Joxerlives Review of Around the World in 80 Days

Around the World in 80 Days (2021– )

Could have been great but killed by political correctness?

[7/10 · 31 January 2022]

Loved the book as a kid and I'm sure many of my generation will also remember the "Around the World with Willy Fogg" cartoon adaptation from the 80s. Much of the story is still there but it rapidly becomes mired in obvious wokeness, we have to have an interracial and inter-class romance between Passepartout and Abigail ( the proto-feminist who replaces Fogg's police pursuer). We have to have Fogg mourning his lost love even though part of his charm was that he was the quintessential British eccentric doing this purely on a gentleman's wager (hence why French author Jules Verne chose a British hero). Perhaps the worst decision is to ditch the character of Aouda, the Hindu woman they rescue from Sati who eventually falls in love with Fogg. Because obviously you could never portray the acts of colonialists in a positive light? No "white saviours" here (suppressing Sati one of the most positive aspects of the British Raj). All told though still entertaining, Tennant is just as good here as he is in Dr Who which this resembles a great deal.