DVD
REVIEW: GULLIVER'S TRAVELS
04/21/11
OVERVIEW:
A hilarious zero-to-hero story about a larger-than-life Average Joe, GULLIVER’S TRAVELS sails on to 2-disc DVD with Gulliver’s Fun Pack and 3 disc Triple Play with Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Copy from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment on April 19, 2011. This family-friendly misadventure features side-splitting moments with epic wedgies, Lilliputian foosball, and a square-off duel with a robot!
SYNOPSIS:
Jack Black (Kung Fu Panda, School of Rock) brings his irreverent humor to this adventure-comedy based on the classic tale. To impress the pretty newspaper travel editor Darcy (Amanda Peet, 2012), an underachieving mailroom clerk named Gulliver (Black) takes a writing assignment traveling to Bermuda. When a shipwreck lands him on the fantastical island of Lilliput, he transforms into a giant — in size and ego! Gulliver’s tall tales and heroic deeds win the hearts of the tiny Lilliputians, but when he loses it all and puts his newfound friends in peril, Gulliver must find a way to undo the damage. Through it all, Gulliver may just learn that it’s how big you are on the inside that counts.
FILM REVIEW: I don’t know what generation you’re from, but in my time (can’t believe I’m saying that), Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels was required reading. Dr. Lemuel Gulliver is shipwrecked and washes up on the shore where out of exhaustion he falls asleep only to wake up surrounded and captured by the tiny people of
Liliput. As you go to see this film, know that this is where all comparisons end.
In this interpretation (if I can call it that), Lemuel Gulliver (Jack Black) is not Dr. Lemuel Gulliver as in the original story. As a matter of fact, he is basically your run of the mill underachiever, working in the mailroom of a newspaper and simply not aspiring to have kind of a life. He’s too shy to hit on the cute travel writer, Darcy (Amanda
Peet), doesn‘t even try to have any kind of a social life. At the urging of new mailroom employee, Dan
(T.J. Miller) , Gulliver attempts to ask her out but loses his nerve and instead applies for a position as a travel writer. After a little plagiarism, Gulliver gets an assignment to investigate the Bermuda Triangle and thus, the adventure begins. As I mentioned before, other than being shipwrecked and landing in
Liliput, this movie has nothing in common with the original story. This Gulliver discovers that even in small packages, large personalities exist.
My boys and I are huge fans of Jack Black, and we were looking forward to seeing him in this fantasy film. Joshua and Ralphie were excited to see Jack in this, but since its been a while since we’ve seen him in anything, were afraid that he might of lost his touch. We’ve seen School of Rock at my home at least a dozen times and if it were to come on TV tomorrow, we’d sit right down and see it again. That said, Jack did not disappoint. That said, you have to be a Jack Black fan to feel the same way that we did about this film. That, or you must be between the ages of 7 and 14 (or a mom who refuses to have grown up tastes) to really enjoy it. Emily Blunt as Princess Mary is as regal as ever, but only in appearance. Emily’s performance is comedic and sweet all at the same time. And having Jason Segal as Horatio, a Lilliputian imprisoned simply for being in love with Princess Mary, along with Jack Black and Amanda Peet in this film is a combination that I just couldn’t resist. That combo makes you wonder why Jack isn’t doing the same kind of edgier comedy that Segal has been involved in with the Cohen brothers. Personally, I think it would truly work. But enough of that.
The performances in this film, as aforementioned are good. Who can resist Billy Connolly as Clueless King Theodore? I’m not very familiar with actor Chris O’Dowd, but his dry wit (and good looks) is quite the hoot as he plays General Edward, Gulliver’s nemesis and Princess Mary‘s intended. His idea of “courting” cracked me up.
The scenery for this adventure is limited to the kingdom and castles of
Liliput, but looks like a place that I would like to be shipwrecked on (not as a giant of course). You will be surprised to see how the Lilliputians help Gulliver make himself at home in this tiny kingdom, once he convinces them he’s kind of a big deal (pun intended) back where he comes from. As movie buffs, the boys and I enjoyed the built in movie trivia as Gulliver regales the Lilliputians with stories about his over the top (and over inflated) adventures as President of Manhattan (I did mention that he’s kind of a big deal, right). You see, I believe, that if this story has a moral, it would be that you don’t have to go to a place where little people live to find the full size of who you can be.
If you like Jack Black, as we do, or you’ve got kids that will enjoy Jack’s kind of silliness, go see this movie and have a laugh filled family time
Film
Review
By Priscilla
priscilla@smartcine.com
VIDEO:
2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
AUDIO:
English 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish and French Dolby Surround
Subtitles - English Spanish French- Optional
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Gag Reel
Deleted Scenes
○ Old Hank
○ Gulliver Meets Royals - Extended Version
○ Defense System
○ Royal Banquet - Extended Version
○ Basketball
○ King & Queen Practice Baseketball and King Makes Breakfast
○ Horation and Princess on a Date
○ Gulliver and Edward Duel in Gulliver's House
I Don't Know...with Lemuel Gulliver
Little and Large
Jack Black Thinks Big
Gulliver's Foosball Challenge
Theatrical Trailer
Submit Your Movie Review
MORE MOVIE REVIEWS
>>>
