For Grown-Ups (... the cynic kind)
Written: Jan 09 '07 (Updated Jan 18 '07)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Bang For The Buck |
 |
|
|
Pros: Good spoof on old fairy tales, plot with great potential, somewhat unique in its character
Cons: Narration too monotonous, average render quality, some characters annoying
The Bottom Line: An almost average movie despite great potential. Narration and heavy use of stereotypes distract from the underlying creativity.
|
|
|
| theuerkorn's Full Review: Happily N'Ever After |
If you believe there is such a thing as too many scripted happy endings much like what Disney movies are famous for (where even traditionally tragically tales are altered for the grand scheme happy ending), this might be the one movie for you. On the other hand, if you won't accept anything less than Disney's perfectly happy endings ... well, it may not be for you. ;-)
The advertisement: "From the Creators of Shrek" doesn't mean much as "Happily N'ever After" was actually produced in Germany (Berlin) and it shows in some architecture and characters. Given that the Bros Grimm pretty much laid the foundation for many of today's tales (by writing down the folklore), I see the German connection certainly as a good thing (kind of back to the roots). It sure helps me to get a chuckle out of some references that I am imagining to see (like a remote resemblance of "Werner"'s bikes).
Audience: [E] - The sarcastic approach to fairytales might actually restrict the audience to adults as some parents certainly wouldn't want their young to loose the illusion that Good always wins. Well it even does in this movie, so it should be safe. Being a parody of fairytales, however, it's about the same approach as Scary Movie and some viewers may not agree. Little children might get confused if they currently exposed to the real fairy tales. (But the same might happen with any of the SC Santa Clause movies, and they have to grow up sometime.)
Plot: [****-] - There is a lot of potential in the story with fairytales as a repeating story overseen by a wizard that makes sure the balance between good and evil is maintained (for happy endings ... happy, happy, happy). With the introduction of one of the standard misfit, the unavoidable chaos is just as certain as the true happy ending (despite the provoking title). You will find a wild mix of references to many tales and with it the story gets a little confusing (I guess Shrek had his hands in it). Nevertheless, the story as such was fairly well done, without truly breaking ground. Overall there is a little bit each viewer might identify with. (i.e. Pretentious pretty boy ever interfere with your life?)
Characters: [***--] - Character animation was average at best, but that's just the wrapping anyway. The development of true characters is left to reciting stereotypical concepts in the attempt to be fail-safe. Sure enough, there is the annoying sidekick (of course responsible for the trouble), the pretty heroes and the evil stepmother. However, the story is sort of kept in third person and has an interesting potential to avoid too much "Dinseyfication" (a.k.a. boredom). Yet, while parodying stereotypes it also does so with excessive stereotypes; like the massive use of cute annoying sidekicks and other aspects out of "101 of film making". The overall potential of the movie and the creativity still manage to shine through. For instance, I loved the European or more German "looks" of some characters and their attire. The artists made any attempt to spoof well known movies and the most obvious example might be the brooms that have strong resemblance of the "bikes" used in Star Wars (at least the noise they make).
Acting: [****-] - I am not going to dazzle you with the names belonging to the voices. Frankly, I rarely look them up and seldom base my decision on them either. Overall, it was well done and polished but listening to the narrator's "negativity" somehow felt like something was overdone. I guess a second viewing would make it much easier to digest, but it certainly came as a surprise and some concerned parents may even have been disturbed. However, that's not me, and my main issue is with the narrator's tone which left little room for the story to develop. Equally annoying is Mambo (yes the annoying wizard sidekick). Beyond those distractions, the voice acting and overall directing is actually quite good.
Graphics: [***--] - CG movies are becoming a commodity. There are those that are still breaking ground, and the others simply use the tools of the trade to tell their story. "Happily N'ever After" is certainly one of the latter and some effects look rather simple. Technical leadership may not have been achieved here, but overall graphics design and clever use of good graphics achieved a comical yet cartoon character with just enough realism to make it worth your time. Look at the foam when washing dishes or the sparingly used vegetation. Those could be interpreted as an attempt to give it a cartoon character, but certainly helped to reduce render/production time and with it cost. Despite the strong recycling of stereotypes, the graphics portion manages to retain a unique character.
© 2007, theuerkorn
Recommended:
Yes
Movie Mood: Funny Movie
Viewing Method: Other
Film Completeness: Looked complete to me.
Worst Part of this Film: Script
|
|
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.