Hey folks, Harry here with our first look at OSMOSIS JONES from a test screening that took place last Saturday. Apparently the AOL/TIME/WARNER Lay-Off joys have just hit Warner Animation at the same time... Lots of folks being let go... Which is of course the best thing you can do for a company... let go of a lot of quality perfect at their job types just because some bean counter somewhere said... "If we downsize the company by 15%, we'll show that much more profit!" Oh joy. Never mind interupting the entire process of work, the relationships that remaining employees had... Creating an air of company-disloyalty... Ahhh... it is all good right? Sure it is.... SIGH... Anyway, M.G. below checked out the latest from Warner Animation and seems to like it at a level comparable to IRON GIANT and TOY STORY 2.... but at the same time has character problems with the main character played by Chris Rock... Now, how can the film be perfect if ya have problems with your main character? WELL... Apparently the film is funny as can be, PG-13 and visually dynamic as hell! Now let's see if Warner Brothers markets the thing.... Afterall... you did see the trailer this Holiday season didn't you? Oh... That's right.... THEY DIDN'T CUT ONE. Oh... Goody. Ugh...
Osmosis Jones Thoughts
Well Harry, I caught a test screening of the soon-to-be-released Warner Bros. flick "Osmosis Jones" on Saturday night. Although not all of the animation was completely finished, I would say it ranks up with "Toy Story 2" and The "Iron Giant" as one of my favorite animated movies ever.
While it’s not all animated, its not Roger Rabbit and Monkeybone style either. The movie follows two storylines: That of Bill Murray’s live action character, Frank, and that of the separate animated world inside Frank’s body.
Murray lives up to his comic godliness in this role, as a single father trying to raise his preteenage daughter, and doing a pretty poor job of it. His eating habits are disgusting. After wrestling with a monkey for an egg in a memorable sequence, the more important of the two stories begins. See, the story of Frank and his daughter and their antics is only a catalyst to the animated one.
This egg, which Frank eventually ends up getting from the monkey and eating, happens to contain a virus called the "Red Death." And this is where we first get introduced to the City of Frank. You see, the premise of the flick is that Chris Rock voices a while blood cell in the CFPD (City of Frank Police Department). He’s had a rough life up to this point on the force, and has been assigned to welcome a flu pill to the city (one which Frank has just swallowed). I won’t spoil the story, but let me tell you a little about the movie itself.
First off, the animation is great. They did a wonderful job bringing the city of Frank to life. The voice acting is equally strong. Various supporting roles by Will Shatner, David Hyde Pierce, Laurence Fishburne, and even Brandy as Lea, the Mayor’s secretary, all do their jobs well. Chris Rock voices the title character. Rock gives his normal performance and schtick, although I wondered why there was no "Man, why they always gotta be white blood cells" joke. Oh yeah.
The strongest thing the flick has going for it is the humor. Countless jokes that are puns based on parts of the body, totally Simpsons style humor. But alas, Rock’s character, sorta sucks. He’s just this wisecracking guy who really isn’t funny. The subtle, smart, sophisticated humor expressed throughout the rest of the movie is countered with Rock’s one-liners on the order of "Now that’s what I call Osmosis!"
The third act is a little long and tedious, and the final battle with the villain, as of the version I saw Saturday, was a little unclear as to what was going on. But afterwards, I actually thought a lot about it, and what’s inside my body and all that.
The only thing I worry about is how they’ll market it. People, this is the same studio that doomed "The Iron Giant" before it came out. Targeting this at the same audience as The Emperor’s New Groove is not the answer. It’s rated PG-13, and the Farrely Brother’s, who’ve built a reputation on gross-out films, didn’t let us down (last time it was a cow that wouldn’t die, this time it’s a monkey playing with himself). The live action supporting characters of Molly Shannon and Chris Elliot certainly aren’t PG friendly. But as we learned from Titan A.E., animated movies don’t market well to teenagers. But I want this flick to succeed! Any thoughts?
