Freddie as F.R.O.7 Review

Freddie as F.R.O.7 


Release Date: 28th August 1992 - USA


Production Companies
Hollywood Road Films
J&M Entertainment
Motion Picture Investments
Shapiro-Glickenhaus Entertainment


Genre: Animation/Family

Rating: PG

Runtime: 93 minutes


Box Office Gross: $1,119,368 (USA)


Plot Summary
The story about a man-
sized frog named Prince
Frederic who is turned
into a frog by his wicked
aunt Messina and hired
by British Intelligence
to solve the mysterious
disappearances of some
of Britian's greatest
monuments. Several
hundred years later,
Freddie is now living in
modern-day Paris -- a
six-foot-tall amphibian
with moniker Secret
Agent F.R.O.7. Messina,
too, is still around
causing mischief, joining
forces with an arch-villain
named El Supremo in a
scheme to shrink Big
Ben. Freddie, alerted to
Messina's nefarious plans,
gathers his fellow agents
Daffers and Scottie
together, planning to
hide out in Big Ben and
surprise the evil doers
when they are set to
strike at the much-loved
British landmark. (Source - IMDb)


Voice Cast
Adrian Della Touche - Narrator
Ben Kingsley - Freddie
Edmund Kingsley - Young Freddie

Jenny Agutter - Daffers

John Sessions - Scotty/

Additional Voices

Brian Blessed - El Supremo

Nigel Hawthorne - Brigadier G

Billie Whitelaw - Messina

Phyllis Logan - Nessie

Sir Michael Hordern - King

Jonathan Pryce - Trilby

Prunella Scales - Queen/Additional Voices

Victor Maddern - Old Gentleman Raven

Crew

Script/Lyrics: Evil Mainya and Shy Girl/
Producer/Director - Jon Acevski 

Script - David Ashton
Producer - Norman Priggen
Art Director - Paul Shardlow
Cinematography - Rex Neville
Storyboard Director - Denis Rich
Animation Director - Tony Guy
Character Designer/Sequence Director -
Richard Fawdry
Sequence Directors - Roberto Casale,
Bill Hajee and Alain Maindron
Head of Paint and Trace - Lucy Ash
Film Editors - Mick Manning and 

Alex Rayment
Music/Songs - David Dunda and 

Rick Wentworth


Review
It is a fact that the director of this film created a British animated film which is actually inspired by stories that he used to tell his son about a young prince who gets turned into a frog and becomes a spy. This turns into a very strange movie for those who haven't seen it. I sought to critique 'FREDDIE AS F.R.O.7' years ago when I wanted to watch it again on YouTube after having read its history. The movie earned a dismal profit at the box office and became the third lowest grossing animation of all time. This film failed to achieve the director's vision of creating an animated musical fairy tale and instead was let down with characters that just didn't belong there like the Loch Ness monster. 'FREDDIE AS F.R.O.7' came across as a Disney knock-off to try and take away Disney's spotlight during the Katzenberg era of 1989 to 1994.

The film's narrative is incomprehensible and the songs that include the famed musical talents of Grace Jones, Boy George, ASIA and others confuses people of which kind of film this really is. Where some parts of the film has its roots in musical where characters are signing. Other parts contradict this and instead have background music. This just seems very disorganised and misleading. I've paid my attention to the animation which is sometimes inconsistent but rather pleasant and the wonderful voice work of Ben Kingsley and Brian Blessed who are brilliant and over-the-top in their main characters.

I will not punish myself to sit through this movie again despite regretfully watching it a few times on YouTube. Indeed, even the edited version in America with James Earl Jones' narration does nothing to redeem this movie of its flaws. If I were you, I would give this one a miss.

Star rating: (4/10) Below Average

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