# King and I, The (1999)

### reviewed by
Susan Granger

http://www.speakers-podium.com/susangranger.

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

    Susan Granger's review of "THE KING AND I" (Warner Bros.)

You cannot compare this 90-minute animated feature with 1) the 2 1/2-hour Rodgers & Hammerstein Broadway musical, 2) the two-hour live-action movie, starring Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner, which won five Oscars in 1956, or 3) the 1943 novel, "Anna and the King of Siam," based on the real Anna's authentic memoirs. This is a cartoon aimed at rugrats who could not possibly sit through either of its stage and film predecessors. It's an introduction to the enduring musical classic, that's all. Viewed in that light, it's fun but Broadway musical purists will hate it, calling it a travesty. The story begins, not when widowed British schoolteacher Anna Leonowens (voiced by Miranda Richardson with singing by Christiane Noll) and her son (Adam Wylie) arrive in Bangkok to meet the King (Martin Vidnovic), but while they're still at sea. They're threatened by a typhoon and a huge, fire-breathing sea serpent, conjured up by the Kralahome (Ian Richardson), the King's evil advisor. Anna brings Western culture to the splendor of Siam (now Thailand), and she finds its stubborn, irascible ruler quite attractive. "Whistle a Happy Tune,""Getting to Know You," and "Shall We Dance" still sound lovely, and parents should know that, in this version, the King doesn't die. Instead, more emphasis is placed on silly animals - like Tusker, a baby white elephant; Moonshee, a mischievous monkey; and Rama, a regal black panther. The animation is colorful and pretty but shows little of the depth and detail of Disney features. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "The King and I" is a juvenile 4. But, unless you're desperate for a G-rated movie, I'd advise waiting for the video.

The review above was posted to the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due to ASCII to HTML conversion.

Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews