|
 ne is almost inclined to forgive "McDull,
Prince de la Bun" if it had been anything other than pretty good.
After all, the original was such a good film, and its epic telling of the
life and times of one piglet name McDull would seem to make a sequel quite
irrelevant. Not so, as "Prince de la Bun" proves to be a winner
in many ways. While still retaining its whimsical and funny side, the
sequel has also kept the realities of life, but presents it through the façade
of animation. Somehow, things just seem a lot easier to swallow when it's
animated.
With all the cast and crew back
for the second go 'round, it's easy to see why the film has such a strong
continuity with the first. Elementary school student McDull is once again
back in action, stumbling through life with his quirky, acid-tongued
mother while at the same time trying to uncover answers to why his leg
keeps shaking. The school Principal, voiced by Anthony Wong, is no help,
and neither is good-natured teacher Miss Chan. And the doctor is too
preoccupied with listing all the things he doesn't do as a general
practitioner to be much help. Maybe the answer lies in the story McDull's
mother (voiced by Sandra Ng) tells, about a certain moronic prince who
became a moronic bloke...
If you liked "My
Life as McDull", there's absolutely no reason why you shouldn't
love the sequel. If possible, the sequel might just be better than the
original in some ways. (Hey, it was possible with "Spider-Man
2", why can't it be possible with "McDull"?) With Toe
Yuen once again behind the camera (so to speak), and the script by
original McDull creators Alice Mak and Brian Tse, there's no sense that
the sequel was made for the sake of making a sequel to a highly popular
and commercially successful film. (Although profit was no doubt a major
motivation, but I digress.)
In many ways, the story about the prince of buns,
which is actually a story about McDull's father (voiced by, of all people,
Andy Lau), helps to solidify our impressions of McDull's mother. We
understand her a lot more, as well as sympathize with the poor woman,
whose only hope nowadays seems to be waiting for the urban renewal program
to reach her apartment so she can sell out as quickly as possible.
Once more, much is made of the Hong Kong skyline.
Buildings topple and crash to the streets in the middle of traffic under
the worship of Urban Development, and it's all done with the kind of
elaborate choreography only possible in animation. When the film flashes
back to its past, there's an idyllic feel to the city as it existed once
upon a time. Which brings me to the tonal shift in the film, which is not
quite as abrupt as was the case with the original. Whereas the original
mentioned the death of McDull's mother as almost a curious passing, the
change from a fantastical story about a "moronic bun" that lost
his way and became a "moronic bloke" is done with much more
maturity, resulting in an easier transition when it becomes obvious that
the story about young McDull is actually that of his wayward father.
Not to worry, because the cute factor is still
present to gush over. The little creatures that stand in for young
children are still cuddly and cute (although curiously there is still no effort to explain why some
characters are drawn as animals) . McDull himself
hasn't changed a bit, which seems about right since little time has passed
between the sequel and the original. The comedy is still fresh, not to
mention riotously funny. Anthony Wong, once again (literally) donning many
hats, gets to provoke even more laughter this time around. His scenes with
Sandra Ng are just brilliant, and how the two actors can flow with the
prodigious dialogue they are given is quite a marvel.
Although its animation seems to be geared towards
children, "McDull, Prince de la Bun" can easily be enjoyed by
adults. In fact, adults would probably get more out of the films than kids
ever could. The scenes with McBing, McDull's father, in particular are
quite heavy at times. A mixture of the fantastical with some grounded
storytelling, this interlude into the past is most effective when there is
no dialogue. A portrait of a man who can't face the present much less the
future, McBing comes across as a very tragic figure. Equally tragic is
McDull's mother, who has soldier on to raise a son by herself. To see her
as the young girl, brimming with life (as well as a mouth that just won't
quit) is quite a departure from the solemn and serious Mrs. McDull that we
have come to know.
In a lot of ways, the "McDull" movies
remind me of the films of Hayao Miyazaki, whose own films always managed to
reveal great humanity underneath its cuddly animals and wild storytelling.
Toe Yuen and company have made another terrific film that they can be
proud of. It's not everyday that "cartoons", if you will, can be
this entertaining, funny, and still teach you a lesson or two about being
all too human.
|
