Movie Review: Dora and the Lost City of Gold

Dora and the Lost City of Gold *** / *****

Directed by: James Bobin.

Written by: Matthew Robinson and Nicholas Stoller and Thom Wheeler based on the series created by Chris Gifford and Valerie Walsh and Eric Weiner.

Starring: Isabela Moner (Dora), Jeffrey Wahlberg (Diego), Nicholas Coombe (Randy), Madeleine Madden (Sammy), Eugenio Derbez (Alejandro Gutierrez), Eva Longoria (Elena), Michael Peña (Cole), Temuera Morrison (Powell), Danny Trejo (Boots the Monkey - voice), Benicio Del Toro (Swiper the Fox - voice).

 

In general, I take my girls (8 and 5) to see every kid’s movie that comes out – regardless of whether it’s going to be bad or not. I would like them to get into the habit of going to the movies – of watching them in a theater with an audience, and not just on special occasions, but on a regular basis. And dear reader, let me tell you, even I was planning on skipping Dora and the Lost City of Gold. We were never a Dora household when the kids were in that target age range – my wife found Dora to be incredibly creepy (she ain’t wrong) – and I just kind of assumed that my daughters would therefore not care, and not notice we didn’t go. And then they both came to me begging to go. So how could I say now? I wasn’t looking forward to watching the film – I figured I’d suffer through 100 minutes, and then go home. But you know something – the film wasn’t half bad – not at all. It’s smart and funny – knowingly playing with the inherent creepiness of Dora, without going crude or cruel. And it’s aimed at slightly older kids – those who grew up with Dora, and are still kids, but probably don’t watch Dora anymore – even if there is still some affection for her down deep. I’m not suggesting that you run out and see the film even if you don’t have kids – or even to catch it on Netflix in 6 months without kids. It’s not a Pixar movie that adults can get as much out of as kids. But I am saying that if you’re a parent, stuck watching Dora and the Lost City of Gold, you will have fun.

 

The film was directed by James Bobin and co-written by Nicholas Stoller – who combined to make the two most recent big screen adventures of the Muppets in 2011 and 2014. Both of those films were fun Muppet movies, and at the same time mocked the very idea of Muppet movies – but in a sweet, respectful way. They basically do the same thing with Dora – almost immediately mocking the idea of having a talking backpack and map, as well as Dora staring directly into the camera and asking us in the audience to say “delicioso” – to the confused reaction of her parents, who hope she’ll grow out of this stage eventually. There are also jokes about why Swiper – her arch nemesis, a fox who steals things, who need a mask – because who would recognize some random fox. There is even an animated sequence – where Dora and company become the version we know so well – but is the result of them being drugged.

 

But this is not, repeat not, an adult version of Dora – meant to simply mock the strangeness of cartoons aimed at preschoolers. It keeps the spirit of Dora the same. This is carried off wonderfully by star Isabela Moner – who is 18, and playing slightly younger than that. She plays Dora as a bright, cheerful home schooled dork – who has spent most of her life in the jungle with her Professor parents, and then finds herself in public school in L.A. alongside her more street-smart cousin, Diego. Dora is always herself – her cheerful, annoying self – smiling, singing and dancing her way through school, no matter how much she is mocked. Eventually, she will end up back in the jungle – alongside Diego and two other classmates searching for her parents, and as the title indicates, a lost city of gold. Moner is a delight throughout this movie – so very optimistic from beginning to end, and even if you chuckle when the bad guy says her relentless cheeriness drives him insane, you have to admit that Moner plays it well.

 

Basically, the film works on its own very modest terms. It’s fun and cheerful – full of songs and adventure. It basically decides to make Dora into a TV girl version of Indiana Jones, and include songs about poop along the way. It will delight children – and audiences watching alongside them, you’ll be surprised that you are entertained. If happiness is based on expectations, then Dora made me extremely happy because it so far exceeded my very low expectations.

Movie Review: Muppets Most Wanted

Muppets Most Wanted
Directed by: James Bobin.
Written by: James Bobin & Nicholas Stoller based on the characters created by Jim Henson.
Starring: Ricky Gervais (Dominic Badguy), Ty Burrell (Jean Pierre Napoleon), Tina Fey (Nadya), Steve Whitmire (Kermit the Frog / Foo Foo / Statler / Beaker / Lips / Rizzo the Rat / Link Hogthrob / The Newsman), Eric Jacobson (Miss Piggy / Fozzie Bear / Sam Eagle / Animal), Dave Goelz (The Great Gonzo / Dr. Bunsen Honeydew / Zoot / Beauregard / Waldorf), Bill Barretta (Pepe the King Prawn / Rowlf the Dog / Dr. Teeth / The Swedish Chef / Bobo the Bear / Big Mean Carl / Baby Boss / Carlo Flamingo / Leprechaun Security Guard), David Rudman (Scooter / Janice / Miss Poogy / Bobby Benson / Wayne), Matt Vogel (Constantine / Floyd Pepper / Sweetums / Pops / Robin / Lew Zealand / Crazy Harry / 80's Robot / Camilla / Uncle Deadly), Peter Linz (Walter / Manolo Flamingo).

If Jason Segel is to be believed, and I see no reason why he shouldn’t be, it was his idea, and not Disney’s to reboot The Muppets three years ago. I have a feeling that because it was his idea, that he had a little bit more leeway in making the movie – and that showed in the end result, which was irreverent and funny, and was a classic Muppet story with a modern twist. It used celebrity cameos smartly (like when Selena Gomez showed up as herself near the end of the movie, and didn’t really know who the Muppets were). By contrast, Muppets Most Wanted feels like an old, discarded Muppets script that the studio simply dusted off and rushed into production when the first one made more money than they thought it would. After an inspired opening – literally picking up right where the last film left off – the Muppets launch into a song about how they’re doing a sequel, and they start brainstorming ideas on what to do in it (By the way, I would love to see The Swedish Chefs idea as a feature film with Muppets – just saying), before Dominic Badguy (Ricky Gervais) shows up and suggests the Muppets go on a World Tour – and hire him to be their tour manager. So that’s what they do. But of course, since his last name is literally Badguy – he has ulterior motives that involve his boss Constantine – a frog who looks exactly like Kermit, except for a mole. Their plan is to break Constantine out, put Kermit in his place, and then steal the crown jewels. They are successful at first – and no one seems to realize that this isn’t the real Kermit – who is now stuck in a Siberian gulag with Tina Fey has his jailer.

Muppets Most Wanted feels like a throwback to the Muppets earlier big screen adventures – the time before they started doing stuff like A Christmas Carol or Treasure Island or going off into space. The plot is intentionally silly – and is really just an excuse to string together gags and countless celebrity cameos. And it should be said that some of the jokes are quite funny, and most of the movie is at least enjoyable in a low-key way. But the film never achieves the same level that the previous film did – and because it feels like a rehash of their older movies, doesn’t really live up to those ones either. The film runs almost two hours long – and my three year got bored both times I tried to show her the film (once in the theater – where she has never had a problem before or since – and once on DVD, where normally she sits in rapt attention). For slightly older kids, I’m sure the film will work as a time killer – and it won’t be too painful a sit for parents the first time through. But given how much fun the last film was, you cannot help but be disappointed.

There are numerous ways this films doesn’t quite live up the last one. One is the celebrity cameos – which were mainly done well in the last film, but here it just seems excessive. Practically everyone you see onscreen in any small, speaking role is a celebrity. It’s more fun to play spot the celebrity than it is to actually watch the movie. Look, there’s James McAvoy as a UPS Delivery Man! Chloe Grace Mortez selling newspapers! Stanley Tucci as a gulag guard! There thrown in for no rhyme or reason, and while it can be amusing, it also grows tiresome.

The same can be said of the movie itself – and strangely my daughter picked just about the time when the movie wore out its welcome, and then simply coasts the rest of the way – right around the hour mark. That’s when she stopped watching both times – and although the second time I finished, I have to admit that she left right when the film stopped being that much fun.

Muppets Most Wanted is not a bad movie – not really. It’s better than most of the crap aimed at children – and tries to be smart and witty and funny, but never quite pulls it off. It’s not a painful way to spend a couple of hours – but unlike the last film, which I would recommend to anyone whether they have kids or not, I cannot say the same thing about this one.

Movie Review: The Muppets

The Muppets *** ½
Directed by: James Bobin.
Written by: Jason Segel & Nicholas Stoller.
Starring: Jason Segel (Gary), Amy Adams (Mary), Chris Cooper (Tex Richman), Rashida Jones (Veronica Martin), Steve Whitmire (Kermit / Beaker / Statler / Rizzo / Link Hogthrob / The Newsman), Eric Jacobson (Miss Piggy / Fozzie Bear / Animal / Sam Eagle / Marvin Suggs), Dave Goelz (Gonzo / Dr. Bunsen Honeydew / Zoot / Beauregard / Waldorf / Kermit Moopet), Bill Barretta (Swedish Chef / Rowlf / Dr. Teeth / Pepe the Prawn / Bobo / Muppet Gary), David Rudman (Scooter / Janice / Miss Poogy / Wayne), Matt Vogel (Sgt. Floyd Pepper / Camilla / Sweetums / 80's Robot / Lew Zealand / Uncle Deadly / Roowlf / Crazy Harry), Peter Linz (Walter).

I have nothing but fond memories of The Muppets from my childhood. Watching reruns of the old show, their earlier, better movies are good memories from the past. They have languished in obscurity for a while – a movie studio who didn’t know what to do with them, or if anyone would care that they did anything at all – has kept them off the big screen for more than a decade. Perhaps they felt that The Muppets were too innocent for the cynical times we live in, or perhaps they felt that kids wouldn’t want to see puppets when they could instead see the latest technogical wizardry. But Jason Segel knew there would be an audience if he helped to bring The Muppets back – and I for one am grateful that he did.

This new film captures what is best about The Muppets – their innocence, their irreverent, self refrenetial sense of humor. And it doesn’t try to pretend that The Muppets are the big stars they once were. When we first meet Kermit for example, he’s walking around in a dilapidated mansion right out of Sunset Blvd. He is contacted by Gary (Segel) and his “brother” Walter (a Muppet) because they have just journey from their small town, called Small Town, to LA to take a tour of the Muppet studios, and have found it in disrepair. Even worse, they overhear the plans of rich oil man Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) who is planning on buying the studio to drill for oil underneath it. The only way to save their beloved theatre is to raise $10 million in just two weeks. Walter and Gary think that if Kermit can get the old gang back together and hold a telethon, they just may be able to do it. All of this is much to the chagrin of Gary’s girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams) who has been with him for 10 years, and thinks this trip to LA may be when he finally pops the question.

So the old gang is reunited (via montage, which of course The Muppets point out, even if Roowlf is disappointed that he is left out of the montage because his backstory was fascinating – at least to him). They get the whole gang back together – including an irate Miss Piggy who is still angry at Kermit for something that happened years ago, and they try their best to put on a show. Unfortunately, no network wants them – and the one that agrees to have them, insists on a celebrity host. Can they possibly pull it off?

I had a smile on my face pretty much from beginning to end of this movie – it is so innocent, so fun that I couldn’t help myself. The songs – the opening number Life’s a Happy Song, the heartfelt Pictures in My Head and the inspiring Man or Muppet in particular – are all wonderful. The performers behind The Muppets have not lost their step in the decade since The Muppets were on the big screen and the human actors Segel, Adams and Cooper play along with them wonderfully well. Of course, there is an air of nostalgia hanging over The Muppets, which may mean I enjoyed the movie more than perhaps I should have but I didn’t much care. I was just happy to have them back.