his
character heart.
This is a heartwarming film which offers witty humor and a
good lesson about the true meaning of Christmas.
The film is directed by Ron Howard and supported by a great
production design team, who did an excellent job bringing the
world of Whoville to life.
For years Hollywood had its eyes set on the stories of Dr.
Seuss, but he always turned down the offers. He only green-
lighted the animated version of the Grinch story in 1966, a movie
which was hailed by audiences and critics and went on to become a
holiday classic.
The author died in 1991 and after resisting many eager
filmmakers, his widow Audrey finally allowed producer Brian
Grazer (Apollo 13, Liar Liar) to turn the story into a live-
action film.
It looks like she made a good choice.
The third film is the sequel to the 1996 live-action
adaptation of a novel by Dodie Smith, The One Hundred and One
Dalmatians, about crazed billionaire Cruella De Vil (Glenn Close)
who is obsessed with fur coats and dreams of a owning the
ultimate fur coat made out of Dalmatians.
This time, Cruella has been released from a London prison
after three years in a special program which is meant to change
the behavior of inmates.
Cruella seems a changed woman who hates fur and soon becomes
an animal lover, particularly dogs.
Her parole officer, Chloe Simon (Alice Evans), however, does
not believe that dogs are safe with Cruella, who insists on being
called Ella.
Soon, Dalmatian puppies begin to disappear, but who is
stealing them?
Despite the fact that the film, directed by Kevin Lima, has
several amusing moments and great animal characters, including a
bird who thinks it is a dog, it is more suitable for children and
not-too-demanding adults. Most people would hope for more from a
Walt Disney production.
Glenn Close is suitably scary, but Gerard Depardieu is wasted
as vicious fashion designer Le Pelt.
However, it is not by all means a bad movie.