Henry Selick, 2001
4 Stars
Yesterday, whilst every other true-blooded
Brit was adorning himself in bunting or pumping out patriotism along the Thames
in celebration of the Queen`s jubilee, I, upon a Sunday evening nonetheless,
had the flat to myself. As such, I think I can be forgiven for putting on my
jim-jams, pouring a Bell`s and coke and settling down to a much-loved film that
no-one remembers.
Said film, in this instance, was Henry
Selick`s oft-forgotten little gem Monkeybone.
After critical success with his previous
stop-motion movies, The Nightmare Before
Christmas and James and the Giant
Peach, Selick decided to play his hand at bringing his unique style of
animation to purely adult audiences. Taking inspiration from the wickedly dark
Canadian graphic novel Dark Town,
Monkeybone centers around successful cartoonist Stu Miley (Brendan Fraser back
when he was fun), creator of the cheeky simian Monkeybone, as he finds himself
knocked into a coma and thrust into a world of nightmares. Therein he becomes
the unlucky patsy in a plot by nightmare king Hypnos to infiltrate the real
world.
But, as with so much of Selick`s work, it`s
not the story that sells it; it`s Selick`s mix of stellar animation, dark
comedy and outright strangeness. And for the most part, it`s here that Monkeybone excels. The nightmare world
is realized with fantastic aplomb, with each and every character and set piece detailed
to the utmost. Rose McGowan`s turn as the mouthwatering Miss Kitty is simply
icing on the cake.
Unfortunately, the film does fall a little
short during its final act, when the action returns to the real world, but
quite frankly, enough delightful groundwork comes before it, that I find myself
forgiving this lapse in action. That said, Chris Kattan does provide a good
giggle as Organ Donor Stu.
Having been desperately trying to find a
little of the old Burton in Big Tim`s recent films, watching Monkeybone, I find myself wondering why
he doesn`t team up once again with his erstwhile partner, Selick… Burton, you
could learn something here old bean.
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