Best line is, "Nobody can do that, not even me!"
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
"The Little Engine that Could": film version connects two "universes", real and dreams
Universal’s animated adaptation of the children’s story (by
Charles Wing) “The Little Engine that Could” (directed by Elliot M. Bour)
certainly enriches the fable about optimism and hard work, something that puts
me back into early memories of being five years old. In fact, I believe that the “I think I can”
idea occurs in Disney’s “Dumbo”.
The film stitches two universes: a “Real World” with a
little boy Richard (Dominc Scott Kay) who winds up in “Dreamland” (populated by
anthropomorphic trains) when he hitches a freight train to get away from
playground bullies, rides through the tunnel, which then collapses, trapping
him in, well, “rem sleep”. The
Dreamworld looks like a very interesting model railroad to be sure, very
complex, with lots of nooks and crannies, and trains with personalities. It compares well to “Roadside America” in
Pennsylvania. The trains decide that the
way back may be to find the old tracks over the mountain. That sounds like
driving the Pennsylvania Turnpike around the Laurel Hill or Sideling Hill
tunnels. Or maybe it’s like the Cass
Scenic Railroad in West Virginia (or the Mt. Washington cog railway).
In the movie, the way up the mountain has its own little
tunnels. And trestle bridges (one that
reminds me of “The Cassandra Crossing”).
Then the boy meets his metaphorical enemy, the Nightmare Train. He winds
up inside a boxcar, which could be taken to have particularly disturbing
historical implications.
Jodi Benson, Corbin Bleu, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Whoopi
Goldberg also “appear”, as voices.
In the concept of the movie a take-off of "Inception"? Or maybe "The Polar Express"? There is a short film on the story made in 1991 in Wales.
"I think I can" becomes "I know I can."
Bu the way, the idea of the boy's stolen watch (of his grandfather) is what started the downfall of Alan Turing.
Best line is, "Nobody can do that, not even me!"
Some viewers on the web report that three-year-olds love
this. But should children that young
watch movies? Will they forgo learning
to play baseball, or piano?
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