CARTOON JUNGLE OF 'THORNBERRYS' GROWS ON YOU.Byline: Valerie Kuklenski Staff writer LOOKING AT the animated African vistas and wildlife scenes in ``The Wild Thornberrys Movie,'' it would be easy to dismiss it with, ``Well, it ain't no 'Lion King.' '' True, but ``The Wild Thornberrys Movie'' makes up for its lack of artistic polish with a good story that deals with contemporary problems in the rugged reaches of the continent in the context of a fantasy-rich cartoon. In the movie and the Nickelodeon series on which it's based, Eliza Thornberry (Lacey Chabert) is the bright, bespectacled, brace-faced 12- year-old daughter of wildlife documentarians Nigel (Tim Curry Timothy James Curry (born April 19, 1946) is an English actor, singer and composer, perhaps best known for his role as mad scientist Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). He also had a career as a rock musician. ) and Marianne (Jodi Carlisle) Thornberry. Her big sister, Debbie (Danielle Harris), could not be more bummed out, being so far from boys and malls, but Eliza loves her life. Not only is she inquisitive, she's got a special gift, courtesy of a spell cast Spell Cast (MediaCorp TV Channel 5 Singapore) premiered June 5 2007. It is a spelling game show. Earlier this year, Channel 5's new spelling game show Spell Cast, well, cast its net for young spelling mavericks aged 9 to 12 years. by a shaman: She can talk with animals. Eliza has a knack for getting herself and her chimp companion, Darwin (Tom Kane For other people named Tom Kane, see Thomas Kane Tom Kane was born in 1962 in Overland Park, Kansas. With over 25 years of experience, he is a prominent voice actor in the U.S. who is best known for his animation work. ), into tight spots. At the beginning of the movie, she tries to stop poachers in a helicopter from snatching a cheetah cheetah (chē`tə), carnivore of the cat family, Acinonyx jubatus, native to Africa S of the Sahara and SW Asia as far east as India. cub and nearly is killed when she plummets from the rope ladder. Her parents reluctantly consent to British ``grandmumsy'' Cordelia's (Lynn Redgrave Lynn Rachel Redgrave, OBE (born 8 March, 1943) is two-time Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning English/American actress born into the famous Redgrave acting family. ) proposal that Eliza be packed off to a boarding school in England for her own protection. It's no surprise that she doesn't last long in that structured environment. Besides, she has unfinished business with those poachers in the Serengeti who next are setting their sights on a herd of elephants. The Klasky Csupo  This article or section is written like an .Please help [ rewrite this article] from a neutral point of view. Mark blatant advertising for , using . production company proudly points to authenticity in details ranging from the illustrated vegetation and tribal costumes to the Ligala dialogue spoken by tribesmen. Such efforts probably will be lost on the 5- to 10-year-olds that will be seeking out the movie. The greatest strength of ``The Wild Thornberrys Movie'' is its ability to relate basic truths - poachers are bad, respecting wildlife and native peoples is good - in a way that is fun, fast-paced and accessible without being patronizing. THE WILD THORNBERRYS MOVIE - Three stars (PG: some adventure peril) Starring: Voices of Lacey Chabert, Tim Curry, Lynn Redgrave, Rupert Everett, Brenda Blethyn. Directors: Jeff McGrath and Cathy Malkasian. Running time: 1 hr. 28 min. Playing: Wide release. In a nutshell: In a fast-paced adventure story populated pop·u·late tr.v. pop·u·lat·ed, pop·u·lat·ing, pop·u·lates 1. To supply with inhabitants, as by colonization; people. 2. by wild creatures and wacky characters, Eliza risks losing her cherished gift of talking with wild animals WILD ANIMALS. Animals in a state of nature; animals ferae naturae. Vide Animals; Ferae naturae. in an effort to stop poachers and save her family. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Eliza talks with animals while trying to save them in ``The Wild Thornberrys Movie.'' |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion