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Review #134: Paulie
When Misha Belenkoff, a Russian Immigrant in the USA ends up working as a Janitor in an Animal Testing Lab, he comes across a little green Parrot calling himself Paulie.
Paulie's English is perfect and Misha actually sits and has a conversation with his new feathery friend.
Paulie explains that he was the soul-mate of a little girl called Marie. Marie had speech problems and Paulie actually learned to talk while she was trying to overcome her problem, eventually he helped her overcome her stutter...
... but one day, they got into trouble and Paulie was shipped off to an animal shelter and never saw Marie again.
He sits talking to Misha, explaining his long journey to find Marie and tells of his adventures and the friends he's made and lost on his road trip which has lead him to being a captive in the Test Lab...
... and Misha makes a pact to free him... to help Paulie find Marie once and for all.
What a lovely and wonderful movie.
Though seen mainly as a kids film, and though it can get relatively gooey and the hints of peril are child friendly, it's actually really well put together.
Some of the storylines can be very heartwrenching, especially when Paulie and Marie are seperated, but there's masses of humour and family friendly stuff going on that makes the film perfect for getting the kids together with the parents.
Even adults would probably like sitting alone and watching. I know I do.
What makes Paulie work is the overall finished product being so good. The screenplay, voiceover work, the actors, and especially the animal work with the various Parrots and other animals seen throughout.
There's also a number of 'Morality' plotpoints going on too, which can get a bit twee from time to time.
There's no real action as such, but there are little hits of heightened excitement and the main part of it comes in the form of emotional content.
The acting is pretty good, though some is a little linear with the family script.
Tony Shalhoub, Gena Rowlands, Cheech Marin, Bruce Davidson, Trini Alvarado and Hallie Kate Eisenberg all play memorable roles.
Jay Mohr plays Paulie and Buddy.
Bill Cobbs also makes a nice appearance too, it's always nice to see Cobbs in a film.
All in all, a relatively well charged film emotionally, written in such a way that all ages can appreciate it and it has some lovely touches of humour too. The animal handling is also great.
My rating 86%
When Misha Belenkoff, a Russian Immigrant in the USA ends up working as a Janitor in an Animal Testing Lab, he comes across a little green Parrot calling himself Paulie.
Paulie's English is perfect and Misha actually sits and has a conversation with his new feathery friend.
Paulie explains that he was the soul-mate of a little girl called Marie. Marie had speech problems and Paulie actually learned to talk while she was trying to overcome her problem, eventually he helped her overcome her stutter...
... but one day, they got into trouble and Paulie was shipped off to an animal shelter and never saw Marie again.
He sits talking to Misha, explaining his long journey to find Marie and tells of his adventures and the friends he's made and lost on his road trip which has lead him to being a captive in the Test Lab...
... and Misha makes a pact to free him... to help Paulie find Marie once and for all.
What a lovely and wonderful movie.
Though seen mainly as a kids film, and though it can get relatively gooey and the hints of peril are child friendly, it's actually really well put together.
Some of the storylines can be very heartwrenching, especially when Paulie and Marie are seperated, but there's masses of humour and family friendly stuff going on that makes the film perfect for getting the kids together with the parents.
Even adults would probably like sitting alone and watching. I know I do.
What makes Paulie work is the overall finished product being so good. The screenplay, voiceover work, the actors, and especially the animal work with the various Parrots and other animals seen throughout.
There's also a number of 'Morality' plotpoints going on too, which can get a bit twee from time to time.
There's no real action as such, but there are little hits of heightened excitement and the main part of it comes in the form of emotional content.
The acting is pretty good, though some is a little linear with the family script.
Tony Shalhoub, Gena Rowlands, Cheech Marin, Bruce Davidson, Trini Alvarado and Hallie Kate Eisenberg all play memorable roles.
Jay Mohr plays Paulie and Buddy.
Bill Cobbs also makes a nice appearance too, it's always nice to see Cobbs in a film.
All in all, a relatively well charged film emotionally, written in such a way that all ages can appreciate it and it has some lovely touches of humour too. The animal handling is also great.
My rating 86%
