Brothers, Love and Speed
Fat Albert is one of those amiable Christmas releases that is neither challenging nor offensive.
Based on the 1970s cartoon characters created by funnyman Bill Cosby (who appears and co-wrote the script with Charles Kipps), the story follows a group of North Philadelphia teens led by Fat Albert (Kenan Thompson) and their attempts to help others. The movie is true to its cartoon roots, beginning in the animated world, but it quickly switches to the real world and the troubled Doris (Kyla Pratt).
After a particularly difficult day, Doris goes home and watches the Fat Albert Show. When one of her tears somehow magically enters the animated universe, it is Fat Albert and the gang to the rescue. Mistakenly thinking Doris is in need of friends, Albert tries to find her some. In the meantime, the gang of Rudy (Shedrack Anderson III), Mushmouth (Jermaine Williams), Bill (Keith D. Robinson), Bucky (Alphonso McAuley), Old Weird Harold (Aaron A. Frazier), and Dumb Donald (Marques B. Houston) spend time adjusting to the real world, reveling in things like basketball, rap, and a host of other amenities the writers of the animated show never bothered to include.
Though clearly aimed at kids and those nostalgic for the television series, Fat Albert has a heart. The kids are rambunctious and enthusiastic, but well mannered and respectful, never cussing—several jokes take the incomprehensible Mushmouth to task for swearing—nor are they mean. The guys rib each other, particularly Bucky and Dumb Donald, but they're great pals.
The straightforward plot includes a sitcomish trip to the mall and a dead-end conflict with a school bully. The big complication is that the guys are rapidly fading away and must return to the animated universe—where Bill's brother Russell (voice of Jeremy Suarez) is trying to stop a rival group of kids taking over their beloved junkyard—or they will turn into celluloid dust. The guys know they have to go back, but they have each found a reason to stay in the real universe, particularly Fat Albert, who has found love in the form of Lauri (Dania Ramirez).
For a kid's movie, Fat Albert works with nice touches of humor, good sight gags—Albert, who is superhumanly fast, beats the high school bully in a race—a big musical number which will have kids and Gen Xers alike humming and clapping, and bright animation that is a far cry from the dreadful Filmation junk of the 1970s. The action wears thin for the non-Fat Albert fan after about an hour.
The message of doing your best, not being afraid, working together and loving each other is, essentially, the same message that Cosby imparted in every episode of the show. But Cosby freshens the big-screen version of his show and celebrates the kids' 1950s attitudes, which might appeal to a whole new (and old) generation of fans. It's a trifle, but that's what Christmas day is made for.
Based on the 1970s cartoon characters created by funnyman Bill Cosby (who appears and co-wrote the script with Charles Kipps), the story follows a group of North Philadelphia teens led by Fat Albert (Kenan Thompson) and their attempts to help others. The movie is true to its cartoon roots, beginning in the animated world, but it quickly switches to the real world and the troubled Doris (Kyla Pratt).
After a particularly difficult day, Doris goes home and watches the Fat Albert Show. When one of her tears somehow magically enters the animated universe, it is Fat Albert and the gang to the rescue. Mistakenly thinking Doris is in need of friends, Albert tries to find her some. In the meantime, the gang of Rudy (Shedrack Anderson III), Mushmouth (Jermaine Williams), Bill (Keith D. Robinson), Bucky (Alphonso McAuley), Old Weird Harold (Aaron A. Frazier), and Dumb Donald (Marques B. Houston) spend time adjusting to the real world, reveling in things like basketball, rap, and a host of other amenities the writers of the animated show never bothered to include.
Though clearly aimed at kids and those nostalgic for the television series, Fat Albert has a heart. The kids are rambunctious and enthusiastic, but well mannered and respectful, never cussing—several jokes take the incomprehensible Mushmouth to task for swearing—nor are they mean. The guys rib each other, particularly Bucky and Dumb Donald, but they're great pals.
The straightforward plot includes a sitcomish trip to the mall and a dead-end conflict with a school bully. The big complication is that the guys are rapidly fading away and must return to the animated universe—where Bill's brother Russell (voice of Jeremy Suarez) is trying to stop a rival group of kids taking over their beloved junkyard—or they will turn into celluloid dust. The guys know they have to go back, but they have each found a reason to stay in the real universe, particularly Fat Albert, who has found love in the form of Lauri (Dania Ramirez).
For a kid's movie, Fat Albert works with nice touches of humor, good sight gags—Albert, who is superhumanly fast, beats the high school bully in a race—a big musical number which will have kids and Gen Xers alike humming and clapping, and bright animation that is a far cry from the dreadful Filmation junk of the 1970s. The action wears thin for the non-Fat Albert fan after about an hour.
The message of doing your best, not being afraid, working together and loving each other is, essentially, the same message that Cosby imparted in every episode of the show. But Cosby freshens the big-screen version of his show and celebrates the kids' 1950s attitudes, which might appeal to a whole new (and old) generation of fans. It's a trifle, but that's what Christmas day is made for.
