8 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, March 19, 1999
'King and I' cartoon falls flat
State Street Project
plans semester show,'
By Chris Cousino
TV/New Media Editor
joining the list of this spring's upcom-
ing femakes, based-on something films
such as "The Mod Squad," "The Out-of-
Towners" and "The Mummy," Warner
Brothers has decided to enter into the
The King
and i
*I
At Briarwood
and Showcase
an i ma - fight
against the mighty
"Tarzan"-armed
Disney with a new
reinvention: the
cartoon musical.
Based on the
Rogers and
Hammerstein
musical and film
of the same name,
"The King and I"
provides a lyrical
gateway to intro-
duce children to
the wonderful
about "Cats: The Cartoon?"
While the concept of the animated
musical gives a certain freshness to ani-
mation and children's films in general,
"The King and I" fails to live up to its
aspirations. Through uninspired musical
numbers, poor direction and weaker ani-
mation, this generic retelling falls bor-
ingly flat.
Set in the late 1800s, "The King and I"
begins as British governess Anna
(voiced by Miranda Richardson) and her
son Louis sail to Siam where she has an
appointment to teach the King's chil-
dren. An ill-fated, magical attempt by the
conniving, maniacal Kralahome, the
King's councilor, to prevent their arrival
cues the first renowned song, "I Whistle
a Happy Tune." The action, though, dur-
ing this number is utterly dull as the
characters wander aimlessly around the
ship's deck.
Upon reaching Siam, Anna and the
Yul Brenner look-a-like King (Martin
Vidnovic) immediately clash with their
opposing Western and Eastern world
views. The character of the King is rich
and interesting, as he is a literati champi-
on of the arts and sciences, but at the
same time, he displays a fervent arro-
gance and an opinionated need to con-
trol. Anna matches the King with her
grace, intelligence and charm, question-
ing such issues as class structure, mar-
riage rules and even a visit by the royal
children outside palace walls.
The basic story of "The King and I" is
endearing, as both Anna and the King
learn from one another and grow togeth-
er as they begin to understand each other.
While the animated version never fully
develops a love relationship between the
two, leaving their bond mostly on the
friendship level, this film maintains the
premise developed in the original musi-
cal and live-action film.
That said, this "King and I" pales in
comparison to its forefathers. Director
Richard Rich, known for such classics as
"The Fox and the Hound" and "The
Black Cauldron," shoots this film as if it
were a live-action musical, with each
scene set within the confines of a stage.
Even the cartoon actors perform like
stage actors, at times looking like they
don't know what to do.
The animation of the background set-
tings look like backdrops as they lack
any rich detail. "The King and I" anima-
Courtesy of Morgan Creek Productions
Anna and the King dance in the
animated reproduction of the musical.
tors try to reflect the elegant, mystical art
of the Far East but it works more as a
noticeable distraction than a creative aes-
thetic.
The musical numbers sound far worse
as well, as the recordings of "Getting To
Know You" and "Shall We Dance?"
come across as weak, unenthusiastic per-
formances. So poor in fact, the sound-
track producers chose to include Barbra
Streisand track not in the film in hopes
of increasing sales.
While the animated musical is a
grand idea, this "King" is no royal tiara.
By Adlin Rosli
Daily Arts Writer
Those looking for something out
of the ordinary to do this weekend
should go and check out State Street
Poetry Project's Spring Show. The
event promises to entertain and
intrigue through its showcase of
local student talent in writing and
music. If you're lucky, however, it
may be quite an arousing experience
as well.
"During our first show, one of the
readers got naked. She had a poem
about nudity and apparently getting
naked was part of the poem," said
musicals their parents loved and revered.
Could a cartoon Julie Andrews be on the
way, Burger King playset and all? How
State Street
Poetry Project
East Hall Aud.
Tomorrow at 8 p.m.
ITHE MAGIC FLUTEI
Sarah Flint,
co-chair of the
State Street
Poetry Project
and Saturday's
show director.
Flint also
explained that
last semester's
State Street
Poetry Project
was a success
with the
crowd. The
organizers
worked to
stress and work into the show. The
two of us pretty much handle almost
everything; we decide on the music,
select the readers and make sure we
have all the equipment and space
needed." Jon Hagar and Paul
Kowalski also helped Flint and Hand
by designing publicity materials.
Like previous semester perfor-
mances, this semester's show will be
another diverse collection of talents.
Despite the variety, Flint mentioned..
that there probably will be some -
degree of similarity in the perfor-
mances. As Flint said, "There are'a
lot of different themes but one of the
predominant ones seems to be sex
and its many different forms."
With a history of a nude appear-
ances and themes generally relating
to sex, one has to wonder why repro
duction and its allusions arc such a
big thing with a State Street Poetry
Project Show. "Well, the crude
answer to that is probably because
the participants are all college kids,
freshmen through seniors. I don't
know, it's also probably because sex'
is a part of all our lives in one way or
another," Flint said.
Publicity handouts like flyers and
posters for the show have also
reflected the predominance of sex as
a recurring theme. For Saturday's
event the group has released flyers
depicting a woman with an expres-
sion of pleasure and the phrase "Get
off on poetry?" followed with "Yes,
yes, oh God yes! Its free." on the bot-
tom.
"Subtlety isn't our forte,'"com-
mented Flint.
Something different and entertain-
ing awaits those who care to venture
to the State Street Poetry Project's
Spring Show. All attendees need to
bring to the show is an open mind -
and the expectation to have fun.
0
0
This ain't your parents.
6, travel agenlCy.
ensure rousing performances and
visual effects, including creative
lighting.
"Because we're performing this in
a lecture hall, were going to make
more effort this semester to decorate
the performance space and continue
to incorporate visual and audio
enhancements where appropriate;'
Flint said.
A show of this caliber is definitely
an immense undertaking and Flint
explained that committee members
put a lot of care and attention into the
planning. "Co-chair Franki Hand has
been putting in an equal amount of
I
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11
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