Not flawless, certainly (the wormhole plotting was over-complicated, the son-rebels-against-Dad-then-realises-how-much-he-really-loves-him stuff felt pat, and the historical characters were a bit Night At The Museum lite) but the film as a whole seemed to me far superior to The Lego Movie. Some of the set-pieces had real charm and vim, and the script was considerably wittier (my favourite line: Robespierre flattened against the windscreen: 'I'll get you, dog! And your little boy too!'). Nonetheless this has opened to modest box-office, where The Lego Movie has busted the blocks and set all kinds of cash-raking-in records. What gives? I don't know. It doesn't help that it's saddled with a heroically unmemorable title. Or maybe it's too bitty; or too old-fashioned. Or maybe the idea of a superintelligent talking dog just doesn't hit the public sweet spot. In other news, the director Rob Minkoff could be Frankie Boyle's younger, better-looking brother.
One more observation, tossed-in at random. What's with all the father-son bonding? That was The Lego Movie vibe too: not mother-daughter, not even father-daughter, but father-son. 2014 is shaping up to be a pretty male year, pop-culture-wise. Frozen seems very last-year, all of a sudden.
To be fair, the movie hasn't opened in the US yet (which will surely be its main market) - the relatively muted reception in the UK is probably due to the fact nobody knows about Mr Peabody and Sherman over here.
ReplyDeleteFair point.
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