I never saw the original series as much as the other, more famous, Jay Ward cartoon ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE, but what I did see had that show's same inclination towards subversive humor and bad puns (like when a white hunter named Weevil was tracking George, but George thinks he's thrown him off the trail because "See no Weevil, hear no Weevil, speak no Weevil"). This movie, however, blunts that edge. The narration by Keith Scott is funny in of itself (like when Thor wonders why he's taking glee at the misfortunes of the bad guys, and he replies, "Because I don't like you"), but I would have liked to see more interaction between him and the other characters. More importantly, there's more emphasis on "Watch out for that tree!" and other physical gags than on the verbal humor. And while the film is on solid ground in the jungle, the CROCODILE DUNDEE type second half is a retread.
It should be said that Fraser and Mann make an appealing duo, and Greg Cruttwell and Abraham Benrubi (from ER) are good villains, but Thomas Haden Church quickly becomes tiresome. John Cleese is droll as the Ape named Ape, but that joke is stretched too thin.
It should be said that Fraser and Mann make an appealing duo, and Greg Cruttwell and Abraham Benrubi (from ER) are good villains, but Thomas Haden Church quickly becomes tiresome. John Cleese is droll as the Ape named Ape, but that joke is stretched too thin.