February 05, 2004  
Last week I went to see TEACHER'S PET and very much enjoyed it. There are a lot of genuinely inspired and funny moments in a story that is far from original and yet manages to feel surprising because of the details. As a fan of minimalism and exaggeration in cartooning I found Gary Baseman's expressive style projected on the big screen to be mesmerizing at times. I was compelled by the artwork much more here than I did the few times I watched it on television.

For the first 20 minutes or so I was nervous that there wasn't going to be enough to warrant its transfer from TV to film, but as soon as the characters get to Florida (with a great surreally visual gag about not being able to find it) Teacher's Pet pretty much takes off and becomes a wild ride worth taking.

I don't think of myself as a Nathan Lane fan, but I can't deny the enthusiasm and energy he brings to the roll. I'm constantly rooting for that little dog with a dream. And all the side characters are pretty great too. Especially the paranoid cat, Mr. Jolly and Mrs. Helperman the mom/teacher whose hyper-positive energy is familiar and yet still a constant crack up.
Sure cranky people could nitpick that this film is far from groundbreaking and doesn't stack up to where Pixar has taken the state of animation. But if you can just give yourself up to the energy of it all you will have a great time

5:02 PM

 
Let it not be said that I'm not willing to do some extra research for the Rugrats/All Grown Up comics I edit...

Learn to Dance!

11:32 AM

February 02, 2004  

True Story.

4:16 PM

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