Matilda (1996) Review

        This one is personal to me. While a lot of people can say that Willy Wonka was their first exposure of Roald Dahl cinematically speaking. Matilda was my first when I was in elementary school. It’s often considered the best of Roald Dahl’s adaptations. The movie is about as sweet as you can imagine. So let’s talk about it. 

1. Matilda 

        The way it starts sort of unsettled me when we see solid colors transition from one to another. We see the young girl after birth and the shot with Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman looking disgusted is just hilarious. From there, Matilda isn’t like her family since she loves to read books. Her Dad enrolls her in a school that’s unlike any other with the evil Trunchbull running it. 

        Mara Wilson does a good job with portraying the protagonist. She got her big shot with Robin Williams in the film Mrs. Doubtfire, but many consider this movie to be the best one she’s in. The fact that the character is self-sufficient without any adult supervision is utterly crazy. It just goes to show you that the adults in her world are just careless and clueless. 

        While I’ll talk about them in a bit, the one thing that I was not expecting was her secret gift. I love that as the film progresses, we sort of see her slowly get the hang of her powers. I tend to think that in the context of the story is that it’s sort of like her coping mechanism since she’s practically ignored by her parents. Like her powers is sort of like a thing that any kid can picture themselves having. 

        Aside from that, she’s intelligent to an incredible degree. I’m glad that the movie goes out of its way to show that she goes to the local library and just dives into literature. What I like is that before we even get a glimpse or just have a clue that she’s gifted, she mostly uses her intelligence to get back at her parents. More so that she has the guts to tell her own Dad that he’s a crook for selling defective cars. 

2. Adults

        Aside from Matilda, both DeVito and Perlman are hilarious as the Wormwoods. The fact that they don’t care about their two kids is really something. More so, the Dad’s the only breadwinner and the Mom is just a habitual Bingo player. They practically scoff at the idea of getting an education when the teacher Ms. Honey confronts the parents. And in some way, since it’s kind of odd for DeVito to narrate the film and star, I feel that the narration in the film is like a way for him to really grasp how smart his child is. 

        Like, the narration is something of a catharsis since I’m interpreting it as a way for him to basically recount how he practically gave his daughter up for an immediate adoption. Other than that, the Trunchbull is just purely sadistic. I haven’t read the book, but from what I read is that the actress portraying the Trunchbull is near perfect. She just punishes a student for anything, is just cruel. The film shows that her personality stems from her being a former Olympian. Especially in competing in the Munich Olympics. I don’t have to explain everything, but it suits her character. 

        One scene is when she singles out this one boy for eating a piece of cake. She has the school’s cook bake an entire cake for the kid to eat. We see just how much is too much since the kid is stuffed. Just when Matilda rallies her classmates to cheer on the kid, the principle immediately ends it by smashing the plate on the kids head. This is one thing where the film is mostly about the abuse of authority. And how it can be abused in a setting where a kid is supposed to learn instead of just being forced to be taught. 

        The only good adult is Matilda’s teacher Ms. Honey. She’s probably every kids dream of a teacher. Her calm demeaner and overall personality is the only bright spot within the confines of the school. It’s one thing where both her and Matilda are exactly alike, right down to them spending time after school. It’s endearing to see and rewarding since the ending of the film has them be together. 

3. Legacy

        While the movie was greatly received critically, it didn’t do so well in the box office. When it debuted, the film Independence Day practically dominated every theater. Additionally, it has this homely feeling since it feels like something you can watch in home instead of in the theaters. Inevitably, it became a cult-classic with physical media and a darling among my generation. Just last year, there was a musical adaptation based on the theater musical. That one’s enjoyable and it's on par with this one. 

4. Overall

        Matilda is one of the best kid films, and absolutely up there with the best Roald Dahl movies. 

The Witches (1990) Review

        My look into Roald Dahl films continues. Based on his 14th novel of the same name, The Witches is an interesting movie adaptation. There’s tints of child-like horror and innocence in the movie that is vastly different from his last adaptation that we talked about last time. And well, this wasn’t my first exposure to the story. Three years ago, director Robert Zemeckis did his adaptation and well, I’ll talk about it. With that, here’s what I think about the original from 1990.

1. Luke and Helga

        This is the second adaptation where the young kid and their grandparent are central elements in the story. Anyways, we follow Luke and his grandmother Helga in Norway. She tells him a story about witches and how they’re everywhere in the world. It would be one thing where she tells him the tale and just leave it at that. What I like too in those opening moments is how Luke basically wants to know more. And Helga practically knows how the witches operate. 

        We see Luke’s parents for a few, but they don’t come back. Dealing with the grief, both Luke and Helga spend some time in England at a seaside resort. Unbeknownst to them that the same hotel is hosting the Witches. The whole movie has this child-like thing going for it, much like Willy Wonka before. It especially helps when we hear Helga delivering the expositive details about the witches and how she saw them. 

        Just the first victim we see shows just how cruel and malicious they are. More so how what one witch does to a young girl, by trapping her inside a painting. Compounding the cruelty is that the young girl slowly ages and dies inside the painting. In the context of the movie, it’s a good story for Luke since there’s a hint that his grandmother saw it first-hand. Or in this case, she’s missing a finger since she had an encounter. 

2. The Witches

        Anjelica Huston has confirmed that the role as the Grand High Witch is her personal favorite. Before we even get the reveal, the witches look like any other woman. Right down to where we see one almost snatch Luke in his treehouse. Subtle clues like whenever we see a witch up close, the pupils in their eyes light up. I think it’s a drastic departure of what people think of a witch. 

        No broomsticks or the obligatory black cauldrons show up in the movie. They don’t look haggish initially, just seemingly normal women that tries to either lure or stalk a child. Luke comes across one in the beginning and tries to offer him a chocolate bar and a snake for some reason. I like that he doesn’t fall for it and remembers what his grandmother told him from the stories. 

        The main highlight in the film is that we see what they really look like. The level of prosthetic that is used for Huston’s character is crazy. That’s when you know she is the Grand High Witch. All the other witches are mostly bald with rash marks on their scalp. Huston is basically one above all among her brood. Right down to killing one witch who questions her plan. The prosthetic took eight hours to set up and remove, her height as well enhances her domineering role.

        This is pretty much on par with having a villain be a child threat, and the main hero being a kid that’s tasked to stop her. There are even camera shots of the witches being too close to the camera, emphasizing the level of uncomfortableness. Even though he’s a mouse, he manages to conquer his fear and attempts to put an end to the villain’s scheme. With Jim Henson’s company working on the puppetry, I’m glad that it gives us an almost realistic looking mouse. 

        Now, it would be one thing where they would have an actual mouse just run around. I will at least give credit to Henson’s company to make the puppet mouse be lively. The attention to detail where we see Luke and his new friend Bruno is also good. Having the sets be larger versions of the actual set so that we can have that illusion when we see the mice puppets. 

3. Legacy

        Just like Willy Wonka before, Dahl hated the movie. And reading the synopsis for the book justifies his reaction. The book ends on a triumphant but gloomy way. Dahl was considering taking his name off the movie, just before Jim Henson persuaded him not to. It’s tough to have the original ending since it contrasted with what the character went through. I can at least say that he saw the film with his ending and the more audience favored ending. Matter of fact, this was the last time both Henson and Dahl had a hand in a movie. They died just after the movie came out. 

        As I mentioned before, the book was adapted once again back in 2020 by Robert Zemeckis. Seeing snippets of that one and the Huston version led me to believe that the new one was inferior. Albeit the new one leaned more heavily towards the source material. I think the problem with the new one was that the witches didn’t look grotesque. Anne Hathaway’s witch appearance resembled more like Pennywise without the makeup. While that’s the least of the film’s problem, it wasn’t received well. 

4. Overall

        The Witches is one of the darkest of Roald Dahl’s adaptations. Darker in a way that only a kid can enjoy. 

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

        After an extended period of time, I’m glad to be back. Since this is the back-to-school phase of the year, it only made sense to talk about the movies that are adapted from beloved author Roald Dahl. Quite a journey he had since he fought during World War 2 and was ranked Wing Commander. From there he transitioned to being an author for both children and adults, with his famous works being remembered by kids. I’ve only read one of his books “The BFG” when I was in elementary. More so, he wrote for Hollywood. One of them being a James Bond film. 

1. Charlie and The Golden Tickets

        One last thing I wanted to bring up about Dahl, he’s one of the few authors to write their adaptation for film. Albeit, the songs were written before an actual script was made. Anyways, we follow Charlie as he’s the lone breadwinner for his mother and his grandparents. Him and everyone else receive news that the elusive Willy Wonka has created a contest by placing Tickets inside a select few chocolate bars. 

        Aside from Gene Wilder who I’ll get into, Charlie Bucket is the main star of the film. We really get a sense of who he is as a character before he steps into the factory. One scene that best represents his situation is when we first see the candy shop. When he looks through the window, it’s like the kids are at a party and he’s not invited. Context wise, they have money but Charlie spends his money just for his family. 

        He really is the selfless one, and he’s determined when he tries to look for the Tickets when he gets the Wonka bars. The only person that sticks up for him is his Grandpa Joe. He’s the only positive one since his relatives and in laws are bed-ridden. Some may think that Charlie’s mom is too realistic, especially when she sings her song about him. I believe that she is just pragmatic by telling her son that he has to be realistic since the chances of him winning are slim. 

        This is one of those films where it’s about the reward for the meek and Charlie fits that role. Aside from the kids and their guardians, the movie doesn’t really have any villains. I think that Grandpa Joe is fits the bill, but how I interpret it is that he’s like the devil in Charlie’s shoulder. By telling him to not tell anyone that they veered away from the tour. The young boy is too honest and wholesome that it’s refreshing to see that he’s not just a little turd. 

        Speaking of turds, the other five kids are something else. I think it's everyone's opinion that Veruca Salt is the worst out of all them. She's constantly pestering her father to give her everything that she gleans at. All the other kids are just tokens, with Augustus being gluttonous, Mike being an avid T.V. watcher and Violet being a compulsive gum chewer. This is something that i've noticed, I could be wrong with the assessment. The kids represent the various Deadly Sins and the Factory is in one way Hell. 

2. Willy Wonka

        I find it interesting that the this character practically changed the title of the book whenever people or kids tried to find it. Gene Wilder was an excellent actor, mostly in his comedic work like Young Frankenstein and The Producers. With this one, he’s such an odd and interesting fellow where his quirks and idiosyncrasies don’t get too distracting in the film. He isn’t annoying at all, he’s charming and man I love his personality. For instance, he’s mysterious and has that slight of hand personality. 

        More so that we never really know if he’s telling the truth or not. When people first see him as he exits the factory, he appears to be hobbled and limp. Until he drops the act and does a front roll to show that he’s a showman. He is not one to be honest about himself but sees the tour as more of a game since he always messes with people’s heads and is just sarcastic when kids get their comeuppance. 

        Aside from giving the tour, his best moment is near the end when he accuses both Charlie and Grandpa Joe with stealing a new drink. Just his anger and the duo’s surprise that he’s basically mad beyond belief sell that he failed to find the new heir to his chocolate factory. That was actually the intention of the director since he didn’t want it to feel staged at all. Since he wanted the reaction from both Grandpa and the young boy to be real given the context of the story. 

3. The Chocolate Factory

        I got to talk about the factory, no review of the film can’t continue unless they spew poetics of how freaking cool the factory is. When the opening credits start and we see just how the chocolate are made give it the idea that it’s just a regular factory that’s owned by Hershey’s or something. After the kids go in, the factory is anything but normal. 

        Just like I brought up earlier, the Factory is representative of Hell. How else can you explain the tunnel scene with all the weird images popping up?  Okay, just hear me out. Both kids and adults are going through a test to be humble, yet their own hubris and vice get the better of them as they each become affected by the factory. And we never see the kids exit out the factory. Alright, I think that’s about enough of that. To me, everything inside the factory is so reality warping where it’s weird and hokey. 

        I’m glad that there’s never really an explanation as to how exactly Wonka created or invented the machines or candies. Everything is left up and has that child-centric imagination where the possibilities are endless. One thing that I notice is that the factory is an extension of Wonka, we never know if the whole factory is an act to have the kids be enraptured by the factory. Just like the man where he looks normal, but everything else is abnormal.  

4. Legacy

        The film didn’t do well initially when it came out. More so that it wasn’t publicly received very well. Ironically, Paramount didn’t renew their distribution rights, thus handing it over to Quaker Oats, who handed off to Warner Bros. It was actually during the 80s when the film had multiple viewings in television that it gained a new audience and reached that title of classic. Roald Dahl didn’t even like the movie, and negated a sequel being commissioned based on his sequel book. 

        My very first exposure to Wonka was when they had candies that had the Wonka brand of it. Ultimately, Tim Burton remade the film with Johnny Depp and rightly titled the adaptation. Cinematically speaking, this was my first exposure to the film before the original. In my opinion, it’s just ok. I never really understand the hate towards it since it’s a completely different adaptation, with someone who has that artistic aesthetic like Tim Burton helming it. Sometime this year, an origin movie about the owner is coming out. Why have a movie explain the background to an interesting character? I don’t know.  

5. Overall

        Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is considered one of the best films of Roald Dahl’s work. It’s timeless after 50 years it came out. 

Shrek Review

        To get things out of the way, I haven’t been as consistent as I have been with these reviews. You may have noticed that last week I didn’t review anything. That was mostly on me probably talking about the one of the best non-Disney animated films of the 90s two years ago. In all honesty, I didn’t thoroughly plan July with the films I wanted to talk about. With the excuses out of the way and trust me. This initiative isn’t going anywhere. Let’s at least wrap up my summer look with the animated film I think altered an industry. 

1. Unlikely Hero

        I think it comes to a shock and surprise to some people that Shrek isn’t entirely an original animated movie. For the few who actively follow children’s literature, it’s based on the book of the same name by the late author William Steig. I’ve investigated the book and the movie sort of follows the book. I’ll elaborate the one element that is pretty much one of the film’s defining aspect. As I dug deeper, this film was considered punishment at DreamWorks. 

        Apparently, whenever a select slew of animators were failing on their projects within the studio, such as not animating a specific shot. They were moved to the production of this movie. It was called being “Shreked”. In one way, I think this film from a developmental standpoint has that edge of cast-offs putting their best into it. Especially having the computer-generated images be so different that what came before with Pixar. 

        One more thing was that this film was supposed to have SNL alum Chris Farley. On YouTube, one moment was recorded when Donkey and Shrek were talking at night just after rescuing Princess Fiona. Hearing his voice and seeing the conceptualized scene is one of those moments where anyone can wonder just what if. He passed away during the movie’s production and they hired Mike Myers. Another SNL alum and who was a box office draw at the time with his Austin Powers films. 

        So after all that necessary, depending on who you ask, info done, let’s talk about the film. We follow the anti-social ogre named Shrek. After noticing his swamp is infested with characters from various fantasy stories, he goes to Lord Farquaad and makes a deal to rescue a princess to have his swamp back. There’s a level of comedy and brashness that makes Shrek so loveable. He’s just himself when he makes light of any danger that comes to him. 

        Him and Donkey are the main highlight of the film. I can only imagine where they producers nailed the casting of Eddie Murphy. Just him and Mike Myers have that chemistry where Shrek is annoyed but manages to put up with Donkey’s idiosyncrasies. Donkey isn’t grating in the least bit which makes him enjoyable. The constant back and forth between the two feels right since we believe that their sudden friendship feels authentic. 

        I love that depth that Shrek has as a character. For as much as he’s embittered, he wants to be accepted. He has that mentality that he is easily unlikable to everyone which justifies his actions. That moment when Donkey and Shrek are talking at night is I think my favorite scene. We get an understanding of where Shrek is coming from and just how Donkey assures him that he didn’t have any preconceived notion of him. It helps break that idea down the main character has to be handsome or good looking, but just about being accepted.

        Since we’re talking about the overarching theme, the movie is mostly about acceptance. At the start, we see that everyone is afraid of Shrek except Donkey. Especially more so when Farquaad is presented with the princesses and the Magic Mirror tries to warn him about Fiona’s secret. It destroys and moves away from that perfect idealized view of the perfect princess, the hero and really brings it home where Farquaad is a small turd. The scene when Shrek and Fiona are having fun with each other as they venture back highlights that. 

        I think at the time it was progressive where it tries to be the exact opposite of the standard Disney animated fantasy movie. The inclusivity of it is astonishing since it shows that anyone can be the hero. More so that as I mentioned before that the princess can be different than what we usually think of them. It’s even shown during the film and when Donkey sees Fiona’s other form and hilariously gets confused. 

2. Anti-Disney

        I might as well bring up that whole anti-Disney aspect that the film has going for itself. Either it was mandated from Jeffrey Katzenberg, who worked for Disney from the late 80s to the 90s. Or it was just something cheeky that DreamWorks thought they should put in as a proverbial middle finger to them. It’s abundantly clear that the movie is riffing on them. Right down to the fantasy characters that are being used. For the most part, they kept it classy by not giving the fantasy characters an ugly look to them. 

        More so that the film can be interpreted as an animated parody, poking fun at the usual story beats of the Disney movie. Like how in the beginning of the film, Shrek is reading the story about Fiona and just laughs it off. Ripping off a page and wiping his butt as he busts out of the outhouse. Compounding it how the initial rescue scene doesn’t go to plan and is just as hilarious as it was presented. 

        I think my favorite part of the middle finger moments is when both of our heroes arrive at Farquaad’s castle and experience the emptiness. Just them hearing the stock amusement music and just how the entire area is dead pokes fun at Disney’s various parks. Especially when the musical number featuring the robotic figures feels unreal and hilarious. 

3. Legacy

        Shrek was an absolute smash hit and made a profound impact in pop culture. It was a wise move that my parents took me and my brother to go watch it. Perhaps having no clue as to what everyone was going to get with the movie, it was worth it though. No one could’ve imagine that this film would start a franchise that grossed billions in total. I’ve only ever watched the first three films, the second is obviously the best one of the series. And it’s still going with the recent release of the Puss in Boots film from last year that was a surprise hit. 

        I really hope that the estate of William Steig received some sort of compensation as the film’s success generated interest in the character. For a film that was mostly advertised for kids, I’m surprised there was some moments for the adults. Watching it now with a more, I think, level-headed mind I noticed some cheeky stuff. Whether it was for the adults to spot it as something of a wink-wink as the kids were just lost in the animation might be intentional. 

        It's surprising to me that the film had for a little while a meme-moment on the internet. You had people constantly quote or write “Shrek is love, Shrek is life”. Now it wasn’t for deriding the movie in the least bit or even ironically but just celebrating it as something where acceptance and tolerance is needed. I think with Smash Mouth’s All-Star and their cover of “I’m a Believer” punctuated the memes. And the film won the inaugural Best Animated Film award at the time during that year’s Oscars, thought I should mention that. 

4. Overall

        Shrek is one of the most beloved animated movies of my generation that is still relevant today.