The King and I (1999) Review

The King and I

Release Date: 17th June 1999 - Australia


Production Companies
Morgan Creek Productions
Rankin/Bass Productions (in

association with) 

Nest Family Entertainment (in

association with) 

Rich Animation Studios

Distribution
Roadshow Films

Genre: Animation/Family

Rating: G

Runtime: 87 minutes

Budget: $25,000,000

Box Office Gross: $12,064,440 (USA)


Plot Summary
In 1862, a young English  

woman named Anna

Leonowens travelled to 

Kingdom of the Siam to 

become the new royal

schoolteacher. However,
the strong-minded Anna

finds herself at odds with

the King of Siam as she
brings a different way of
thinking into his culture

and the many children in

the royal academy.

 

Amidst the blossoming

of a remarkable bond

between Anna and the

haughty ruler, the evil

Prime Minister, Kralahome,

is plotting against him

to steal the throne. 

 

Voice Cast
Miranda Richardson - Anna
Leonowens

Christiane Noll - Anna
Leonowens (singing voice)
Martin Vidnovic - King of Siam
Ian Richardson - Kralahome
Darrell Hammond - Master Little
Allen D. Hon - Prince Chulalongkorn
David Burnham - Prince
Chulalongkorn (singing voice)

Armi Arabe - Tuptim
Tracy Venner Warren - Tuptim (singing voice) 

Adam Wylie - Louis Leonowens
Sean Smith - Sir Edward Ramsay
James Fuji - First Wife

Kenny Baker - Captain Orton
Ed Trotta - Sir Edward's Captain
Tony Pope - Burmese Emissary
Alexandra Lai - Princess Ying
Katherine Lai - Princess Naomi

Mark Hunt - Steward

Brian Tochi - Soldier

Crew
Director - Richard Rich
Based on Book "Anna and the King of Siam" -

Margaret Landon (Uncredited)

Adapted from the Musical "The King and I"/

Songs - Richard Rodgers

Adapted from the Musical "The King and I"/

Lyrics - Oscar Hammerstein II
Conceived and Adapted for Animation/
Producer - Arthur Rankin Jr.
Screenplay/Producer - Peter Bakalian
Screenplay - Jacqueline Feather and
David Seidler
Additional Dialogue - Brian Nissen

Associate Producers - Terry L. Noss and

Thomas J. Tobin
Executive Producers - Gary Barber and 
Robert Mandell 
Producer - James G. Robinson

Character Designer/Lead Character Cleanup -

Bronwen Barry 

Character Designers/Animators/Lead Character

Cleanup - Elena Kravets and Michael Coppieters

Storyboard Artists/Character Animators -

Steven E. Gordon and Larry Leker

Storyboard Artist/Layout Design/Artist - Floro Dery
Choreographers - Lee Martino and Lisa Clyde

Supervising Animators - Patrick Gleeson

and Cale Duggan

Layout Design/Artists - Mike Hodgson

and Andrew Gentle
Background Designer and Supervisor - Donald Towns

Effects Designer and Supervisor/CGI

Animation Supervisor - Brian McSweeney

CGI Artistic Supervisor - Brian Sebers

Editors - Joe Campana and Paul Murphy

Re-Recording Mixers - Michael C. Casper.

Dan Leahy and Rick Hart
Music Arranger, Orchestrator and Conductor -
William Kidd

Executive Music Producer - Mark Berger

 

Review
The animated version of THE KING AND I is quite an abomination and an absolute dishonour to the original Rodgers and Hammerstein musical and the 1956 film. The producers who adapted the source material have transformed it into an animated movie that mimics Disney's style by adding three animal sidekicks, reimaging the minor character of Kralahome as an evil villainous sorcerer, a few racial caricatures, altering the storyline, and creating a happy ending. The film's 2D animation is mediocre, and its CGI is poor. However, some of the voice acting is decent.

The makers of this adaptation should have picked Oklahoma or The Sound of Music instead of THE KING AND I. Reinventing a classic musical from Rodgers and Hammerstein, like this, into an animated film is possible but doomed from the start, as it is not a clever way of presenting it to younger audiences. This movie treats the original like a big fat joke. This abysmal interpretation is not worth watching for anyone who has already seen the old classic with Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr.

Star rating: (2/5) Bad Movie

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