'Little Mermaid' Becomes A 'Lady'
Ariel Star Jodi Benson Voices Another Classic Role
The "Little Mermaid" has found her way to land again ? but this time she has four legs.
Well, kind of -- let me re-phrase: Jodi Benson (pictured second from the left), the talented voice actor that played Ariel in the modern day classic, "The Little Mermaid," is now being featured in a new role ? as Lady in "Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure," the sequel to the timeless Disney classic that just made its debut on video and DVD.
But to become "part of that world," wasn't exactly a walk in the park for Benson, despite such magical performances as Ariel in "The Little Mermaid" to her credit. When she auditioned for the role in 1996 (you have to remember, animation takes an extraordinary amount of time to produce), she had the challenging task of essentially re-creating the vocalizations of Barbara Luddy, the voice of the original Lady.
Trying to match Luddy's raspy voice was, needless to say, daunting.
"It was very scary," Benson told me in a recent interview. "My audition was to basically re-record what she already did in the original. So, I went above and beyond the call of duty for the audition because they were laughing, saying, 'Yeah, we'll see Jodi because she's part of the family, but she'll just always be Ariel.'
"So I went and recorded in the studio on my own dime and worked and worked and worked on the audition and handed that tape in. They were pleasantly shocked, and I got the job."
Marked by top-notch animation, memorable musical numbers and a heartfelt story, the release of "Scamp's Adventure" is another wonderful reminder of why Disney is the champion of animation. This time around, the story focuses on Lady and the Tramp's (Jeff Bennett) son, Scamp (Scott Wolf), a spitting image of his father.
Unhappy with civilized life, Scamp rebels against the leashed rules of his domesticated life and runs away to join a group of junkyard dogs, led by Buster (Chazz Palminteri). However, a street-smart orphaned dog named Angel (Alyssa Milano) tries to make Scamp realize that his home isn't such a bad place after all. Other actors contributing to the film included Mickey Rooney, Cathy Moriarty and Bronson Pinchot.
Even with an impressive voice cast backing them up, the filmmakers still had the unenviable task of not only creating an original story, but to maintain the spirit of the original film ? not only in tone, but look. Benson believes they did it and then some, an incredible accomplishment considering how animation techniques have changed over time with technology.
"When I saw the opening credits I thought that they were showing an old clip from something else," Benson recalled. "But then when I saw the title, 'Lady and the Tramp II,' I was wonderfully shocked and surprised at how period it looked."
What Benson also appreciated about the project was the fact that the film stayed true to the Disney tradition of layering educational values within the narrative.
"Most of the Disney films have something to offer morally or some sort of deep-rooted fiber that we can walk away with ? then they make it entertaining as well, which is what makes them so successful."
Working on such family-oriented projects is a perfect fit for Benson, who, after a 15-year career on Broadway, has settled into a less-hectic life with her family in California. And while she's worked non-stop on several animated projects (including a voice roles for the "Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea" and the upcoming "101 Dalmatians" animated sequel) and made appearances and performed in concerts on Disney's behalf, Benson has ample time for her favorite passion: Her 2-year-old child (plus she has another one on the way).
"What's great is that I only have to work a couple hours a week, allowing me the time to be be a full-time mom," Benson enthused. More than anyting, she thanks her little friend named Ariel for all the wonderful opportunities.
"I'm very proud of 'The Little Mermaid' and I thank the Lord for it," Benson said. "I was just talking with my husband about it -- every job I've gotten was because of 'The Little Mermaid' and our family is going to be forever grateful. It's been a thrill and wonderful ride of adventures for us."
'Enemy At The Gates' (R)
Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud ("Seven Years In Tibet," "The Lover," "The Name Of The Rose"), "Enemy At The Gates" tells the story of a real-life Russian soldier, a young shepherd from the Urals named Vassili Zaitsev (Jude Law), who becomes one of his country's top snipers during the siege of Stalingrad in 1942-43.
At a time when Soviet morale was low, when soldiers were under severe pressure from their officers not to let the town bearing Stalin's name to fall, at any cost, Zaitsev became a much-needed national hero, a point of pride for the country, a reason to fight for the Motherland.
His dead-on shooting of high-ranking German officers also made Zaitsev the subject of much propaganda. As such, when making a film of his accomplishments and personal life during the war, Annaud relied mainly on William Craig's book of the same name, but also created a fair amount of what happened. Craig wrote of a duel between Zaitsev and a German nobleman during the battle.
In the film, Zaitsev's kills so upset the Germans that they hire their top marksman Major Konig (Ed Harris) to seek out the young sniper and beat him at his own game. Rounding out the film's cast are Joseph Fiennes ("Shakespeare In Love") as Danilov, the Soviet political officer who propagates Zaitsev's legend, and Tania (Rachel Weisz), the Soviet soldier with whom Zaitsev falls in love. Bob Hoskins appears in several scenes as Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.
The film's best moments are without a doubt the sniper vs. sniper sequences. Wrought with tension, the young but keenly-aware Zaitsev and the veteran sharpshooter Konig take turns laying in wait for the other to slip up, picking their camouflaged spots with care, waiting there poised to fire at any moment. Those sequences are positively gripping to watch, and luckily there are enough of them to fill what is otherwise pretty standard war movie fare.
There's a love story -- actually a love triangle -- involving Zaitsev, Danilov and Tania. Tania and Zaitsev fall for each other, to the dismay of Danilov who yearns for her. The scenes of romance and Danilov's jealousy aren't too over the top thankfully, but certainly don't add to the intrigue of the plot. In an unintentionally humourous love scene between Zaitsev and Tania, actress Weisz's amorous gaze is replaced by one of what appears to be wide-eyed terror. Or maybe it's horror at their having to get down and dirty amid a pile of sleeping Russian soldiers, who knows.
It's violent. In an early battle scene, where only one of every two Russian soldiers was given a rifle, there are images of severed limbs, rifle shots to the head, and piles upon piles of dead bodies. It doesn't come close, though, to evoking the same horror Steven Spielberg did with his intro battle scene in Saving Private Ryan. It's brutal and gruesome, yes, but with a definite glossier look to it.
Law turns in a fine performance as the courageous, humble hero Zaitsev. Fiennes aptly captures the darker side of his character, and Harris (Oscar-nominated for his role in "Pollock") portrays Konig with a terrifying steeliness. The solid turns by all three make "Enemy At The Gates" worth keeping in your sights. --Suzanne Ellis
The Caveman's Valentine (R)
As far as it is from his cool and collected portrayal in "Shaft," Jackson still slips comfortably into the role of Romulus Ledbetter, a paranoid schizophrenic homeless man who launches a private investigation of an avant-garde art photographer (Colm Feore) he suspects of murder.
But this private dick is far from your conventional Tracy. Explained as a 10-second Hollywood pitch, think of it as "Sherlock Holmes" and "Shaft" meets "Shine's" David Helfgott, with a set of John Travolta's "Battlefield Earth" dreadlocks from thrown in for good measure. You see, before Romulus lost his mind, he was Julliard-trained piano virtuoso and devoted family man: But now he lives in a cave at the edge of Manhattan, claims there's a bad guy that offices atop the Chrysler Building that's out to get him, and often suffers from psychotic episodes he calls "brain typhoons."
Like the concept of art it examines, "The Caveman's Valentine" is definitely an acquired taste. Its narrative truly provides an interesting menagerie of visuals, and each viewer is likely to take away something different from it. You may find the highly stylized cinematography and editing of the piece to be either an exciting form of expression, or simply a distraction. I found it to be a little of both, although its solid portrayals (Jackson and Feore are joined by Ann Magnuson and Anthony Michael Hall) often times give it the ability to rise above any technical misgivings.
One thing that can't be helped though, is the contrived (and far-fetched at that) circumstances that Romulus often finds himself in, and even more miraculously, how he has the moxie to handle them. After all, we're not talking Mozart here, we're talking murder. He's not that good with his hands. Plus, it might have helped to explain why Romulus is the way he is. At least with Helfgott, we got the insight we needed.
One thing is for certain: The film is not your conventional detective film, nor was it meant to be. For that, at least, "The Caveman's Valentine" is a sweetheart of an idea, even though it sometimes goes sour. Sure, it ultimately takes the predictable murder-mystery route, but you have to at least admire the film for daring to be different. --Tim Lammers
'The Dish' (PG-13)
But if not for a small team of Australians manning a satellite dish Down Under, that miraculous moment might not have been seen at all. "The Dish," a comedy from
Aussie director Rob Sitch, tells the story of Parkes, a small town in New South Wales, Australia that had a bigger role in the lunar walk than the townspeople could've ever imagined.
In a loosely based re-telling of the true story, the Australian crew, led by Sam Neill as Cliff Buxton, is plagued by one problem after another with the football field-sized dish in their care, one of two such receivers in the world. The Parkes dish, meant to be a back-up to NASA's primary one in Goldstone, California, takes center stage after to a flight change aboard Apollo 11.
Sitch's film, his second after 1997's "The Castle" is warm, wonderfully written and hilarious throughout. It's a joy to watch the townspeople of Parkes immerse themselves in moon madness -- suddenly everyone in town knows every technical detail about the spacecraft and the mission. There are some wonderful personalities drawn in the film, from the proud Parkes mayor Bob McIntyre (Roy Billing), to the overzealous dish security guard Rudi, hilariously played by Tayler Kane.
Tom Long and Kevin Harrington star as Buxton's technical team manning
the dish - Long plays the shy, silent and studious one, Harrington is the stubborn, sarcastic one. Patrick Warburton (known for his role as Puddy on "Seinfeld") plays a NASA representative on hand to aid where necessary. Despite the eccentricity of the characters, what comes through is real emotion, a sense of pride and incredulity at being involved in such an historic event.
The star of this film, though, is the magnificent dish, incongruously located in the middle of a sheep paddock. "The Dish" broke box office records Down Under, becoming the fifth highest grossing film in the country's history.
Subtly funny, and immensely entertaining, "The Dish" also evokes a sense of wonder and eager anticipation of the Apollo 11 mission. This reviewer hadn't been born when Armstrong took those steps on the moon, but after seeing "The Dish," now has a stronger appreciation of what this event meant not only to the United States, but to the world. --Suzanne Ellis
'Exit Wounds' (R) (Preview)
Catch up with Tim Lammers on these recent @ The Movies interviews:
New In Theaters
"Enemy at the Gates," the latest film to recount the horrors of World War II, is more of a battle between individuals than one between nations.
Forget about John Shaft: Samuel L. Jackson has turned in his chrome-dome for a set dreadlocks for "The Caveman's Valentine," a decidedly different spin on the detective genre from his "Eve's Bayou" director Kasi Lemmons.
When Neil Armstrong took his first steps on the moon July 19, 1969, it was seen as a great moment in the history of mankind, a proud achievement for the United States.
Steven Seagal plays a tough inner-city copy in a corrupt police inner-city precinct in "Exit Wounds." Co-starring rapper DMX, Tom Arnold and Isaiah Washington, the film is directed by "Romeo Must Die" helmer Andrzej Bartkowiak.
