Re-animated: Cartoon Network Original Live Action/Animated Film Review

Title: Re-animated

Stars: Dominic Janes, Matt Knudsen, Bill Dwyer, Rachel Quaintance, Eunice Cho, Micah Karnes, Rhea Lando, and Fred Willard

Writer and Creator: Adam Pava and Tim McKeon,

Director: Bruce Hurwiit

Executive Producers: Bruce Hurwit, Adam Pava and Tim McKeon

Running Time: 116 minutes without commercials

Media: Cartoon Network Film (NTSC DVD Screener)

Premiere Friday, December 8, 2006, at 8pm (ET/PT)

Network: Cartoon Network (Check your local cable/satellite listings for channel)

TV Rating: Not Available At Time Of Review

Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera

Re-Animated, Cartoon Network’s first original live-action movie, will premiere on Friday, Dec. 8, at 8 p.m. (ET/PT). The two-hour movie, which combines animation with live-action, tells the story of a 12-year-old boy whose life is turned upside-down after an accident at an amusement park.

When seventh-grader Jimmy Roberts (Dominic Janes, ER) requires an emergency brain transplant after a collision with a park trolley while visiting the famous Gollyworld theme park, his world is changed forever. Gollyworld doctors give him the frozen brain of the famous cartoonist Milt Appleday (comedy veteran Fred Willard). Now wherever Jimmy goes he sees all of Milt Appleday’s cartoon characters in the real world. Golly Gopher, Dolly Gopher, Crocco the Alligator and the rest of the Appleday cartoon gang come to life, but only in Jimmy’s (or Milt’s) brain. While they can’t change anything in the real world, they certainly make life crazy for Jimmy.

Re-Animated is set in a world where anything can happen. It’s a world where brain transplants are not only possible, but considered outpatient surgery. It’s a world where Jimmy has a sister who’s an alien with green skin, a dad who acts like a toddler, a mom who is an astronaut, and a villain whose best friend is a bag of cash. It’s a world that sometimes feels so cartoony that the cartoons in Jimmy’s head are the only part that feels sane.

Also joining the cast are Micah Karns as Craig, Jimmy’s best friend; Eunice Cho as Robin, Jimmy’s crush; Matt Knudsen as Sonny, Milt Appleday’s evil son who’s trying to steal his father’s brain back from Jimmy; Bil Dwyer as Jimmy’s Dad; Rachel Quaintance as Jimmy’s Mom; and Rhea Lando as Yancy, Jimmy’s alien step-sister.

Actors Paul Reubens, Tom Kenny, Ellen Greene and Brian Posehn lend their voices to the Appleday cartoon characters that come to life only for Jimmy.Re-Animated is created and written by Adam Pava and Tim McKeon, who were writers on Cartoon Network’s hit series Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends and The Life & Times of Juniper Lee. New York-based filmmaker Bruce Hurwit directs the film.

I think little kids will like this animated film and overall it is a good first effort on behalf of Cartoon Network to create a combination live action and cell animation, but it is definitely too juvenile for older kids. I’m not even sure how a 12-year-old viewer would respond to this since kids are for more sophisticated today then when I was growing up. Parents might find it a little silly to enjoy though I don’t think there should be any worries about whether or not the film is appropriate for children to view. I think it is very family friendly and while I am unsure if older kids will find entertaining, I think little kids will love it.

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