Gulliver's Travels

I feel I should open this review by admitting up front that Gulliver's Travels was not made for me. It's made for kids up to a certain age. (I'd say 11, or so.) I didn't much care for it, but then again, I am not 11 or so. I am at least able to admit that as far as kid's entertainment (kid's, not family entertainment) goes, this is much better than its current rival, the boring Yogi Bear.

If the title leads you to think that you are paying to see an adaptation of the classic story by Jonathan Swift, then the fact that Jack Black's face is on the poster will probably lead you to expect that it's not a very faithful one. The very basic elements of the story are there, though modernized to appeal to kids. Gulliver (or Lemuel Gulliver, as his full name goes) has been transformed into a 30-something man-child working in the mail room of a local New York newspaper. Black plays him with a lot of goofy enthusiasm and naive sweetness, which I'm sure kids will find easy to relate to. Gulliver has not done a lot in his life, which hasn't helped him get ahead in his job, or talk to the woman at work whom he has a crush on, the lovely travel editor Darcy (Amanda Peet). He decides to change all that, but goes about it the wrong way. He lies to Darcy, saying he's an experienced traveler and writer, and after plagiarizing a piece to prove his ability as a writer, she gives him a shot by sending him off to Bermuda to cover a story about the Bermuda Triangle.

Sailing to his destination, Gulliver finds himself in the middle of a storm, and a massive whirlpool which pulls him into its vortex. When he comes to, he is shipwrecked on a distant island, and finds himself prisoner in the kingdom of Lilliput, where the inhabitants are odd thimble-sized people who live in ancient castles, and speak old English dialect, but apparently possess great technological knowledge, as they're capable of creating giant transforming robots for Gulliver to wrestle with during the film's climax. At first, Lilliput's King (Billy Connolly), Queen (Catherine Tate), and lovely young Princess (Emily Blunt) are suspicious of the strange, giant visitor, but when they discover that his massive size is an advantage in their battle against the neighboring war kingdom, they herald him a hero. Gulliver becomes an overnight celebrity in the tiny kingdom, and befriends a humble peasant named Horatio (Jason Segel), who is in love with the Princess, even though she is engaged to be married to the jealous General Edward (Chris O'Dowd).

The movie plays out pretty much how you expect. There's a message for the kids about being yourself, in the form of Gulliver making up stories to the Lilliput people about his former adventures (which are stolen from movies like Star Wars and Titanic), in a foolish attempt to get them to like him, which ultimately gets him in trouble when his boasting goes too far. There are plenty of pop culture references, some of which are sort of clever, such as when Gulliver has the tiny Lilliput people create their own version of Times Square in the center of the kingdom. (An idea I wish the filmmakers had taken further.) And of course, there is some bodily fluid humor to be found. You can't have a movie with a giant Jack Black, and not show his titanic butt crack at some point, I guess. The kids at my screening found the sight particularly hilarious. They howled with laughter even more when Gulliver saves the King from burning to death by dousing the fire with a "yellow shower".

Fortunately, Gulliver's Travels does not rely on this humor too often. It's pretty harmless stuff all around. Jack Black is energetic, and the effects used to create the illusion that he is a giant amongst these tiny people can be sort of imaginative in an old fashioned way. It's certainly not state of the art stuff, but it gets the job done. That being said, there's not a lot here to recommend unless you're in the right age group. The movie is cute and energetic, but not all that funny for adults. And if you're a purist of the original story, don't even think of watching this. Just download the trailer. The images of Jack Black rocking out to a miniature KISS tribute band, or grappling with a giant robot should be enough to tell you that a faithful adaptation was the last thing on the mind of screenwriters Joe Stillman (Planet 51) and Nicholas Stoller (Get Him to the Greek).

One Final Note: Once again, Hollywood's greed shows through, and Gulliver's Travels is being presented in 3D, when there is really no need for it. The 3D was added in post production, is largely pointless, and adds absolutely nothing whatsoever. I can only hope that families (and audiences in general) will one day take a stand against this obvious fleecing, but seeing as though my screening was full of kids and parents looking for something to do over the Christmas break, that day won't be anytime soon.

See the movie times in your area or buy the DVD at Amazon.com!

1 comments