Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 4, 1994 TAG: 9406070062
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: B-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Mike Mayo
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
``The Return of Jafar'' is the Disney studio's first ``video original.'' That means it's an animated feature that's going directly to video stores without theatrical distribution or TV broadcast. As a sequel to ``Aladdin,'' it attempts to repeat all of the elements that made the original so popular.
This time though, the main ingredient of the first film is missing. Dan Castellaneta - the voice of Homer Simpson - takes over for Robin Williams as the Genie, and does a completely respectable job. Much of the action is handled by Gilbert Gottfried as Iago, the irritating parrot. The title pretty much says all that needs to be said about the plot.
The animation isn't as detailed or quick as it was in the first film. But it's still a cut above most animated video originals, and it's actually better than a lot of second-rate feature-length cartoons that are showing up in theaters these days. There's nothing here to match the big action scenes, the elaborate production numbers or the songs, but that probably won't bother most kids.
Will they love it like they love the first film? Of course not. Will they like it? Definitely. Will they want to watch it a dozen times? Probably.
``The Polar Bear King'' is a Norwegian production. It is, more or less, another variation on the story that was told in ``Beauty and the Beast.'' It also exists under the titles ``East of the Sun, West of the Moon'' ``Cupid and Psyche'' and probably others. This is based on one called, ``White Bear King Valemon.''
It's got all the standard elements: Prince (Tobias Hoesl) turned into beast, in this case a polar bear created by Jim Henson's Creature Shop; the youngest princess (Maria Bonnevie) who agrees to marry him; her envious sisters and their attempts to undermine her.
But in this telling of the story, writer-producer Erik Borge has added more, lots more, including a wonderfully wicked witch (Anna-Lotta Larsson); magic scissors and an invisible mother-in-law. Director Ola Solum keeps the pace moving so quickly that few kids will be bored by the film, but older kids who appreciate really good special effects may be disappointed with the bear.
Otherwise, the photography and the Nordic locations are really neat. True, the film has the same problem that plagues all screen versions of the story: the bear/beast is wonderful and lovable; his human incarnation, the prince, is a weenie. That's a quibble. I suspect most grown-ups will enjoy this one as much as younger videophiles.
Moving from fairy tales to the supernatural, we have ``Mirror Mirror 2: Raven Dance.'' It's a fine little low-budget time-waster. When a movie opens with a tattooed skinhead band playing at a Catholic orphanage for no audience, you know that plot doesn't count for much. And that's as it should be. The effects are everything in this one. They range from a guy in a silly rubber suit to some really good and inventive work done with lights and computers.
The violence is too outlandish to be offensive. There are lots of veterans - Roddy McDowell, Sally Kellerman, William Sanderson, Veronica Cartwright - on screen. Director Jimmy Lifton kept them from hamming it up too much, but he didn't catch or care about all the continuity errors. But, in a movie like this, those are part of the fun, too.
New releases this week
My Life: ** 1/2
Starring Michael Keaton, Nicole Kidman. Directed by Bruce Jay Rubin. Columbia TriStar. 112 min. Rated PG-13 for subject matter, strong language.
This is such a relentlessly emotional film that it will attract and put off viewers in roughly equal numbers. It's a wry, honest and occasionally cliched approach to an uncomfortable subject - death. The film is a stacked the deck so strongly in the protagonist's (Keaton) favor that it never engages viewers' intellect, only their emotions.
Wayne's World 2: **
Starring Mike Myers and Dana Carvey. Directed by Stephen Surjik. Paramount. 90 min. Rated PG-13 for sexual humor, a few naked backsides.
Like all sequels, this one repeats everything that made the first film a hit, so what it lacks in originality, it replaces with familiarity. Fans will love it - or at least like it - and everyone else is on their own. Wayne and Garth are still doing a public access cable show in Aurora, Illinois, until Jim Morrison appears to Wayne in a dream and tells him to produce a rock concert, ``Waynestock.''
THE ESSENTIALS:
The Return of Jafar ** 1/2
Disney. 66 min. Unrated, contains a little scarey stuff.
The Polar Bear King ***
Hemdale. 87 min. Rated PG for mild violence.
Mirror Mirror 2: Raven Dance **
Orphan Entertainment. 91 min. Rated R for wild special effects, violence, language.
by CNB