It hurts to say, but this was a very blatant disappointment- I was entirely ready to immerse myself in yet another whimsical story produced by the Jim Henson company only to be met with a bland story, weak characters and weak storytelling with an underlying political tone that felt overwhelmingly annoying. This felt like it was produced to be featured on cable TV and it shows, unfortunately.
Of course, the actual puppet element of the film was held up to the standards the Jim Henson company has set with it's previous hits, I have no complaints about their design or movement. I think they were the best part of the movie.
Right off the bat, we're introduced to genuinely unpleasant characters the audience is expected to side with and care for through the rest of the film. They are not memorable nor are they interesting. Typical teenage sister who thinks she's too good to be off the grid is moved into a small town with her brother and Father as the result of a divorce. They stay with their stereotypical vegan-hippie aunt who is at war with her neighbor,an old man of a more conservative nature who disagrees with her farming methods. The aunt's husband has mysteriously died. Basement is full of mad ramblings of creatures as well as a machine to summon them. Young innocent brother drags sister to go into woods and summon monsters. Shenanigans ensue. They look for a large creature known among locals for large reward only to find it is fake and expose Aunt's rival farmer for using hormones and GMO's with Russian writing and soviet-colors to enhance the size of the turkeys he farms. Skip ahead through a lackluster scene and kids are found by aunt and father, rival farmer is exposed for unethical farming, thanksgiving with Monsters and the end.
I smell a heavy amount of censorship and program-hungry executive edits or lazy writing based off of an old story Henson had written for television. Disappointing, but, I guess I would have heard more about this movie had it been good. It's level of writing parallels that of Hallmark (no offense), and I just wish I could have seen more comedic charm I know the Henson company's films for.
Of course, the actual puppet element of the film was held up to the standards the Jim Henson company has set with it's previous hits, I have no complaints about their design or movement. I think they were the best part of the movie.
Right off the bat, we're introduced to genuinely unpleasant characters the audience is expected to side with and care for through the rest of the film. They are not memorable nor are they interesting. Typical teenage sister who thinks she's too good to be off the grid is moved into a small town with her brother and Father as the result of a divorce. They stay with their stereotypical vegan-hippie aunt who is at war with her neighbor,an old man of a more conservative nature who disagrees with her farming methods. The aunt's husband has mysteriously died. Basement is full of mad ramblings of creatures as well as a machine to summon them. Young innocent brother drags sister to go into woods and summon monsters. Shenanigans ensue. They look for a large creature known among locals for large reward only to find it is fake and expose Aunt's rival farmer for using hormones and GMO's with Russian writing and soviet-colors to enhance the size of the turkeys he farms. Skip ahead through a lackluster scene and kids are found by aunt and father, rival farmer is exposed for unethical farming, thanksgiving with Monsters and the end.
I smell a heavy amount of censorship and program-hungry executive edits or lazy writing based off of an old story Henson had written for television. Disappointing, but, I guess I would have heard more about this movie had it been good. It's level of writing parallels that of Hallmark (no offense), and I just wish I could have seen more comedic charm I know the Henson company's films for.