Around the World in 80 Days (2004 film)

Around the World in 80 Days is a 2004 action adventure comedy film directed by Frank Coraci from a script by David Titcher, David Benullo and David Goldstein. It is loosely based on Jules Verne's 1873 novel of the same name, and for comedic reasons, intentionally deviates wildly from the novel and includes a number of anachronistic elements. An international co-production of the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Ireland, it stars Jackie Chan, Steve Coogan, Cécile de France and Jim Broadbent, with Ewen Bremner, Ian McNeice, Karen Joy Morris, Roger Hammond and David Ryall in supporting roles.
Around the World in 80 Days premiered at the El Capitan Theatre on 13 June 2004 and was released theatrically in the United States on 16 June 2004, the United Kingdom and Ireland on 9 July and Germany on 23 December. The film received mixed reviews from critics and earned $72.6 million worldwide on a $110 million budget, making it a box-office bomb.
Lau Xing, a Chinese thief, robs the Bank of England and hides in Phileas Fogg's garden, where he meets Fogg and gives his name as "Passepartout". Though suspicious at first, Fogg hires him as his valet. He helps Fogg test his latest invention which breaks the 50-mile-per-hour (80 km/h) speed barrier.
At the Royal Academy of Science, Fogg is insulted by Lord Kelvin, head of the academy, who believes ambition and innovation to be an insult. Following a debate on the whereabouts of the thief, Kelvin makes a bet that Fogg cannot travel around the world in 80 days. If Fogg succeeds, he will replace Kelvin as Minister of Science. If not, he will be ruined. Fogg and Passepartout take a carriage out of London after a confrontation with corrupt Inspector Fix, hired by Kelvin.
Passepartout and Fogg journey to Paris, where Passepartout must evade General Fang's warriors. Fang wants the jade Buddha previously given to Lord Kelvin but stolen by Passepartout. Pretending to take Fogg to see Thomas Edison, Passepartout leads him to impressionist painting student Monique La Roche. Passepartout fights the warriors while his boss discusses impressionism. The two men and Monique depart in a hot-air balloon, chased by Fang's warriors.
The trio continues their journey by train. However, in Istanbul, they are forced to become guests of Prince Hapi's banquet. Whilst initially hospitable, he soon orders the men to leave while Monique must become his seventh wife. The men convince Hapi to release Monique or they will damage his personal statue of "The Thinker", which is accidentally smashed. With Hapi in pursuit, the three travelers then escape.
Kelvin learns about the bank robbery. He orders the British colonial authorities in India to arrest both men. Passepartout sees notice of the price on his head and warns his companions. Disguised as women they are attacked by Fang's warriors. Using Inspector Fix and a sextant as weapons, Fogg and Passepartout defeat their assailants and flee to China.
In a Chinese village where Lau Xing had come from, Lanzhou, they are welcomed by Lau's family members. However, they are captured by the Black Scorpions. Recognized, Lau Xing challenges the leader of the group to a fight. At first, he fights alone and is defeated; moments later, he is joined by his fellow "Ten Tigers of Canton" to defeat the Black Scorpions. The jade Buddha is returned to the village temple.
Fogg desires to continue alone, disappointed and feeling used by his companions after finding a picture of Lau and his family members in the village. He travels to San Francisco and is tricked out of his money. He is found destitute by Lau Xing and Monique who have followed him. In the Western desert, they find the Wright brothers who discuss their prototype flying machine. Fogg suggests a few changes, which are eagerly taken.
In New York City, a jubilant crowd prevents them from their ship. A policeman leads them to an ambush in a workshop. The three friends fight Fang and her warriors and win. Though Fogg could have gotten to the boat, he misses it to help Lau Xing. Fogg feels that he has lost, but the other two say that they may still make it if they catch the next ship.
They board an old ship and Fogg builds a plane out of the ship's old wood, promising a new ship to the captain. The ship's crew builds a catapult to launch it. The three fly to London and crash-land at the Royal Academy. Kelvin sends police to hinder them, and the clock strikes noon, ending the wager.
Kelvin proclaims himself the victor, but Monique, Fix and other ministers protest against his abuse and unfair methods. Kelvin insults Queen Victoria who overhears him and learns of his actions, which leads to his arrest. She then reveals that she has bet money on Fogg winning and that he has arrived a day early. Although the trio are confused at first, Fogg realizes that while they took the time zones into account, they forgot about the International Date Line: because they traveled east, they subtracted one hour for each time zone. Therefore, in London, it’s still day 79, and Fogg won. He ascends the stairs of the academy and kisses Monique.
Warner Bros., which owned the rights to the 1956 adaptation, planned its own remake with Stephen Sommers directing and Brendan Fraser starring, after the success of The Mummy. Stan Chervin wrote the script for this utilization of the film. Around the same time, 20th Century Fox and Good Machine were developing their own version with Mark Rosenthal and Lawrence Konner writing the screenplay. Ang Lee and Stephen Herek were considered to direct.
When Frank Coraci got involved, he went back to read the original novel and watch the 1956 film, where he realized that the story didn't really have a driving lead character. So he decided to rework the plot considerably, which involved giving Phileas Fogg an arc. Coraci's first choice for Fogg was Johnny Depp, but studio executives at the time didn't think Depp in a family movie would ever work. Jackie Chan was announced to play Passepartout in June 2002. He was paid about $18 million for the role. After Chan was cast, the filmmakers settled on lesser known character actor Steve Coogan for Fogg. Walden Media was in charge of investing the film while Summit Entertainment handled foreign sales. Paramount Pictures acquired domestic distribution rights, and set a release date for 21 November 2003. However, the studio stepped out at the start of the year, with concerns over the high budget and bankability of the cast.
Principal photography began on 13 March 2003 in Thailand, followed by a three month shoot at Babelsberg Studio in Berlin. Before Disney had picked up the film for North American distribution, it was one of the highest-budget films produced without a distributor attached.
Around the World in 80 Days premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California on 13 June 2004, and was released in the United States on 16 June 2004, by Walt Disney Pictures. Summit Entertainment handled international sales of the film. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, Entertainment Film Distributors released the film on 9 July. On 23 December, Universum Film and Buena Vista International released it in Germany.
The film was released on DVD and VHS in the United States on 2 November 2004 by Walt Disney Home Entertainment.
The film received mixed reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 32% approval rating, based on 128 reviews, with an average score of 4.79/10, with the site's consensus stating: "Hit-and-miss family fare that bears only the slightest resemblance to Verne's novel." Metacritic gives the film a weighted score of 49 out of 100, based on reviews from 33 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.
The Guardian critic Rob Mackie criticized it for having little to no resemblance to the novel it is based on. Roger Ebert praised it for its visual style and for being "goofy fun". Todd McCarthy of Variety wrote: "Takes plenty of liberties with the material and never generates much genuine excitement, but provides an agreeable ride without overloading it with contemporary filmmaking mannerisms."
In 2014, the Los Angeles Times listed the film as one of the most expensive box office flops of all time.
The film was nominated for two Razzie Awards - Worst Remake or Sequel and Worst Supporting Actor (Arnold Schwarzenegger).