Wonder Park (2019)

Directed by: – | 85 minutes | animation, adventure | Dutch voice cast: Stefania, Jan Kooijman, Tim Douwsma, Peggy Vrijens, Matheu Hinzen, Murth Mossel, Jannemien Cnossen, Frans Limburg, Roué Verveer | Original voice cast: Brianna Denski, Jennifer Garner, Matthew Broderick, Ken Hudson Campbell, Kenan Thompson, Mila Kunis, John Oliver, Ken Jeong, Norbert Leo Butz, Oev Michael Urbas, Kate McGregor-Stewart, Kevin Chamberlin, Kath Soucie, Sofia Mali

Based on his resume, Dylan Brown has a glittering career ahead of him. The animator learned the trade at Pixar’s stable, where he worked on films such as ‘Toy Story 2’ (1999), ‘Monster’s Inc. ‘(2001), ‘Finding Nemo’ (2003), ‘The Incredibles’ (2004) and ‘Ratatouille’ (2007). A few years ago it was time to stand on his own two feet and Brown teamed up with Spanish animation studio Illion for the production of ‘Wonder Park’ (2019). He seemed to be heading for the first self-directed full-length animated film, until the #metoo movement took off and several women made themselves known by accusing Brown of sexually transgressive behavior. He denied, but was fired anyway, after which a group of anonymous but seasoned animators got the job done. The result is a film that is far from bad, but it is marked by its troubled production process: ‘Wonder Park’ will go down in history as the first major studio release without a director on the credits. Because instead of opting for an Alan Smithee-esque solution (the pseudonym previously used in Hollywood as a director’s credit when the filmmaker in question distanced himself from the final product), naming the director is even omitted here.

Incidentally, both Brown’s background at Pixar and the messy production can be seen in the film itself. Some of the elements that make Pixar films so successful – talking stuffed animals (the ‘Toy Story’ series), for example, or the way children deal with strong emotions (many Pixar titles capitalize on this, but the similarities are strongest with ‘ Inside Out” (2015) – appears in “Wonder Park”. Only the effect, probably partly due to the unrest behind the scenes, is significantly less than with the work of Brown’s former employer. The heroine in this story is called June (voice of Brianna Denski) A ten-year-old girl with a vivid imagination, she loves nothing more than to create a fictional amusement park with her mother (voice of Jennifer Garner), where her stuffed animals act as hosts and ladies. , ringmasters and mascots in one. She draws entire floor plans, designs the most spectacular attractions and together with her friends from the neighborhood she even decides to recreate a roller coaster of her own design in the backyard. in. But then her mother gets sick; she has to go to a clinic indefinitely to receive treatments. June immediately loses all her zest for life (if you hear the echo of ‘Up’ (2009) in this, then you are not alone). She puts away her maps and model attractions, tucks her stuffed animals away and she decides to focus completely on caring for her father (voice of Matthew Broderick), so that he doesn’t get sick too. She decides to cut short the bus trip to the math camp, because she is afraid that her father will not make it alone. In the woods on her way home, however, she stumbles upon an old roller coaster cart that delivers her to her own Wonder Land theme park miraculously brought to life. There, however, her help is desperately needed, because her stuffed animal friends are in heavy weather!

The similarities that ‘Wonder Park’ has with other films are almost innumerable. That in itself is not a disaster, as long as the effect is good. And the film only partially succeeds in that. Certain finds, such as the hundreds of zombie merch stuffed toys that want to take over the park, are very successful and even somewhat original. But where at certain moments Pixar dares to pause for a moment, to grab a moment of rest because of the emotional impact, ‘Wonder Park’ takes a big turn as soon as we arrive at the magical amusement park. Due to the fast pace at which the events there follow, we lose count (and therefore the involvement in the story). In itself, that action spectacle is not annoying to watch, certainly not for young viewers. They enjoy the splendor of colours, the speed, the crazy adventures and the cheerful characters all the more. But the seasoned animation film viewer nowadays seeks more than just plain entertainment: we want to be touched, to feel compassion, to feel emotionally involved. Splendor of color and a high tempo usually only distract from this. ‘Wonder Park’ tries here and there, but doesn’t follow through. The result is that you had quite a nice viewing experience, but you also quickly forgot about the film. The key question here, of course, is: had the start-up of this film not been so turbulent, would it have resulted in a better film? To ask the question is to answer it.