WONDER PARK

Voices of:  Brianna Denski     Jennifer Garner     Matthew Broderick     Norbert Leo Butz     John Oliver

Ken Hudson Campbell     Mila Kunis     Kenan Thompson     Ken Jeong

     Wonder Park is a wonderful mixture of adventure, risk and daring-do, problem solving, optimism in the face of setbacks—even some philosophical musings (especially on the part of porcupine Steve in the voice of Oliver) and journeys into grief and depression.

     Ten year-old June (Denski) has a vivid imagination, which is encouraged by her mother (Garner) and father (Broderick).  (Seldom in kids movies are parents shown to be so reasonable and nurturing.)  She and her mother have built a glorious Wonder Park populated by animals June is close to as well as fanciful rides.  She gets a bit rambunctious at times, once laying waste in the neighborhood, for which she must suffer the consequences.  But she is not to be discouraged about rebuilding what is broken; her mother expresses supreme confidence in her ability and imagination.

     Soon after, her parents have some distressing news, which is that the mother is ill and must go away for treatment.  June is devastated and angry, and becomes overly solicitous (bossy) of her dad, and is rude to a visiting aunt and uncle.  She throws a tantrum and throws one of her presents into the fireplace.  She will discover some of the consequences of this behavior later, first in the form of a blueprint flying about by the wind in a forest.  

     Suddenly, June stumbles upon an abandoned train car, and finds herself traveling to parts unknown.  What she happens upon is a curious Wonder Park that is real, but that looks a lot like hers.   Moreover, this Wonder Park is in deep trouble.  It’s been invaded by Chimpanzombies who are in the process of destroying everything, along with a giant dark cloud that periodically appears, bringing the darkness.  She learns this after she encounters some of her old friends like Boomer (Campbell), Steve, Gus (Thompson), Cooper (Jeong), and Greta (Kunis).  But Peanut (Butz) is missing!  The animals explain to her that Peanut knew that the key to restoring the Park is the Clockwork Swings; he had gone to fix it, but never returned.  Now June knows that her job is to find Peanut and fix the Clockwork Swings.  On her way, she’ll have to deal with all the threats in Wonder Park causing problems and endangering her and her friends.

     Along with the brilliant animation and voices, the story is one of the strongest assets of Wonder Park.  In telling the entertaining, suspenseful tale, it manages to maintain a sense of adventure while dealing with grief and depression, trust, self-discovery, social concerns for community and fellow citizens, conscience and redemption, and maintaining a positive outlook on life—a tall order for a children’s movie.  Principal credit for all this goes to the story authors and screenwriters, Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec, and Robert Gordon, and additionally to composer Steven Price, cinematographer John Garcia Gonzalez, and all of the artistic and animation crews.  Apparently David Feiss became the director late in the production after the original director was dismissed.

This is one of the best movies for children ever to come along.

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland

CRAZY RICH ASIANS

Constance Wu     Michelle Yeoh     Ken Jeong     Henry Golding    

 Gemma Chan     Harry Shum, Jr.     Awkwafina     Sonoya Mizuno

     The story begins in New York in 1995, showing the Young family arriving at a hotel, expecting their reservation for a suite to be honored, but the dismissive clerk and his supervisor unsympathetically turn them away, until they are informed exactly who the Young family is:  the wealthiest family in Singapore who has bought the hotel!  This sets the stage for a depiction of friction and animosity among social classes, probably in all countries.

     Cut to New York in 2018, when one of the children in tow that trying night is now grown up. Nick Young (Golding), who has become a professor at NUY, is courting a fellow professor of Chinese descent, Rachel Chu (Wu), and inviting her to go to Singapore with him when he is best man at his friend’s wedding. And, by the way, she can meet his family.  Now, he is so overjoyed about not being “recognized” by Rachel (he has hated the “fame” his family enjoys, so has decided not to clue her in on his family’s cushy situation).

     Rachel gets a brief introduction to his background when they are given first class seats on the plane over, and he has to explain that the family business gets complimentary treatment.  She puzzles about this, but brushes it out of her mind.  She is in for a big surprise.

     As she is introduced to more and more relatives and arrives at stunning mansions, its overwhelming, but she soldiers on, partly with the help of her old college friend, Goh Paik Lin (hilariously played by Awkwafina), whom she finds lives in her own mansion, although not of the grandeur of the Youngs’.  Lin helps her dress more appropriately and provides moral support throughout Rachel’s stay.

     What we’re treated to next is the lavish lifestyle of rich Singaporeans, with abundance and excess everywhere.  It’s ironic that some of the natives are dismissive of Americans’ materialism, when what we see in many of the characters is even more exaggerated. Imagine a “rare Cambodian bong” to call people to dinner, emerald earrings costing over a million dollars, groom’s and bride’s parties at exotic islands, and a wedding that cost $40 million (scandalous, when no one should spend over $20 million!).  

     Well, to most of us, it will be an enjoyable fantasy to “live” for a while in this setting.  But, indeed, all is not happy in fantasyland.  Some must deal with marital infidelity, Rachel will encounter livid jealousy (expressed in an atrocious gift on her pillow), her boyfriend’s mother will be piercingly cruel, and she will be forced to reconsider what she is getting herself into.

     Crazy Rich Asians, directed by Jon M. Chu, succeeds in what it set out to do—entertain and, perhaps, enlighten us on the issues encountered by people of mixed heritage and class, which is especially graphically presented when Rachel herself is given information about her past that she never knew about.  The actors capture their roles perfectly, the music by Brian Tyler lyrically supports the action, and there are enough soulful moments to elevate the film above simple entertainment.

A crowd pleaser that just may be eligible for the Academy Awards’ new category, “Best Popular Movie.”

Grade:  B+                                    By Donna R. Copeland

NORM OF THE NORTH

Voices of:     Rob Schneider     Heather Graham     Ken Jeong     Bill Nighy

          It’s disappointing that Norm of the North had a great opportunity to contribute to children’s understanding of climate change and its consequences; instead, it presents a simplistic and rather self-serving argument about preserving the Arctic and why humans should be concerned about it.  By focusing entirely on saving a few polar bears’ home, no mention is made of the Arctic’s importance to all animal and human kind.  It implies that if we can just keep the real estate moguls out of it, the area will remain pristine, e.g., no mention is made of global warming or the effects of cargo ships sailing through the melted ice.

          Dramatic elements are quite silly; it’s one thing to be fanciful and another to plug in whatever comes to mind without regard for cohesion or logical transitions.  Norm (Schneider) is a gentle bear who is next in line to be king of the Arctic, but he is awkward and a poor hunter.  He is shown to have too soft a heart to kill his prey and is ridiculed by all the other animals.  Instead, he likes to dance, as in a real human dance, which is one of the endless anthropomorphic twists that are thematic throughout the story. 

         Norm ends up in New York City, and his path crosses that of Vera (Graham) who works for Mr. Greene, a crooked and really evil real estate developer with plans to build houses “that no one needs” up in the Arctic.  Vera makes friends with Norm (and the three unexplained lemmings accompanying him) and introduces him to her genius daughter.  Intrigue sets in when Greene’s evil intentions begin to surface, and is further complicated by the need to rescue Norm’s grandfather who has been missing for a long time. 

       There is no cohesive story here and nothing to indicate how Norm matures and becomes a true hero.  It all seems to happen randomly and magically.  It does move along much like a cartoon strip, but without the cleverness and humor that usually goes with comics.  Humor is mostly of the hackneyed pratfall, farting and urinating variety. 

If you asked children who saw this movie what it is about, I doubt they could tell you.

Grade:  F                                    By Donna R. Copeland