Roald Dahl has been treated remarkably well by filmmakers over the years, whether his charming children’s classics (Matilda, the various versions of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), his slightly grimmer kid-lit novels (Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Witches) and even his sardonic, adult-oriented short stories (The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar and Three More).
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| Beesha and Bubsy are horrified to discover, via a television news broadcast, that they're accused of stealing the blue-furred Muggle-Wumps ... when, in fact, the children freed the creatures from inhumane captivity. |
Sigh...
This adaptation of Dahl’s 1980 children’s novella is a mess: poor pacing, dumb songs (by David Byrne, no less), a cavalier approach to the source material, protracted filler sidebars, and the bewildering — and wholly inappropriate — insertion of a contemporary American political message, all of which make the film’s 98 minutes feel like an eternity.
On the positive side, the animation style definitely suits the material, and the voice talent is fine. Too bad Johnston and co-scripter Meg Favreau didn’t give the actors better dialogue. The inane butt jokes quickly wear thin.
The saga emerges as a bedtime story, told by mother bed bug Pippa (voiced by Emilia Clarke) to her young son, Jeremy (Sami Amber). The boy occasionally interrupts the narrative to ask a question, or express concern about what will happen next. It’s a cute framing device ... and, arguably, the film’s strongest asset.
Credenza S. Twit (Margo Martindale) and James T. Twit (Johnny Vegas), an ill-kempt, spiteful and mean-spirited married couple, are united in mutual hatred. They gleefully pull pranks on each other, such as hiding a frog in their bed, or making a spaghetti dinner with worms. They live in the otherwise bucolic community of Triperot, in a gadget-laden house (a shameless lift from Wallace & Gromit).
But the otherwise misanthropic couple share a devotion to their passion project: a theme park dubbed Twitlandia, laden with outrageously dangerous rides such as flying outhouses and a rickety Ferris Wheel. Everything is powered by the tears of three exotic, blue-furred simians known as Muggle-Wumps: magical creatures long ago captured from Loompaland, named Marty (Timothy Simmons), his wife Mary (Natalie Portman) and their young daughter Mandy (Israa Zainab).
When stressed — which is frequent — Marty barfs up ambulatory furry stress balls, known as Florbnorbles, which cause all manner of mischief.
Elsewhere, a gaggle of orphans in the Triperot Home for Children are watched over by 12-year-old Beesha (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) and her best friend Bubsy (Ryan Lopez). They’re far better guardians than orphanage director Mr. Napkin (Phil Johnston), quite possibly the least effective human being alive.
On the day the Twits excitedly plan to open their amusement park, they’re shattered when the place is condemned for being unsafe. The enraged couple exacts revenge by flooding the entire town with liquid hot dog meat. Seeking proof of this vile deed, Beesha and Bubsy visit Twitlandia, and are astonished when the Twits gleefully acknowledge their involvement.
Beesha also is horrified to discover the caged Muggle-Wumps, and resolves to free them. Which she does, and is further delighted — because she’s an “empathetic child” — to discover that they understand each other’s speech.
This is more than enough plot, but Johnston and Favreau are just getting started. The Twits evade penalty by insisting that Twitlandia can “make Triperot great again,” thus restoring its heyday as the “fun capital of the world.” Sensing that they’re dealing with a gullible public — such as dim-bulb Horvis Dungle (Mark Proksch) and his wife, Dee Dumdie-Dumble (Rebecca Wisocky) — the Twits craftily agree that “It’s time to make some promises we have no intention of keeping.”
They lie, cheat and steal with impunity, recognizing that it’s easy to stoke and harness hatred: “With the proper mob mentality, we can move mountains.”
Understanding that public office is the path to power, and looking to unseat incumbent Mayor Wayne John John-John (Jason Mantzoukas) in the upcoming election, Mr. Twit insists that “Everyone who votes for me will become a billionaire.”
(D’ya think Johnston and Favreau have sledge-hammered the topical parallel sufficiently?)
Worse yet, the Twits turn the entire town against Beesha and the other orphans, for “wantonly stealing” the Muggle-Wumps.
We’re barely halfway into what becomes an increasingly bizarre hodge-podge of additional plot contrivances, very few of which are present in Dahl’s book. Additionally, the already fitful pacing lurches to a full stop every time one of the unmemorable songs emerges.
All of which is a shame, because — at the story’s core — Beesha and Bubsy are plucky young heroes, and the Twits are well-sculpted grotesques. Alas, their hilariously burlesque shenanigans are overshadowed by the ham-fisted political messaging, and the result is No Fun At All.
On a bookkeeping note, the film opens with a banner proclaiming that it comes from the “Roald Dahl Story Company,” which is a nice touch. However, when the full credits unspool after the film concludes, Johnston and Favreau take sole credit for the script, with no mention of Dahl’s source novel. That’s inexcusable.
Oh, and if you’ve hung on that long, do wait a bit longer; you’ll be rewarded with a droll cut-scene midway through those credits.
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