3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not that if you look at it through a kid's perspective, January 1, 2006
It was definitely made for the kid's toon audience,
but I have to say I liked it for the most part.
The animation isn't too shabby, the musical
scores and scenes are good. I guess what takes
people the wrong way is the use of comedy,
and fantasy (the cat tearing up the statues
while the King sings) and some other issues
with characters.
Yes it's not the 1956 version with Yul, nothing
will top that but it's still not that bad as
far as remakes and different versions go.
I would recommend if you have kids and you want
to introduce to a fun film with references
to the original which blends in some Middle Eastern
culture and values.
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18 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
It's bad enough it's a remake, but..., May 15, 2004
You know, there are some days when I watch a Miyazaki film, or I catch one of the old Looney Tunes from the 40's or 50's and I feel glad that I'm into animation. And then there are days when I see movies like this...and I wish I could go back in time and poke out Winsor McCay's eyes with his own ink pen.
I seriously doubt the writers for this film ever saw the original "The King and I," which holds up to audiences even today. What they did watch apparently was "Aladdin." Don't believe me? Let's see...an evil court advisor and his comedic sidekick planning to take over the government, a pet cat in the royal palace, a young man lying about his identity to get the girl, a ruler who changes the marriage law at the end so the boy can get the girl, a romantic conflict of royalty versus peasantry, a boy and his pet monkey...no that's not like Aladdin at all.
But what really bugs me about this film is the story. Why was so much changed? Why did they introduce the conflict of a villain? Why did they include that love story between the Burmese girl and the prince? The original love story between Anne and the King becomes irrelevent and poorly developed, and the movie gets lost in all it's unnecessary subplots. By the end you practically forget there was a love story between those two at all, and when they try to conclude it you're left unsatisfied.
Also, I don't want to hear any one saying this film is good because of the music. Yes, the music is good, but the people who made the film didn't orchestrate it, Rogers and Hammerstein did. I could remake "The Sound of Music," leave in all the songs, and turn it into a porn movie. Does that mean it's a good film? Besides, the songs are often ruined by the sight gags they have going on at the same time. The "Getting to Know You" scene is especially true of this, as for the song's entire duration all we see are the stupid fights between the monkey and villain's sidekick over the singing. And I mean this is during the WHOLE SONG.
Oh yeah, and what was up with all the animal sidekicks? There's like one for every character! First there's that monkey, then the cougar...and then an elephant? Did we really need the elephant? That was just overdoing it. And while we're talking about sidekicks...the villain's sidekick was very offensive. He's an Asian stereotype that I would expect in a 1930's film, but in this day and age, come on.
Animating "The King and I" could have been neat, but not by these people. In fact, I hope these people never animate. Again. Ever.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
King & I DVD, April 23, 2009
I recently sent a copy of the King & I to my grandchildren 9 years (girl) and 5 years (boy). The DVD arrived much sooner than I expected. They loved it so much that when I went to visit them, they insisted that I watch it with them. It was enjoyed by all.
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