![]() ![]() ![]() In taking DiCamillo’s 200-page book aimed at the Elementary-to-Middle School crowd and expanding it into a 95-minute movie, director Lena Khan and screenwriter Brad Copeland have concocted a perplexing story arc that veers wildly from cartoon clowning to sub-Hallmark Channel platitudes.Īdd in a fortune-cookie level of dialogue and characters that only occasionally rise above two dimensional - Schwartz as Mr. Because, while it will surely appeal to and enchant children in equal measure, it is likely to fall as flat as a car crushed by a giant concrete donut (yes, that happens, too) for the adults in the audience. It is a rare, not to mention perplexing, combination that serves to knit the Buckman family back together, but only after they careen through a series of misadventures that also include a malign cat and a baffling newspaper interview that will leave viewers scratching their heads for days.Īnd therein lies the movie’s biggest failing. Ulysses, thus named by Flora after being sucked into a runaway vacuum - hence the need for squirrely CPR at the beginning of the movie - is undoubtedly the star of the show, with super-hero traits that range from writing winning poetry to flying to Mr. ![]() In particular, watch for the hilarious Donut Shop scene a pantomime villain (Pudi) in a role cast straight from the Dick Dastardly mold (minus the mustache) and the cutest CGI animal since Paddington Bear. It includes plenty of well-delivered slapstick. Instead, this is more a gentle tale for children of the right age (probably the six to 10-year-old age group), and it centers on the dysfunctional Buckman family and their inability to get along or, in the case of her father (played by Schwartz), hold down even a basic job at a Staples-lookalike store. Now, this isn’t the latest offering from the Marvel Universe, hence Flora’s squirrel, which she names Ulysses, won’t be facing up to any Earth-defending moments or super-villain shenanigans. ![]()
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