Jason KingBattle of the Kid's films: WE BOUGHT A ZOO Vs DOLPHIN TALE
December 20th 2011 05:05
:
Budget means shit unless you have a damn good story
Category: Reviews
Two similar films hit the screens for this holiday season. They are both so alike and at the same time so different.
On one hand you have a relatively low budget film in Dolphin Tale about a single mum bringing up a son who ends up working at a Marine Park/ Hospital and then you have Matt Damon with his two kids who move to a zoo to try a new life a while after the passing of their mum. This one has a big director and an even bigger budget. They both have sad kids with animals and spread a similar message. They are also both made based on a true story. It doesn't matter how big your budget, if you have a decent story and half decent actors you will win every time and so is the case in this comparison. Both good films but Dolphin Tale is miles ahead of We Bought a Zoo in it's delivery of the tale.
Dolphin Tale is inspired by the amazing true story of a brave dolphin and the compassionate strangers who banded together to save her life. Swimming free, a young dolphin is caught in a crab trap, severely damaging her tail. She is rescued and transported to the Clearwater Marine Hospital, where she is named Winter. But her fight for survival has just begun. Without a tail, Winter's prognosis is dire. It will take the expertise of a dedicated marine biologist, the ingenuity of a brilliant prosthetics doctor, and the unwavering devotion of a young boy to bring about a groundbreaking miracle - a miracle that might not only save Winter but could also help scores of people around the world.
We Bought a Zoo sees Cameron Crowe (Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous) directing an amazing and true story about a single dad who decides his family needs a fresh start, so he and his two children move to the most unlikely of places: a zoo. With the help of an eclectic staff, and with many misadventures along the way, the family works to return the dilapidated zoo to its former wonder and glory.
I have been so keen to see WE BOUGHT A ZOO ever since I read it was being made. It had Matt Damon in it, a happy and sad tale with cute animals, cute kids and a feel good tone that would make me cry and then smile. And it remotely did this but not as much as I would have liked. Matt Damon just plays Matt Damon in this one and it was close to his least exciting performance I have seen. For the first time I actually loved Scarlet Johansson in a movie and did not cringe every time it was her scene.
The youngest child, Maggie Elizabeth Jones is so cute I want a stuffed toy of her, then there is Colin Ford as Dylan. It kept bugging me as to who he was and then I got a nice surprise when I realised he plays young Sam Winchester in the SUPERNATURAL series. He was a super little actor in this one and will go a long way, however his character is so mopey and filled with hate it made me lose empathy for him, I wanted to slap him out of his mood. Him and Damon, his onscreen father, are so unsure of each other they borderline do not get along at all. This discomfort goes on for too long in the film and when they have their blow up, which I have to say was a brilliant dramatic screaming match; it is then solved so quickly as to be cheapened in the end and quite a letdown. It was like one screaming match and then a complete personality change from both characters, nothing resolves that quickly.
I really liked Thomas Haden Church as the uncle/ brother and comic relief as I did Angus Macfadyen who got some laughs out of me. But sad as it is to say it - Elle Fanning just drove me insane - could not stand her and the last scene with her had me scoffing. Was she supposed to be slightly retarded?
The film definitely has the biggest onscreen glow out of the two and is filmed to perfection with amazing angles and lighting and overall feel but it cannot match Dolphin Tale in heart and story. It was at times boring and cliched and never reached the peak it needed to. It felt labored and lacked its spark. A real shame - I give this one 5 out of 10. Releases on Boxing Day.
DOLPHIN TALE on the other hand I cannot sing high enough praise for as possibly the best children's film of the holiday season. It lacks the shine and editing power of ZOO but makes up for it with a superbly told tale. Sure, the tale is cheesy and at times very "Disney" but for me that was its charm. It allows you to get to know every single character and why they are who they are. It didn't do it for dumb people, it just did it and it all made sense. The actors all have great chemistry together. they won't win any awards but they will make a lot of people smile and cry and smile again.
I have to admit I sobbed in this one and there were plenty a scene with a tear rolling down my cheek. The film is a blanket of feel-goodness and just what the doctor ordered after a busy pre Xmas working week. I loved all the characters and actors. Morgan Freeman is on a cheese par with Kris Kristofferson for the most corniest roles in the film but they are supposed to be a part of these beautiful kid's films. Harry Connick Jr. and Ashley Judd make great parents for the two lead kids and I would have been disappointed if there was some kind of romance between the two single folks, nice work Hollywood in leaving this one out of it!! Austin Stowell was great as the big brother, jock, war hero and family connection to people with a disability.
As for the two kids I just loved them both, Cozi Zuehlsdorff (who is in desperate need of a Hollywood surname) is very cute and energetic and the perfect match for shy Sawyer, played by Nathan Gamble who is best known from The Dark Knight as Commissioner Gordon's son. I will forgive him also for being the son in The Mist who gets killed unnecessarily at the end (GOD I HATED THAT MOVIE FOR DOING THAT). Yes CAPS were necessary.
And last of all I must mention Winter herself, such a superb little Aquarian actor
The scenes with her and Sawyer swimming in the pool are so beautiful and were always a childhood dream of mine. Do yourself a favor and check this one out - the kids will love it and so will you. I do recommend you see it in 2D and skip the 3D version - I don't think it's needed. Worth a happy 8 out of 10 and out now.
On one hand you have a relatively low budget film in Dolphin Tale about a single mum bringing up a son who ends up working at a Marine Park/ Hospital and then you have Matt Damon with his two kids who move to a zoo to try a new life a while after the passing of their mum. This one has a big director and an even bigger budget. They both have sad kids with animals and spread a similar message. They are also both made based on a true story. It doesn't matter how big your budget, if you have a decent story and half decent actors you will win every time and so is the case in this comparison. Both good films but Dolphin Tale is miles ahead of We Bought a Zoo in it's delivery of the tale.
Dolphin Tale is inspired by the amazing true story of a brave dolphin and the compassionate strangers who banded together to save her life. Swimming free, a young dolphin is caught in a crab trap, severely damaging her tail. She is rescued and transported to the Clearwater Marine Hospital, where she is named Winter. But her fight for survival has just begun. Without a tail, Winter's prognosis is dire. It will take the expertise of a dedicated marine biologist, the ingenuity of a brilliant prosthetics doctor, and the unwavering devotion of a young boy to bring about a groundbreaking miracle - a miracle that might not only save Winter but could also help scores of people around the world.
We Bought a Zoo sees Cameron Crowe (Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous) directing an amazing and true story about a single dad who decides his family needs a fresh start, so he and his two children move to the most unlikely of places: a zoo. With the help of an eclectic staff, and with many misadventures along the way, the family works to return the dilapidated zoo to its former wonder and glory.
I have been so keen to see WE BOUGHT A ZOO ever since I read it was being made. It had Matt Damon in it, a happy and sad tale with cute animals, cute kids and a feel good tone that would make me cry and then smile. And it remotely did this but not as much as I would have liked. Matt Damon just plays Matt Damon in this one and it was close to his least exciting performance I have seen. For the first time I actually loved Scarlet Johansson in a movie and did not cringe every time it was her scene.
The youngest child, Maggie Elizabeth Jones is so cute I want a stuffed toy of her, then there is Colin Ford as Dylan. It kept bugging me as to who he was and then I got a nice surprise when I realised he plays young Sam Winchester in the SUPERNATURAL series. He was a super little actor in this one and will go a long way, however his character is so mopey and filled with hate it made me lose empathy for him, I wanted to slap him out of his mood. Him and Damon, his onscreen father, are so unsure of each other they borderline do not get along at all. This discomfort goes on for too long in the film and when they have their blow up, which I have to say was a brilliant dramatic screaming match; it is then solved so quickly as to be cheapened in the end and quite a letdown. It was like one screaming match and then a complete personality change from both characters, nothing resolves that quickly.
I really liked Thomas Haden Church as the uncle/ brother and comic relief as I did Angus Macfadyen who got some laughs out of me. But sad as it is to say it - Elle Fanning just drove me insane - could not stand her and the last scene with her had me scoffing. Was she supposed to be slightly retarded?
The film definitely has the biggest onscreen glow out of the two and is filmed to perfection with amazing angles and lighting and overall feel but it cannot match Dolphin Tale in heart and story. It was at times boring and cliched and never reached the peak it needed to. It felt labored and lacked its spark. A real shame - I give this one 5 out of 10. Releases on Boxing Day.
DOLPHIN TALE on the other hand I cannot sing high enough praise for as possibly the best children's film of the holiday season. It lacks the shine and editing power of ZOO but makes up for it with a superbly told tale. Sure, the tale is cheesy and at times very "Disney" but for me that was its charm. It allows you to get to know every single character and why they are who they are. It didn't do it for dumb people, it just did it and it all made sense. The actors all have great chemistry together. they won't win any awards but they will make a lot of people smile and cry and smile again.
I have to admit I sobbed in this one and there were plenty a scene with a tear rolling down my cheek. The film is a blanket of feel-goodness and just what the doctor ordered after a busy pre Xmas working week. I loved all the characters and actors. Morgan Freeman is on a cheese par with Kris Kristofferson for the most corniest roles in the film but they are supposed to be a part of these beautiful kid's films. Harry Connick Jr. and Ashley Judd make great parents for the two lead kids and I would have been disappointed if there was some kind of romance between the two single folks, nice work Hollywood in leaving this one out of it!! Austin Stowell was great as the big brother, jock, war hero and family connection to people with a disability.
As for the two kids I just loved them both, Cozi Zuehlsdorff (who is in desperate need of a Hollywood surname) is very cute and energetic and the perfect match for shy Sawyer, played by Nathan Gamble who is best known from The Dark Knight as Commissioner Gordon's son. I will forgive him also for being the son in The Mist who gets killed unnecessarily at the end (GOD I HATED THAT MOVIE FOR DOING THAT). Yes CAPS were necessary.
And last of all I must mention Winter herself, such a superb little Aquarian actor
The scenes with her and Sawyer swimming in the pool are so beautiful and were always a childhood dream of mine. Do yourself a favor and check this one out - the kids will love it and so will you. I do recommend you see it in 2D and skip the 3D version - I don't think it's needed. Worth a happy 8 out of 10 and out now.| 29 |
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