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Underdog. The Disney folks could not have picked a better name for their end-of-summer, hope-to-make-more-bucks “family” movie.
Based on the animated kids' show of the 60's, it’s arguably the worst non-cartoon film ever reeled out of the studio, with a talking dog that has the voice of a cranky neighbor (Jason Lee from "My Name is Earl"), an evil human dwarf that is an insult to those afflicted with dwarfism (Peter Dinklage, how did you agree to this tripe after being so great in "The Station Agent" and "Nip/Tuck?"), a completely worn-out plot about a bereaved father and son (Mom died recently, since every kid in a Disney movie has to be at least partially orphaned), and computerized, non-stop blurred action that dulls the senses.
I’ve accompanied children to Disney movies a multitude of times, but this is the first time that even the kids were bored restless. Throughout the entire film—which tried pathetically hard to be funny—the audience of children laughed just twice, and not loudly.
Add to this the observation of one pre-adolescent: “Did you see all those ads? That’s all it was!” In fact, there were enough product placements to please any sponsor, in this case General Mills and Subway. But take note, advertisers: the kids are on to you and are not impressed.
So, to all who are looking for ways to cool kids down these final days of summer, DON’T waste time, money or minds on this film. As another kid in the audience said, “Boy, they sure named this one right…really an underdog!”
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