 I don't really remember watching the Fat Albert cartoon that was on Saturday mornings, so I'm not sure why I wanted to watch the movie. It could stem back to my extreme love of Saturday Night Live, which is where Kenan Thompson, who plays the character role in this movie, can be seen once a week. I'm glad Kenan has SNL going for him, because this movie might have been the end of someone trying to make a break in the movie business.
Bill Cosby, after years of writing the actual Fat Albert cartoon, made this his first screenplay and even plays a small cameo role as himself towards the end of the movie.
Fat Albert and his friends climb out of the TV screen one day while Doris, played by Kyla Pratt, is watching the cartoon about them. The ensemble of cartoon characters that each of their own flaws and strengths follow Doris around, using cliched phrases and bits of encouragement that they use in cartoonland.
Doris finds friends, Fat Albert falls in love, his friends find their true strengths they've never been able to find in cartoonland. For the most part, everyone lives happily ever after.
In one of the few scenes that cause any sense of emotion at all, we discover that the characters in the movie, and originally the cartoon, look like Cosby's real-life childhood friends.
It's a movie that's sweet and gentle, but that certainly doesn't make a blockbuster hit and that's evident from this film.
It's a movie that could have been done on Saturday mornings and filled a good hour long block between a Saved by the Bell rerun and a Bugs Bunny cartoon. It could have never hit the big screen and not too many people would have noticed. |
| : | Purchase Fat Albert at amazon.com |
| Rating: |  |
| written by: | Wendy |
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| Fat Albert can be found in the following categories: Children Comedy On DVD |
