Talking About the Movies: Holiday Family Flicks

Looking for family fun this holiday/school-recess season? If so, you might want to drop in on one of several current movies that may appeal to kids and adults alike. I caught four such films recently and was surprised by the diversity and level of family entertainment they offered.

The Cat in the Hat

The Cat in the Hat takes the rudimentary plotting elements of the Dr. Seuss book (bored children—home alone—perked up by a mischievous cat), and expands on the story with a “love interest” (Alec Baldwin) for Mom, a somnambulant baby sitter for the kids, and lots of added magic, gadgetry and out-of-the-house chases.

Mike Myers (aka Austin Powers) interprets the visiting cat with just enough risqué touches to amuse the parents without the children’s noticing. And Thing 1 and Thing 2 are a delight for all with their alien visages and talents for creating unbridled mayhem on the screen.

The Cat in the Hat is a live-action film but one so candy-colored in settings and costumes and so rhythmically-charged that it has the look and feel of a cartoon fantasy. It’s quite different from the book but still great fun.

Brother Bear

By contrast, Brother Bear is an excellent example of what the Disney people do best—hand-drawn cel animation that renders nature and the imaginary world of animal life in gentle, beautiful ways.

Brother Bear’s story is that of a Native American lad who achieves manhood after being turned into a bear and living among animals. What distinguishes this and similar animated films (e.g. The Lion King) is that the animal characters are dimensioned, introspective, philosophical and often funny.

Wonderful comedy, for example, is derived from two moose characters who do exercise stretching before beginning their day in the woods, and who play a minimalist game of “I Spy” when a pine tree is the only object in sight.

Brother Bear’s artistic drawing style is beautifully impressionistic and pastoral, delivered in wide-screen format, and enhanced by the songs and ballads of Phil Collins. Brother Bear is a true winner for the whole family.

Looney Tunes: Back in Action

Looney Tunes: Back in Action combines live-actor footage with familiar Warner Bros. cartoon characters for a lightweight suspense comedy on the order of Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

As with Roger Rabbit, film buffs will enjoy recognizing “old” animated friends as well as scenes that spoof James Bond films, Psycho, Austin Powers, The Mummy and other well-known action movies.

Plot-wise, Brendan Fraser and Jenna Elfman lead an extended search for a disgruntled Daffy Duck. They trek from Hollywood to Las Vegas, from Paris to Africa.

I felt that along the way the cartoon characters began to seem irrelevant. But there was one very imaginative scene in the Louvre in Paris where the cartoon characters entered famous paintings by Munch, Dali, Monet and other masters. Delightfully, the characters bodies metamorphosed into shapes that matched the visual style of each painting.

Looney Tunes: Back in Action is essentially a series of visual stunts, cinematic in-jokes and surprise guest cameos. People who like reflexive cinema—a film about film—will probably enjoy this effort more than others. And my guess is that young children might be bored at times.

ELF

Finally, ELF is that honest-to-goodness holiday film that really sets out to celebrate the season. Will Ferrell portrays Buddy, a human being who has been raised as an elf in Santa’s North Pole world.

When Buddy’s desire to reconnect with his real father (James Caan) takes him down to Earth, his elfish innocence leads to all kinds of frustration and confusion for everyone involved.

Thematically, ELF evolves into a seasonal story about the importance of faith and belief in sustaining the spirit of Christmas. In this sense ELF will remind one of Miracle on 34TH Street, one of the great holiday classics, in which unquestioning faith eventually overcomes cynicism.

The climactic scene of ELF occurs when Santa Claus (Ed Asner) and his impaired sleigh are stranded in New York’s Central Park on Christmas Eve. It’s a scene designed to appeal to filmgoers’ emotions, and that it does. ELF truly is heartwarming fare, and it was my favorite.—Frank Beaver, professor of Film and Video Studies.

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