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

RULES DON'T APPLY

Warren Beatty   Lily Collins   Alden Ehrenreich   Annette Bening   Matthew Broderick

Ed Harris   Alec Baldwin   Martin Sheen   Oliver Platt   Candace Bergen   Steve Coogan 

          “It’s about sex and romance in the old Hollywood”, Warren Beatty (director and co-writer with Bo Goldman) says of his comeback movie, Rules don’t Apply.  “…and about American Puritanism”, he adds.  Hughes was someone who didn’t have to follow rules because he was a billionaire; we see the influence of Hollywood (where rules don’t necessarily apply) on him and, through him, on the people who worked for him.  When he saw Howard Hughes briefly in the 70’s, Beatty stayed fascinated with him, and although he began conceiving the film in the late ‘90’s, it took 20 years to bring it to fruition.  It’s not a biopic, but rather a take-off from Hughes’ reputation and creating a drama from that.  I liked it for its harking back to older Hollywood films in which storytelling is prominent and meant to be inspiring.

          Marla Mabrey (perfectly cast Lily Collins) is a young woman from Virginia who has turned away a scholarship to try her luck in Hollywood, and has been invited to a Howard Hughes audition.  She is accompanied by her mother, cheeky Lucy Mabrey (Bening), who soon becomes impatient with the Hollywood/Hughes slow tempo and goes back home. 

        Much is made of Marla’s Baptist background, and when her Hughes driver Frank (Ehrenreich) informs Marla and her mother that he is a Methodist, we see them connect.  Complications ensue when Marla and Frank have a kind of pheromone-like attraction to one another.  Keep in mind that it is strictly forbidden for any of the Hughes employees to socialize with any of his 20+ starlets.  Breaking this rule will cost them their job.  Of course, this is an unenforceable rule, but Hughes has the illusion that he is keeping tabs on everyone, and he has no qualms about the way he gets information. 

      The story then alternates between Hughes’ business activities and a couple of romances.  Humor is sprinkled occasionally into the drama, such as the starlets getting their weekly paychecks in envelopes sent down from a second story window on a string.  Hughes was known for his secretiveness, and the film spoofs this by having him constantly refuse to meet with people.  The issue becomes so heated, rumors circulate about his mental stability, and he has to ward off those who think he should be declared insane.  There is a curious disconnect between Hughes much of the time looking a bit senile, but at the end showing a sharp memory and being able to rattle off complicated business analyses and plans.

          Beatty as the star demonstrates again his acting skills, and in this role he’s portraying an eccentric older man who alternates between sounding demented and relaying complex information about his projects.  His directing skills are apparent in the pace and composition of scenes in moving the story along.  He was canny in his casting two up-and-coming actors, Lily Collins and Alden Ehrenreich, for the young couple who attend church and say the blessing before meals and then get caught up in the Hollywood lifestyle. 

          Caleb Deschanel is a known master of cinematography, and his talent and experience are apparent in scenes of the Los Angeles city- and landscape, the grounds where Hughes resides, and the mysterious door in dark shadow out of which Hughes slowly emerges when he does finally deem to meet someone.  Those “someones” are usually a part of Hughes’ staff whose jobs are always tenuous, but there are others too.  This allows for many interesting cameos from Alec Baldwin, Matthew Broderick, Martin Sheen, Annette Bening, Ed Harris, Oliver Platt, Candace Bergen, and Steve Coogan.

         Not much is new here, but some older viewers nostalgic about old Hollywood days may enjoy Rules Don’t Apply; it’s not likely younger viewers will, however.

A reminiscence of Howard Hughes and Hollywood in the 1950’s.

Grade:  C+                                            By Donna R. Copeland