Breakinger A Brilliant Conflict

AutCuddly Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

Twilightfa Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

jamestftotani In a time where Disney was experimenting with mature content in their family feature films such as Pocahontas, Hunchback and Mulan, Richard Rich decided to make his second attempt at catching Disney's wind after his 10 year magnum opus The Swan Princess bombed in its theatrical release but sold 50 million copies on VHS. As someone who hasn't seen the original 1956 version of The King and I, I still think that after watching the magically confused Swan Princess, this follow-up by Richard Rich and Rankin/Bass does even not even live up to the mediocrity of The Swan Princess. Although I cannot compare this version to its more superior 50s live-action version, there are still parts of this film that I really hate and cannot stand. The worst part about this film is the mockery of Chinese people through its Asian caricature Master Little. What I can recall from this character is that there's this running gag that he loses his teeth whenever he gets into mischief. After watching Sleeping Beauty, I don't think humming and whistling "I whistle a Happy Tune" would scare off Maleficent's distant cousin but it did anyway, only because the movie is not over yet. This relationship rips off Aladdin in two ways, adding too many cute animal characters such as giving a pet monkey to Anna's son just so he can give Master Little a hard time, the relationship between Chulalonghorn and the slave girl, and an extremely hammy version of Jafar called the Kralahorn, who just performs evil magic tricks using his magic migraines just for the sake of it. Not even the commercial bait song in the credits sung by Barbara Streisand made me think that The King and I would have any chance of stealing my heart. If anyone wants to watch a magical film full of characters with motivations and outside interests, watch Aladdin instead. It even has wonderful humour that can reach out to its audiences as well as having something to do with the story.

Kristina Dazo Despite that this storyline is against the history origin and a slight different remake version of both musical and live-action 1956 film adaptations until this animated remake film received lots of bad reviews, as a critic, I just felt like praising this film's animation whether it is Disney-like or not. So if you are into animation and drawing body proportions and movements, at least this movie is enjoyable and I love this happy ending where nobody died and they turn this animated adaptation into a fairy tale with that kind of happy endings where Tuptim and the Prince lived happily ever after and got married and the King lived instead of dying of illness.I love the reflection and animation effects and as well as the 3D-like hot air balloon which I thought it looks cel-shaded computer-like animation since it moves smoothly like it was 3D computer animated and looking cel-shaded.I love all of the background settings details and they look very well rendered.If you don't like this movie, don't unless if you are into happy endings and into animation and stuff.

TheLittleSongbird I have both versions on video, and I'll admit the 1956 version is much better. I had mixed feelings on this version, but I hated most of the plot changes. Many important bits that worked so well in the 1956 version were changed and replaced with hackneyed plot-holes. The saving grace is the songs, and the singing is passable. The best is Christianne Noll, and Barbara Streisand singing in the end credits was a treat. Back to the bad. The voice talents were OK, but there were a lot of dodgy accents. Miranda Richardson does well, and her character animation is good too. Martin Vidnovic was trying to replicate Yul Brynner, and in no way did he succeed. Adam Wylie has a false English accent, that was shown when he was singing, because his American accent was heard. Ian Richardson is a really good actor, but I was expecting more from him. He had lots of really good lines, but his delivery just felt a bit OTT. The worst character was Master Little, who was funny for only ten minutes, and then the occurring joke about teeth wore thin far too early. Don't get me started on the animals. they were cute at first, but they served no purpose at all to the plot, especially Moonshee. As for the animation, most of it was good, but why on earth did they animate a sea dragon and moving statues that were only there for a couple of seconds, I didn't get it! As for the romance between Tuptim and the Prince it was so unnecessary, and the romance between Anna and the king was painfully underdeveloped. And why did they change the ending? The ending in the 1956 version was so poignant, and this one was pointless. In conclusion, only watch it if you haven't seen the fantastic Yul Brynner version, otherwise you'll be disappointed. 5/10 Bethany Cox

digitalzen-1 I saw Yul Brynner play the king about four months before he died. As long ago as that was, his version is etched in my mind. For that reason I may have approached this abomination with my mind already made up.That notwithstanding, the following: the animation was only passable. That has come to be the norm in cheap TV cartoons for five-year-olds, but a full-length feature based on a well-known story deserves better. Today's computer animation leaves no excuse for a two-dimensional, poorly-drawn screenplay.The voices are at odds with the drama -- either overplayed or under, rarely right on. Brynner could parody himself and get away with it. Vidnovic isn't up to the job. That said, his accent was enough like The King that it got me a couple of times. The singing is passable, but I swear I could hear the electronics occasionally.The liberties taken with the plot are unacceptable. They not only detract from and confuse the story line, they grate on the nerves. I suppose they thought only kids would watch this thing. In my own case, I wish they had been right.Rent the original. See what a real musical with real people is all about. Give this version a pass.