'Fat Albert' (2004)

Synopsis:

Despite the presence of her foster sister, Doris feels alone. Her parents are often gone on business, her grandfather died recently, and she doesn't really have friends as she's been slowly pulling away from people. Emotionally overwhelmed, she cries while watching a rerun of 'Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids'. Somehow, Fat Albert hears her and uses her tears as a portal from his cartoon version of the 1970s to cross into the real world of the 2000s. Doris has a problem and Fat Albert seeks to do what he does best: fix a problem.

Review:

As a kid, Bill Cosby was everywhere. He was HUGE. We had some of his records. He was on 'Captain Kangaroo' with his Picture Pages and the pen that made noise. His sitcom launched. 'Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids' cartoon was still being repeated. I enjoyed it all.

I've also watched a number of movies that seek to remake old television shows. The majority of them are dire, mocking the original work rather than trying to reimagine them. As Mr. Cosby was involved in the making of this film, it does a fine job of updating the original text without mocking it.

Fat Albert and the rest of his crew are from the 1970s. Our technology fascinates them (subtle lesson: we have it pretty good). One of Doris' schoolmates decides that Rudy's style is cool and pieces together a replica of his outfit (subtle lesson: dress styles come and go in fashion). The original show and the time period it was set in are never mocked for being different.

At the same time, the current styles are not dismissed as bad. The Kids watch a rap video. 'This is singing?' 'No, this is talking.' 'Whatever it is, I like it.' (Subtle lesson: old or new things aren't necessarily bad in and of themselves.) Even in our world, the Cosby Kids retain their ability to adapt and can rap after this.

Since this is the crossing of the 'real' world and a television world, the movie should be treated as a fantasy. Viewed in this way, the movie works very well. It does some little things that I beg other movies to do; it provides some reasons why these special events are occurring. You may watch the film and go 'Really? That's a dumb reason' but at least it bothers to give you a reason why, say, of all the crying people in the world, Fat Albert hears this one girl.

The movie is amusing and occasionally funny. I think kids might be more amused by some of the physical comedy than I was. I like physical comedy but the way it played out here was only okay to me. Most of the effects are good but one sequence is not. You'll know it when you see it. It's early in the film and looks awkward.

The ending is as it should be, with a surprisingly quiet moment at the end with a cameo I never expected.

Was this a great movie? I don't know about that. Really enjoyable film? Yes. (Subtle lesson: I may have learned something before it was all through. Hey hey hey!)