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While the source material isn’t so widely known as such other comic book titles as Superman, Batman, or Spider-Man, the European Suske en Wiske—which according to a release has sold more than 200 million copies throughout the world, though this author has never known of its existence previously—comes to DVD after having played to audiences at many a film festival throughout the world (again, according to the aforementioned furnished by Phase 4 Films).
Best known for his mullet, singing “Achy Breaky Heart,” competing on “Dancing with the Stars,” and as of late as the father of “Hannah Montana” star Miley Cyrus, Billy Ray Cyrus lends his voice to the animated tale of Luke and Lucy & The Texas Rangers. He doesn’t really do much as his character—well one of them— is a sheriff nursing a broken leg, thus sidelining him for much of the film.
Two children (the titular Luke and Lucy) travel somewhere called Dark City (Kiefer Sutherland is not to be found there or anything or anyone recalling one of Charlton Heston’s earliest cinematic performances or the striking Alex Proyas film wind up teaming with some Texas Rangers—not the team that the 43rd president was an owner of—to stop the sinister stratagem by a subversive named Parasite. What ensues is a an adventure sure to engage the very young but bound to bore teenagers and anyone older. Still a smattering of references to the likes of Mission :Impossible, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, and The Matrix threaded through an adventure that plays like a kiddie version of the sixties western-fantasy series “The Wild, Wild, West” has its moments.
This rather unspectacularly presented effort probably won’t be joining the animated film new age ushered in by Pixar. It certainly is no Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Up, or Dreamworks’ CGI opus Shrek nor does it merit comparison to any of them. However, on the small screen it’s probably better served as it’s virtually akin to some of the juvenile efforts seen in syndication and on PBS but a handful of years ago.
Not being familiar at al with the source material perhaps might account for this reviewer’s not being so wild about this film; howver, I never knew of The Rocketeer before seeing the 1991 cinematic adaptation. Pre-teenagers, or more like post-kindergarteners seem to be the target audience for this film. Essentially those who were born well bore Cyrus’ “Achy Breaky Heart” made the charts and saw “Hannah Montana” just as they were entering nursery school.
Robert Baum is Currently a Bryn Mawr, PA-based film afficanado and pop culture junkie.
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