Tag: family film

FOUR KIDS AND IT (2020) – Review

With the home-schooling battles and triumphs (hopefully) several weeks in the past, perhaps it’s time that the “wee ones” were rewarded with a (virtual) trip to the movies, jumping from their computer (and laptop and iPad) screens to the big living room flat-screen. The Trolls and the Scooby Gang arrived and mostly departed by the last big holiday. So what’s up for this holiday, the Fourth of July (aside from the neighbors blasting their fireworks all through dark night skies)? The “Mouse House’ is going to “ride out” the pandemic into the Fall, when we may get to view this year’s second Pixar feature (ONWARD squeezed in right before the shut-down), SOUL. Perhaps the small set would enjoy a flick based off of a recent (well, a reboot actually) classic, but featuring a mostly flesh and blood human cast (don’t worry, they’ll get a pixel fix). If that’s the case then they should get ready for a fantasy-adventure all about FOUR KIDS AND IT.

As the story begins we meet half of the title youngsters. Ten-year-old Ros (Teddie Malleson-Allen) is ecstatic to be stocking up on books at a local second-hand shop for her big holiday getaway. But first, she has to rescue her timid one or two years younger brother Robbie (Billy Jenkins) from some bullies before they can join their (newly single) father David (Matthew Goode) for the long car trip to their cottage near the coast in Cornwall. Not too far away newly single mom Alice (Paula Patton) takes her eldest ten-year-old daughter Smash AKA Samantha (Ashley Aufderheide) away from some local “toughs” (she’s their champ at smashing the windows of an old warehouse) and embarks on their big ‘holiday” with six-year-old little “sis” Maudie (Ellie-Mae Siame). To the kids’ shock, both groups arrive at the cottage within moments of each other. This must be a mistake! No, Alice and David have been secretly dating and thought this would be a perfect way for the kids to meet each other. Things get tense very quickly. Since they’re stuck with each other for the next few days, the youngsters head to the beach where local eccentric aristocrat Tristen Trent III (Russell Brand) notices them during his daily “explorations”. After he leaves, something under the sand snatches Maudie’s shoe. They soon find the culprit, a weird creature of legend, a magical sand faerie who calls himself Psammead (voice of Michael Caine). How is he magic? Well, he explains that he can grant one wish a day to each of the children, one which expires with sunset. Robbie is upset that Smash tossed his hand-held gaming device high up on a craggy hill, so he asks to be the world’s greatest climber. Psammead fills his own little body with air (perhaps) and expels it. Sure enough, Robbie scurries up the rocks like a certain “web-slinger”. And has to be rescued once night falls. The kids make it a point to get up early the next day in order to run to the beach and put in their wish. But can they keep the “new friend” away from their folks? Although their biggest threat may be Trent who has actually been searching for Psammead over the last few decades but now thinks that these “annoying” kids may lead him to his “prize”.

The title quartet does a commendable job of drawing us into the often outlandish plot quirks and contrivances. Their de facto leader may be Malleson-Allen as the down to Earth, fairly sensible Ros who seems to owe quite a bit of her personality to Jo March (Hmmm, “Little Women and a Little Troll”). But she’s not all “brains” as her heart nearly breaks as she finds that her former family will never reunite. Jenkins is the shy, queazy (oh, that “carsickness”) introvert who gradually starts to stand up for himself. Aufderheide is convincingly intimidating as the rough-edged Smash, but really shines as she gets her diva pop star wish and finally chips away at her hard outer emotional shell. And Siame is achingly adorable even as she spouts dialogue best suited for a teenager (some of the “pop therapy” lines are cringe-worthy). As for the “non-kids”, Goode is an endearingly befuddled pop (perhaps too clueless at times) as the frazzled David, while the gifted Patton does her best to wring laughs from Alice’s “food frustrations” (oh boy she burned dinner again, call the pizza place). Perhaps he’s hoping to reach a wider audience, but it’s disconcerting to see the cutting-edge wit of Brand somewhat dulled in order to play the standard adult bumbling comic villain, sort of a male Cruella DeVille (or Jim Carrey as Count Olaf and Dr. Robotnik in some recent kid flix). When he’s not gazing with disgust at the kid -heroes, he’s wringing his hands with greedy delight over exploiting the sand faerie, and inevitably getting the brunt of some slapstick humiliation. This comic rebel seems too smart for such buffoonery. The same can be said for Mr. Caine (excuse…Sir Michael) as the voice of Psammead, who plays the odd creature as a feisty frisky grandpa’ trying to have fun with the lil’ sprites while teachin’ em’ a lesson. I can only imagine Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon riffing on his role in (hopefully) another “trip” romp. It would certainly be funnier than the lines Caine gamefully infuses with his rascally charm.

Tv vet Andy De Emmony does his best to keep the pace running smoothly, but his efforts are done in by the predictable plot points and forced bits of pathos concerning “blended” families. It all comes down to the screenplay from Simon Lewis and Mark Oswin adapting the children’s’ book by Jacqueline Wilson (which was a retelling of a story from nearly 120 years ago called “Five Children and It”). The parents veer from being ineffective bystanders to almost criminally incompetent (or irresponsible). And really, who springs such a life-changing decision on their kids during a vacation? For a fantasy feature flick, the special effects are truly “hit and miss”. One wish involves flight, and the four kids soar through the green Irish locales like junior Kryptonians, but the gags involving the crumbling Trent estate seem right out of “Lego-land” with some “iffy” miniature work. And then there’s “It”, a CGI “beastie” looking like the lovechild of E.T. and Clyde the orangutan from those 80s Eastwood comedies. He never feels as though he has any “weight”, especially as he “sand swims” and blows up like a pufferfish (all for some mandatory kiddie flick flatulence gags). It all leads to a sunny upbeat ending (with a “message” of course) that doesn’t feel earned. FOUR KIDS AND IT may temporarily distract the youngest viewers, but for most of the family, it’s a noisy, befuddled, forgettable, familiar farce. Now if only I could banish the Psammead from my spicy food-induced nightmares.

One Out of Four

FOUR KIDS AND IT screens in select theatres and is available as a Video On Demand on most cable and satellite systems along with many streaming apps and platforms.

CHRISTOPHER ROBIN – Review

Christopher Robin (Ewan McGregor) with his longtime friend Winnie the Pooh in Disney’s CHRISTOPHER ROBIN.

The Winnie the Pooh stories are among the great treasures of childhood but this seeming re-write of the sad life of the real Christopher Robin might unsettle adults who learned the true story of A. A. Milne’s son in last year’s GOODBYE CHRISTOPHER ROBIN. Ordinarily, a chance to revisit A. A. Milne’s delightful world of the Hundred Acre Wood through film would be most welcome but in light of the sad story revealed in that film, there is something off about the way Disney’s new live-action CHRISTOPHER ROBIN goes about that, with a tale in which a grown Christopher Robin reconnects with happy childhood memories of Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, Eeyore and the rest. GOODBYE CHRISTOPHER ROBIN revealed the much sadder true story of Milne’s son Christopher Robin, the real boy who was the inspiration for the stories’ fictional one, and the way the publication of the books had a devastating effect on his childhood. The Disney film seems to cut out the unpleasant parts of the real person’s story to create a happier one, which just feels wrong, or at least it will likely seem that way to anyone who saw last year’s powerful drama.

Still, kids certainly will be unaware of all that, as will adults who didn’t see the earlier film and, of course, parents can chose to ignore it too. Actually, in this story, it is the fictional Christopher Robin who has grown up, with a life parallel life to Milne’s real son but with the trauma just cut out. Purely as a family film, CHRISTOPHER ROBIN is a crowd-pleaser, with period charm, lovely locations, nice performances, and a likable fantasy tale that will entertain both children and parents. The live-action combination of actors and CGI-animated stuffed animals is very well done, and the characters are a much better, more faithful depiction of A.A. Milne’s delightful creations than in the earlier Disney animated versions.

The film is directed by Marc Forster, who has successfully mixed children’s literature and the real people behind the stories before in FINDING NEVERLAND, about the creation of Peter Pan. But while children will delight in the Disney live-action/CGI animated stuffed animal characters in this appealing Winnie the Pooh fantasy, there remains something unsettling about the way the film simply erases out all the unpleasant parts. A.A. Milne’s Pooh stories are wonderful but the success of the books and readers’ interest in the real boy who shared the books’ fictional character’s name turned his parents into greedy stage parents exploiting their son, an experience that haunted him throughout life.

The story is set in a post-World War II London, and Ewan McGregor plays a grown-up Christopher Robin, with Robin being his last name. The film gives us a scene of young Christopher Robin saying farewell to his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood, as in “The House At Pooh Corner,” and then a quick recap of growing up and into adulthood that roughly resembles part of young Milne’s life. After service in the war, the adult Christopher Robin has a wife, Evelyn (Hayley Atwell) and a nine-year-old daughter, Madeline (Bronte Carmichael), but all his time seems to be taken up by his job as an efficiency manager at a luggage manufacturer. He likes his job and his department of oddball co-workers (played by a wonderful assortment of British character actors) but works too-long hours and is a bit too serious and stern with his young daughter.

Unfortunately, the luggage company is not doing well, and Christopher’s boss Giles Winslow (a delightfully obnoxious Mark Gatiss) insists that he has to work the weekend so they can cut 20 percent from company costs, cuts that may involved layoffs among Christopher’s staff. Working the weekend will spoil his plans for a long-awaited family weekend at the Sussex cottage where the child Christopher Robin played with his toys in the Hundred Acre Wood. Fortunately, Christopher Robin’s childhood friend Pooh and the rest return to save the day and help the grown man reconnect with his childhood and his daughter in a magical adventure.

The real appeal of this film are A.A. Milne’s characters, brought to life in well-done CGI stuffed animal animation and fine voice acting performances. Visually, the film is wonderful. The mix of live actors and stuffed animal characters is seamless and wholly-convincing, as one expects from Disney, and scenes were shot on location in London and Sussex. There is plenty of action, silly humor and exciting chases to please young viewers. Early on, there are a few tense, dark moments which may upset some younger children (not as harsh as BAMBI) but the story quickly switches tone and eventually delivers the kid-pleasing happy ending and a message about family that will please parents.

On the plus side, the film offers an appealing versions of Milne’s characters, much more true to their charm and clever humor than the earlier simplified animated versions. Parents who have not read the originals to their kids should remedy that immediately, as adults will delight to find the stories entertaining and smarter than you expect based on the Disney versions.

While the plot is pretty familiar, mostly a standard tale of a man re-discovering what really is important in his life, director Marc Forester, who also directed FINDING NEVERLAND, has a few surprises in mind. Ewan McGregor turns in a nice performance as Christopher and gets strong backing from the rest of the cast. The voice acting hits all the right comic notes, particularly Brad Garrett as Eeyore and Jim Cummings as Pooh. Others lending their voices include Toby Jones as Owl, Peter Capaldi as Rabbit and Sophie Okonedo as Kanga.

However, the biggest appeal, not surprisingly, are Milne’s beloved characters. Of course, Winnie the Pooh is front and center in this fantasy of a man getting back in touch with his childhood but the surprise and delight is the prominent role given to Eeyore, a character much funnier in the books than in the cartoon version. We still get the hyperactive Tigger and all the other characters to varying degrees. As said earlier, these version are more true to the smarter, funnier books.

Kiddies won’t notice this but adults who saw GOODBYE CHRISTOPHER ROBIN will notice the striking visual parallels between this film and the drama, which will keep that other darker tale of bad parenting in the front of mind, perhaps Foresters’ subtle unspoken cautionary commentary. Parents who have not seen GOODBYE CHRISTOPHER ROBIN might want to consider seeing it before taking their kids to this happy fantasy, although that earlier drama is not suitable for some kids, as director Marc Forster may intend some of the subtext as a cautionary tale for parents. The underlying message, buried under all the kid-friendly entertainment, is to let kids be kids, whether one is aware of the true story behind this or not. Other grown-ups who fondly remember Winnie the Pooh should be aware of the sad true story depicted in the drama before embracing this white-washed version of the grown-up Christopher Robin.

For kids, CHRISTOPHER ROBIN is an enjoyable family film, the kind that can entertain both them and their parents, and particularly delightful if they have read the real A.A. Milne stories. For parents who saw the earlier drama, it has a cautionary message. Other grown-up Pooh fans should check out the sad true story depicted in the drama before embracing this fictional tale of Christopher Robin.

RATING: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars