THE KING AND I (Theatrical Release USA 1999)

Ben Meyers’ rating: 3.5|5.0 Starsììì

The King and I—animated remake of the classic 1956 movie—serves as a children’s lunch break movie. While the animation is worthy, the movie does not even begin to compare to the 1956 live action movie.

Film Poster Courtesy of Wikipedia

Storyline

A school teacher attempts to educate and westernize the court children of the King of Siam.

Additional Thanks

Thank you to Director Richard Rich for directing effort. Thank you to Executive Producers Gary Barber and Robert Mandell for making the film possible. Additional characters/cast include: Anna Leonowens (voice of Miranda Richardson), Anna Leonowens (Singing voice Christiane Noll), The King of Siam (Voice of Martin Vidnovic), The Kralahome (Voice of Ian Richardson), Master Little (Voice of Darrell Hammond), Prince Chululongkorn (Voice of Allen D. Hong), Prince Chululongkorn (Singing voice David Burnham), Tuptim (Voice of Armi Arabe Abiera), Tuptim (Singing voice of Tracy Venner Warner), Louis Leonowens (Voice of Adam Wylie), Sir Edward Ramsay (Voice of Sean Smith), First Wife (Voice of James Fujii), Captain Orton (Voice of Kenny Baker), Sir Edward’s Captain (Voice of Ed Trotta), and Burmese Emissary (Voice of Tony Pope).

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?

Maybe. For children it might work because it is an animated feature. But, The King and I (1956) version with Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner stands in a class of its own for telling this story. That assessment comes before reviewing the live action first film, Anna and the King of Siam (1946), or the remake, Anna and the King (1999), versions of the story. This movie provides excellent after viewing discussion material for families to understand different cultures, the rules they live by, and the difficulties of upgrading to another way of doing things.

Video Critique Available Here:

Ben Meyers