Skippadoodle

Rating: 4/10 (6 June 2007)

This film was made for no other reason than commerce and a guaranteed payday for everyone involved. Considering the content emotional state of its protagonists there was little place to take both the story and its passe post-modern ironic jabs at pop and Disney culture. Murphy's voice is only an exploited extension of his hilarious work as the Klump family in 'The Nutty Professor.' Banderas's charm as 'Puss' is negated by monotonous character jokes as well as a poor second-act twist that makes the film increasingly grating. The plot hinges on 'Arthur' and Timberlake imbues him with a whiny, effete personality that is less than winning. He also appears incapable of reciting his dialogue with any double-entendres or meanings as everything sounds like he's reading from a kids book to a five year old audience. The film's saving grace continues to be the wonders that the film's limitless budget can provide to an expressive animated universe. There's no real urgent ambition here, just an opportunity for viewers to reconnect with old "friends."