Josh Gad Archives – CULTURE MIX

Review: ‘Zootopia 2,’ starring the voices of Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Ke Huy Quan, Fortune Feimster, Andy Samberg, Idris Elba, Patrick Warburton, Quinta Brunson, Nate Torrence and Shakira

November 25, 2025

by Carla Hay

Nick Wilde (voiced by Jason Bateman) and Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin) in “Zootopia 2” (Image courtesy of Disney Enterprises, Inc.)

Directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard

Culture Representation: The animated film “Zootopia 2” (a sequel to the 2016 movie “Zootopia”), which takes place in the fictional city of Zootopia, features characters who are talking animals.

Culture Clash: An earnest bunny rabbit and a cynical fox, who are police officer partners, investigate a case of business corruption involving their city’s weather wall climate control system and accusations of stolen land.

Culture Audience: “Zootopia 2” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the first “Zootopia” movie, the “Zootopia 2” voice cast, and appealing animated adventure films about talking animals.

Gary De’Snake (voiced by Ke Huy Quan) in “Zootopia 2” (Image courtesy of Disney Enterprises, Inc.)

“Zootopia 2” uses the same formula as the first “Zootopia” movie: A rabbit and a fox team up to investigate a crime mystery involving bigotry against certain animals. This sequel is entertaining but needed more originality. And like many sequels, “Zootopia 2” introduces new characters while bringing back previous characters, thereby making the movie’s cast of characters a little overstuffed.

Directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard and written by Bush, “Zootopia 2” is a sequel to the 2016 movie “Zootopia,” which won an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Bush and Howard directed “Zootopia,” which was written by Bush and Phil Johnston. Because there are so many more animated features about talking animals now than there were in 2016, it will be harder for “Zootopia 2” to stand out as an Oscar-worthy movie.

“Zootopia 2” begins with a montage summary of what happened in the first “Zootopia” movie: Earnest and cheerful bunny rabbit/police officer rookie Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin) recruited jaded fox/con artist Nick Wilde (voiced by Jason Bateman) to help her solve a mystery. Judy and Nick live in the large urban city of Zootopia, which is populated mostly by mammals. The majority of Zootopia’s mammals are considered prey to predators. Nick and Judy end up becoming friends because of their shared bond of being bullied as kids and being underestimated later in life. For years, the prey animals and the predator animals of Zootopia have lived in harmony.

In the first “Zootopia” movie, the villains wanted to make the predator animals look like out-of-control killers, for reasons that are explained in the movie. Mild spoiler alert for those who don’t know what happened in the first “Zootopia” movie: As shown in the beginning of “Zootopia 2,” Judy and Nick solved the case, which resulted in Zootopia’s short-lived ewe mayor Dawn Bellwether (voiced by Jenny Slate) to be exposed as the mastermind villain. Dawn was subsequently arrested and sent to prison. Nick then gave up a life of crime to became a police officer at the Zootopia Police Department, and he was assigned to be Judy’s cop partner.

In “Zootopia 2,” Nick and Judy are still cop partners at the Zootopia Police Department. This time, the prejudice spreading throughout Zootopia isn’t against predators. It’s against all snakes, which were exiled from Zootopia years ago because of snakes’ reputation for being too dangerous to live in Zootopia. Other reptiles are also looked at with suspicion by many of Zootopia’s residents.

Zootopia is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the city’s weather wall climate control system, which is the driving force of Zootopia’s ecosystem. Zootopia’s most powerful family is a clan of lynxes, called the Lynxley family, because the Lynxleys own the patent to the weather wall climate control system, which was invented by a Lynxley ancestor. The Lynxleys are hosting a Zootennial Gala, where a valuable notebook called the Lynxley Journal has this patent and is on display in a glass case.

The Lynxley patriarch is Milton Lynxley (voiced by David Strathairn), whose underachieving son Pawbert Lynxley (voiced by Andy Samberg) is a scion to family fortune. Pawbert seems to be a disappointment to Milton because Pawbert is the type of shrewd business dealer that Milton wants Pawbert to be. Milton’s other children are arrogant Catrrick Linxley (voiced by Macauley Culkin) and spoiled Kitty Linxley (voiced by Brenda Song), who are competitive for their father’s approval.

In the beginning of “Zootopia 2,” Judy and Nick get pulled from regular duties by their African buffalo boss Chief Bogo (voice by Idris Elba), who is displeased that Judy and Nick disobeyed orders to “stand down” during car chase of criminals. The car chase caused a lot of destruction, so Chief Bogo re-assigns Judy and Nick to do lightweight traffic cop duties. Nick and Judy, who often disagree with each other, are also ordered to attend a Partners in Crisis therapy group, led by a mouse named Fuzzby (voiced by Quinta Brunson), who is a polite but firm therapist.

After being pulled from police detective duties, Judy and Nick decided to go “undercover” as guests at the Zootennial Gala. Judy is curious to see the Lynxley Journal because the Lynxleys have said that a pit viper attacked the Lynxley’s family maid many years ago, in an attempt to steal the journal. Snakes have been banned from Zootopia for years because of this incident.

At the Zootennial Gala, a pit viper named Gary De’Snake (voiced by Ke Huy Quan) arrives in Zootopia to crash a gala event, by dropping underneath a red cloak on stage while Milton is giving a speech. Gary announces to the shocked crowd that his great-grandmother Agnes De’Snake was the one who actually invented the weather wall climate control system, and she was wrongfully accused of attacking the Lynxley maid.

Gary claims that there is proof that he’s telling the truth, and he wants to clear the De’Snake family name and for Zootopia to lift the ban against snakes and other reptiles. Gary says the Lynxleys are the real enemies, so Gary kidnaps Milton. What happens next is a madcap adventure where Judy and Nick get involved in solving this mystery. A talkative beaver named Nibbles Maplestick (voiced by Fortune Feimster), who is a conspiracy-theorist host of a podcast titled “Scales & Tales of the Weird,” tags along and helps guide Judy and Nick through some unfamiliar territory.

“Zootopia 2” also features brief returns of characters who were in “Zootopia.” These returning characters include Benjamin Clawhauser (voiced by Nate Torrence), a cheetah who is a desk sergeant/dispatcher at the Zootopia Police Department; Flash Slothmore (voiced by Raymond S. Persi), a sloth DMV employee, who is notoriously slow in urgent situations; Judy’s supportive parents Stu Hopps (voiced by Don Lake) and Bonnie Hopps (voiced by Bonnie Hunt); and Duke Weaselton (voiced by Alan Tudyk), a weasel who is a small-time crook who sells bootleg DVDs on the street.

Also making return appearances in “Zootopia 2” are Mr. Big (played by Maurice LaMarche), an Arctic shrew crime boss who is based in Tundratown and is a parody of the Vito Corleone character from “The Godfather” movies; Fru Fru (voiced by Leah Latham), Mr. Big’s bubbly daughter, who is now the mother of a daughter named Judy, named after Judy Hopps; stoner yak/naturalist club owner Yax (voiced by Tommy Chong); and pop singer Gazelle (voiced by Shakira), who does a big concert at the end of “Zootopia 2,” just like Gazelle did in the first “Zootopia” movie. And don’t be surprised to see a previous villain from “Zootopia” show up in “Zootopia 2.”

New characters in “Zootopia 2” include Zootopia’s current Mayor Winddancer (voiced by Patrick Warburton), a vain stallion who is a former actor; a streetwise basilisk named Jesús (played by Danny Trejo), who is an underground informant; look-alike police zebras named Zebro Zebraxton (voiced by Joe “Roman Reigns” Anoai) and Zebro Zebrowski (voiced by Phil “CM Punk” Brooks), who call themselves the Zebros; and two razorback Zootopia cop partners Captain Hoggbottom (voiced by Michelle Gomez) and Truffler (voiced by David Fane), who are tough and aggressive.

“Zootopia” has so many celebrity voice cast members, many are just reduced to doing short cameos because there isn’t enough time to develop all of these characters in this 108-minute movie. These guest appearances are so quick, many viewers might not know these celebrities are in the “Zootopia 2” cast unless they look at the movie’s credits that list all the cast members. Michael J. Fox (as fox prisoner Michael J. the Fox), June Squibb (as Judy’s grandmother Gram Gram), Amanda Gorman (as giraffe reporter Deerdra Bambino), Mario Lopez (as wolf reporter Denny Howlett), Tig Notaro (as bear prisoner Big Tig), Yvette Nicole Brown (as EMT Otter and The Bearoness) and Ed Sheeran (as sheep Ed Shearin) are some of famous names in the “Zootopia 2” voice cast.

Many of these celebrity voice cameos are people who are known for making a lot of money for Disney. Josh Gad (of Disney’s “Frozen” movie fame) is the voice of a mole named Paul Moledebrandt. Dwayne Johnson (a star of Disney’s “Moana” movie franchise) has a voice role listed in the “Zootopia 2” end credits as Zeke AKA That Dik Dik Stuck in that Tuba. Auli’i Cravalho (2016’s “Moana”) has the voice role of an anti-venom pen. Anika Noni Rose (Disney’s “The Princess and the Frog”) is the voice of “Squeal of Fortune” mouse. Bob Iger (Disney’s CEO) also gets his own “Zootopia 2” character: a tiger weather forecaster named Bob Tiger.

The energetic and playful visuals for “Zootopia 2” are perfectly suited for the story’s quick pace, which involves a lot of chase scenes and “race against time” scenes. The story also has some comedy that people of many generations can enjoy, with a few jokes that adults will understand better than very young kids. The performances of Goodwin and Bateman continue to anchor the “Zootopia” story with aplomb, as the friendship between Judy and Nick evolves and is put to the test when they are forced to be apart for much of the story. Quan and Feimster are good additions to the “Zootopia” franchise, with “Zootopia 2” making more room for the possibility that Feimster’s Nibbles Maplestick character is more likely to have a prominent role in future “Zootopia” movies.

By adding so many new cameo characters (many of whom are unnecessary to the story), “Zootopia 2” almost trips over its eagerness to show off its all-star cast, when the story would’ve worked just fine without half of these cameos. The end of “Zootopia” and an end-credits scene give hints on what to expect in the third “Zootopia” movie. Even with “Zootopia 2’s” excessive casting, retread of story concepts, and somewhat preachy “life lessons,” “Zootopia 2” is a fun ride that retains much of the charm and intrigue of the first “Zootopia.” And sometimes, that’s all you need.

Walt Disney Pictures will release “Zootopia 2” in U.S. cinemas on November 26, 2025.

Review: ‘A Tree Fell in the Woods,’ starring Alexandra Daddario, Daveed Diggs, Josh Gad and Ashley Park

June 19, 2025

by Carla Hay

[EDITOR’S NOTE: After this movie premiered at the 2025 Tribeca Festival, the movie’s title was changed from “A Tree Fell in the Woods” to “Couples Weekend,” with U.S. distribution from Vertical.]

“A Tree Fell in the Woods”

Directed by Nora Kirkpatrick

Culture Representation: Taking place in an unnamed U.S. state, the comedy/drama film “A Tree Fell in the Woods” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with one African American and one Asian person) representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: Two married couples go on a getaway New Year’s Eve trip at a remote cabin in the woods and have their lives turned upside down when it’s revealed that two of the spouses are cheating with someone in the other couple.

Culture Audience: “A Tree Fell in the Woods” will appeal primarily to fans of the movie’s headliners and overly talkative comedy/dramas about spousal relationships that don’t have anything that’s interesting to say.

Daveed Diggs, Alexandra Daddario, Ashley Park and Josh Gad in “Couples Weekend” (formerly titled “A Tree in the Woods”) (Photo courtesy of Vertical)

Watching the painfully unfunny comedy/drama “A Tree Fell in the Woods” is like being stuck in a cabin with four annoying people who say cringeworthy things, which is the movie’s basic plot about four spouses dealing with infidelity. The cast members try too hard to be funny. It just doesn’t work because everything in the movie looks and sounds overly contrived and unnatural.

Written and directed by Nora Kirkpatrick, “A Tree Fell in the Woods” is her feature-film directorial debut. The movie had its world premiere at the 2025 Tribeca Festival. “A Tree Fell in the Woods” takes place during a few days of a New Year’s Eve getaway trip in an unnamed U.S. state. (The movie was actually filmed in Utah.)

It feels like the timeline in “A Tree Feel in the Woods” is much longer than a few days because “A Tree Fell in the Woods” quickly gets boring and repetitive with the mishandling of the movie’s one-joke premise: What would happen if two spouses found out that their respective spouses were cheating with the two other spouses while staying at the same cabin on a vacation trip, and they were snowed in for the rest of the trip?

That’s essentially the entire plot of this irritating drag of a movie, which would have been more tolerable if the dialogue had been witty and if the acting had been more natural. In “A Tree Fell in the Woods,” there are only five people who are seen on screen:

Mitch Dilpen (played by Josh Gad), who’s in his mid-40s, is a nerdy and insecure business executive.
Melanie Dilpen (played by Ashley Park), who’s in her mid-30s, is a materialistic chef who’s written a best-selling cookbook called “Emotional Eating.”
Josh (played by Daveed Diggs), who’s in his early 40s, is an egotistical photojournalist.
Debs (played by Alexandra Daddario), who’s in her mid-to-late-30s, is a high-strung book editor who is an aspiring author.
Gary (played by Kevin Pollak), who’s in his 60s, is the somewhat grouchy owner of the cabin.

Mitch and Melanie are married to each other. Josh and Debs are married to each other. Mitch and Debs have been platonic best friends for the past 15 years. However, Mitch has had an unrequited crush on Debs (whom he sometimes calls Debbie) for almost the entire time that they’ve known each other. You can bet that these feelings will come to the surface during the infidelity turmoil that happens during this trip.

In the beginning of the movie, it’s briefly mentioned that the four spouses are spending the New Year’s holiday with each other because they don’t want to be with their biological families. Mitch and Melanie are the first couple seen on screen, as they drive to the cabin in the woods. Mitch forgot to bring some turmeric that Melanie wanted for the trip, so he jokes that they should get divorced. Mitch and Melanie seem to have an easygoing banter with each other, but they don’t seem passionate about each other.

There’s no shortage of passion between Josh and Debs, who show public displays of affection, but they have some communication issues. Debs isn’t afraid to express her feelings about the relationship. However, she’s very insecure about finishing a novel that she’s been trying to write for the past several years and doesn’t like to talk about it with Josh.

Beneath the surface of both marriages are some deep-rooted problems that all of the spouses deal with in various degrees of discomfort or denial. Some of these probems have to do with how each spouse’s self-esteem is affected by their careers. Mitch doesn’t feel valued at his job and feels overshadowed by Melanie’s success. Melanie has become a semi-celebrity, which has inflated her ego. Josh is quick to take credit for other people’s work. Debs would rather be an author than a book editor.

On the first day of the trip, Mitch and Debs go for a walk in the snowy wooded area. They marvel at the sight of a deer nearby, right before a giant tree randomly falls down and narrowly misses falling on Mitch. Debs and Mitch are in shock and want to rush back to the cabin to tell their spouses what just happened.

As Debs and Mitch go toward the cabin, they’re in for an even bigger shock: Through an exposed window, they see Josh and Melanie having sex with each other. None of this is spoiler information because it happens within the first 15 minutes of the movie and serves as the catalyst for what happens next.

Mitch and Debs have very different reactions to discovering this betrayal. Debs immediately wants to angrily confront Josh and Melanie. Mitch begs Debs to delay this confrontation until they’ve had a chance to take some time to think about how to deal with this infidelity. Mitch tells Debs that he doesn’t want to ruin his marriage.

Debs agrees to Mitch’s request but says she’ll eventually have the confrontation, which happens the next morning. But just as the secret gets out in the open, the four travelers find out that they are snowed in due to a blizzard, their cars can’t move, and no car service or taxi will be available to go to the cabin to take them away. They are all stuck with each other for the next few days.

Gary (who lives within walking distance of the cabin) is called to fix some utility problems in the cabin, but he’s reluctant to do it. Mitch eventually goes to meet Gary in person and discovers that Gary has a few bottles of very old bootleg liquor. Gary tells Mitch that the liquor very “dangerous” to drink. It’s easy to predict how this liquor will factor into the story.

The rest of “A Tree Fall in the Woods” is a series of angry, self-pitying and vapid conversations between the four spouses who have to confront the problems in their respective marriages and the problems within themselves. Josh and Melanie are mortified about their infidelity and express remorse. The movie shows whether or not Josh and Melanie want to stay in their respective marriages.

Mitch has conflicting feelings about ending his marriage to Melanie, but he’s sure that Debs should end her marriage to Josh. Here’s an example of the terrible dialogue in the movie when Mitch tries to persuade Debs to break up with Josh: “He’s ketamine. You’re cocaine. He’s a rusty sword. You’re an atomic bomb. You’re a real-live person. He’s an asshole.”

After a while, these phony-sounding conversations and some of the shenanigans that ensue become tedious to watch. “A Tree Fell in the Woods” might have been better as a short film. But it still wouldn’t erase the irredeemable problem of the movie being about obnoxious people who say and do a lot of stupid things.

UPDATE: Vertical will release “Couples Weekend” (formerly titled “A Tree Fell in the Woods”) in select U.S. cinemas, on digital and VOD on May 8, 2026.

Review: ‘Strays’ (2023), starring the voices of Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx, Isla Fisher and Randall Park

August 17, 2023

by Carla Hay

Reggie (voiced by Will Ferrell), Maggie (voiced by Isla Fisher), Hunter (voiced by Randall Park) and Bug (voiced by Jamie Foxx) in “Strays” (Photo by Chuck Zlotnick/Universal Pictures)

“Strays” (2023)

Directed by Josh Greenbaum

Culture Representation: Taking place in an unnamed U.S. city, the comedy film “Strays” features a cast of dogs and a predominantly white group of people (with some African Americans and Latinos) representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: Four stray dogs band together to get revenge on the sleazy and abusive man who abandoned one of the stray dogs.

Culture Audience: “Strays” will appeal mainly to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and anyone who doesn’t mind watching intentionally vulgar comedies about adorable animals that have some sweetness with the raunchiness.

Reggie (voiced by Will Ferrell) and Will Forte in “Strays” (Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures)

The purpose of “Strays” is to disrupt the image that people have of movies where cute animals talk. It’s the “Jackass” of talking animal movies: crude, comedic camaraderie. If you can’t tolerate a lot of jokes about bodily functions, then avoid this film.

Directed by Josh Greenbaum and written by Dan Perrault, “Strays” has been very clear in its marketing that this movie is not a “family-friendly film” that’s appropriate for people of all ages. This is most definitely a very adult-oriented film for adults who aren’t easily offended when watching movies filled with cursing, gross-out scenes involving body waste, and explicit talk about sex. The fact that domesticated dogs who talk like humans are supposed to be the source of all this raunch is the whole point of the movie.

In “Strays” (which takes place in an unnamed U.S. city but was filmed in and around Stone Mountain, Georgia), viewers are first introduced to the movie’s narrator. He’s an optimistic and eager-to-please Border Terrier (voiced by Will Ferrell), who has lived his entire life with a loser named Doug (played by Will Forte), who never gave this dog an official name. Instead, Doug calls the dog horrible names that usually have the word “shit” in the name. (In real life, this Border Terrier is a female named Sophie.)

In the beginning of the movie, bachelor Doug is unemployed and living in a messy house. Doug spends his days and nights getting stoned and masturbating. A phone conversation between Doug and his mother reveals that Doug can’t live near a school that has children, which is the movie’s way of saying that Doug is a registered sex offender. Because the Border Terrier doesn’t know any better, he thinks Doug is a great person.

Doug likes to do something that the Border Terrier thinks is a game called “Fetch and Fuck.” Doug throws a tennis ball far away, so the Border Terrier can run off and fetch the ball. Doug only does this because he hopes the dog will get lost and never find his way back home. When the dog inevitably does find his way back home, Doug says out loud in anger: “Fuck!”

One day, Doug drives the Border Terrier several miles away, into the inner part of a big city where the dog has never been to before. Doug throws the tennis ball, knowing that this dog will be too far away to walk back to the house. Doug then drives away. Doug’s heinous plan works, and the Border Terrier gets lost.

While out on the street at night, the Border Terrier meets a rebellious and tough-talking Boston Terrier named Bug (voiced by Jamie Foxx), who sees how naïve this Border Terrier is and offers to teach him how to survive on the streets as a stray dog. (This Boston Terrier’s name is real life is Benny.) Bug calls this Border Terrier the name Reggie, since that’s the name that one of Doug’s girlfriends used to call this Border Terrier.

Bug tells Reggie that humans can’t be trusted and a dog’s life is better without having an owner because the dog has the freedom to do whatever the dog wants. Bug believes that humans “brainwash” dogs into thinking that dogs need humans. Bug also tells Reggie that stray dogs shouldn’t get too close to other dogs either, because all stray dogs should eventually learn to fend for themselves. Bug’s past is eventually revealed to explain why he detests humans. One of Bug’s quirks is that he is fixated on humping inanimate objects, including furniture (Sofia Vergara voices a character called Dolores the Coach) and lawn decorations.

Soon, Reggie is introduced to two of Bug’s closest dog acquaintances: Maggie (voiced by Isla Fisher) is an Australian Shepherd who is intelligent and has a super-keen sense of smell. She is a stray because her previous owners preferred to have a puppy. (In real life, this Australian Shepherd’s name is Elsa.) Hunter (voiced by Randall Park) is a Great Dane who is insecure and often fearful. Hunter trained to be a police dog, but instead he was placed in a retirement home to be a therapy dog for the elderly residents, and he ran away. (In real life, this Great Dane’s name is Dalin.)

This motley canine quartet then goes on a series of misadventures. All other animals in the movie do not talk. The only living beings that talk in the movie are dogs and humans. An English bulldog named Chester (voiced by Jamie Demetriou) makes a brief but memorable appearance as a neurotic dog who imagines that there is an invisible, electrical fence surrounding his front yard. The four strays also encounter a German Shepherd named Rolf (voiced by Rob Riggle), a K-9 police dog who trained with Hunter at the same K-9 academy.

Two other noteworthy dog characters in the movie are a philosophical Labrador Retriever named Gus (voiced by Josh Gad) and a feisty Chihuahua named Shitstain (voiced by Harvey Guillén), who is almost as combative as Bug. And when there’s a movie about stray dogs roaming around a city, there are inevitable scenes of the dogs trying to evade capture from the animal control officers. “Strays” also has some scenes that take place in an animal shelter, where an animal control officer named Willy (played by Brett Gelman) has a job that’s similar to a jail guard/janitor.

Dennis Quaid makes a cameo portraying himself as a bird watcher. Why is Quaid in this movie? Quaid is the star of 2017’s “A Dog’s Purpose” and 2019’s “A Dog’s Journey,” two sentimental dramas about a “talking” dog (voiced by Gad) who gets reincarnated and whose thoughts are heard in voiceover narration. Quaid and Gad being cast in “Strays” is obviously the “Strays” filmmakers’ way of poking fun at family-oriented talking dog movies.

For a great deal of the story, Reggie is denial that Doug abandoned him and that Doug is not a good person. When the truth finally sinks in with Reggie, he decides that he’s going to get revenge on Doug, with the help of his new stray dog friends. If anyone watching “Strays” complains about how unrealistic this movie is, the question must be asked: “What part of ‘talking dog movie’ do you not understand?”

The comedy in “Strays” is far from award-worthy, but it does bring some laughs, and it doesn’t try to pretend to be lofty art. The biggest flaw in “Strays” is an over-reliance on jokes and gags about defecation. However, the best parts of the movie have to do with the friendship that develops between these four dogs. Hunter has a crush on Maggie, so there’s potential for more than a friendship between them.

The expressions on these dogs’ faces are enough to charm viewers who like dogs, although obviously much of what is in the movie involves visual effects using computer-generated imagery. The voice actors also play their roles capably, with Foxx and Ferrell being the obvious standouts. As long as viewers don’t have skewed or misunderstood expectations for “Strays,” it can be amusing entertainment with some genuine, laugh-out-loud moments. It’s not the type of comedy for everyone, but neither is “Jackass.”

Universal Pictures will release “Strays” in U.S. cinemas on August 18, 2023.

Review: ‘Artemis Fowl,’ starring Ferdia Shaw, Lara McDonnell, Josh Gad, Tamara Smart, Nonso Anozie, Colin Farrell and Judi Dench

June 12, 2020

by Carla Hay

“Artemis Fowl”

Directed by Kenneth Branagh

Culture Representation: Taking place in Ireland and a magical underground world, the fantasy adventure “Artemis Fowl” has a racially diverse cast of characters (white, black and Asian) who portray humans, fairies, dwarves and goblins.

Culture Clash: A 12-year-old boy named Artemis Fowl, who must save his kidnapped father from an evil fairy, kidnaps a good fairy as bait for the ransom, setting off a battle between fairies and humans.

Culture Audience: “Artemis Fowl” will appeal primarily to fans of the “Artemis Fowl” book series who won’t mind watching a movie adaptation that is inferior to the books’ storytelling.

Judi Dench in “Artemis Fowl” (Photo by courtesy of Disney Enterprises Inc.)

The “Harry Potter” books and films have set the bar pretty high for what can be achieved in making young-adult fantasy novels into movies. By comparison, “Artemis Fowl” is a mediocre mess of a film that clearly spent a lot of time on visual effects but not enough time in doing justice to the kind of storytelling that author Eoin Colfer has in his “Artemis Fowl” books. Almost everything that happens in the “Artemis Fowl” movie can be predicted by people in their sleep.

The long-delayed “Artemis Fowl” movie was supposed to be released in theaters, but instead was released directly to the Disney+ streaming service, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Directed by Kenneth Branagh (who’s hit-and-miss artistically when it comes to his big-budget films), “Artemis Fowl” isn’t the worst fantasy film that someone can ever see, but it’s a disappointing movie, considering the level of talent involved. Conor McPherson and Hamish McColl wrote the clunky “Artemis Fowl” screenplay, which is supposed to be an origin story, but the movie is highly unlikely to get a sequel.

The story takes place in Ireland, in an alternate modern reality where humans live above ground, while fairies and other creatures live in a below-ground place called Haven City. The movie begins with the news media in a frenzy because several priceless artifacts from around the world have been stolen. The chief suspect is a reclusive businessman/art dealer named Artemis Fowl Sr. (played by Colin Farrell), who lives in a mansion called Fowl Manor and who has mysteriously disappeared.

However, a suspected accomplice has been arrested: an oversized, thieving dwarf named Mulch Diggums (played by Josh Gad), who’s self-conscious over the fact that he’s much taller and bigger than the average dwarf. Mulch is taken to the MI6 Red Fort Interrogation Unit in Thames Estuary, London, where he begins to tell the story of Artemis Fowl Jr. (played by Ferdia Shaw), a precocious 12-year-old loner who’s frequently left to his own devices because his father goes away for long periods of time on secretive trips.

The Artemis Fowl father and son have a close relationship, but Artemis Jr. feels hurt and left out that his father won’t tell him where he’s going on these trips and exactly when he’ll be back. (Artemis Jr.’s mother is not seen or mentioned in the story.) Artemis Jr. has a friend/mentor/bodyguard named Domovoi Butler (played by Nonzo Anozie), who tells people that he hates to be called a butler. Domovoi has a relationship with Artemis Jr. that’s similar to the “Batman” story relationship between Alfred the butler and Bruce Wayne/Batman.

As Mulch tells it, Artemis Jr. doesn’t like school very much. He’s considered “different” and has found it difficult to make friends. There’s somewhat of an unnecessary scene where Artemis Jr. is talking to a school counselor, and then Artemis storms out because he thinks the counselor doesn’t understand him and the session is a waste of time.

Considering that Artemis Jr. spends the rest of the movie fighting battles like an adult, going to school isn’t a priority to him. It also didn’t make sense to show him at school in this movie because a kid like Artemis Fowl would probably be homeschooled, considering his father’s secretive and reclusive life. Why bother with nosy teachers and students?

At any rate, Artemis Jr. soon gets a phone call from the evil fairy who’s kidnapped his father. Let that sink in for a few seconds and try not to laugh at how dumb that plot sounds. We’ll have to assume they have caller ID blocking in Haven City.

The evil fairy tells Artemis Jr. that his father will be killed unless the fairy (an unnamed androgynous creature who’s in disguise with the creature’s face obscured) gets the ransom: a magical object called the Aculos, which has the power to open portals across the universe. The evil fairy tells Artemis Sr. that he’s been kidnapped as revenge for causing the deaths of some other fairies.

Artemis Jr. then comes up with a somewhat convoluted plan to get the good fairies of Haven City to help him find the Aculos. How? By kidnapping a fairy named Holly Short (played by Lara McDonnell), an enforcement officer who’s supposed to be 84 years old in fairy years, but she looks close to the age of Artemis Jr. (All of the fairies are human-sized.)

The good fairies, led by gravel-voiced Commander Root (played by Judi Dench, in yet another no-nonsense, unsmiling role), then descend upon Fowl Manor to rescue Holly. The fairies have the magical power of creating a force field around a certain area, where everyone in the force field can be temporarily frozen and have their memories erased.

This power is demonstrated in a scene where a giant troll crashes a wedding reception in Italy and attempts to kidnap a child and the good fairies come to the rescue. It’s an example of how this unfocused movie literally jumps all over the place.

But apparently, having magical powers isn’t enough for the fairies, because they also have a massive technology center at Haven City, complete with huge video monitors and computers. How very Earth-like. Except it’s not, because their chief technology officer is a fairy centaur named Foaly (played by Nikesh Patel).

And who else has teamed up with Artemis Jr. and Domovoi to help them fight off this large army of fairies? Domovoi’s 12-year-old niece Juliet Butler (played by Tamara Smart), who’s got martial-arts combat skills. The three allies are outnumbered, but they have some tech gadgets and guns for their battles—although the guns don’t seem to actually kill anyone, because Disney can’t have a movie with 12-year-old kids on a murder spree.

Mulch’s narration comes and goes in the story, which includes a scene of Mulch in a prison cell full of goblins who are hostile to him. It’s an example of a poorly written scene that seems to have no purpose other than to show Mulch in an uncomfortable situation and the visual effects of when he uses his magical ability to over-expand his mouth.

All of the actors do a serviceable job in their roles, although McDonnell frequently outshines her co-stars in her scenes. There are a few lines that might give people a chuckle, such as when a gruff Commander Root barks to subordinates, “Get the four-leaf clover out of here!” The way she slightly pauses before she says “four-leaf clover” makes it clear she could have said another “f” word, and then it would definitely not be a Disney movie.

The visual effects and production design of “Artemis Fowl” are good enough, but they won’t be nominated for any major awards. Because there is so little character development in the movie, the action scenes are really what bring the most appeal to the film. Kids under the age of 10 might enjoy “Artemis Fowl,” but people with more discerning taste in fantasy films won’t find “Artemis Fowl” very impressive. “Artemis Fowl” might just make people want to watch an old “Harry Potter” movie instead.

Disney+ premiered “Artemis Fowl” on June 12, 2020.

Dennis Quaid returns for ‘A Dog’s Journey,’ the sequel to ‘A Dog’s Purpose’

May 17, 2019

Dennis Quaid in “A Dog’s Journey” directed by Gail Mancuso. (Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment)

The following is a description from Universal Pictures:

Some friendships transcend lifetimes. In “A Dog’s Journey,” the sequel to the heartwarming global hit “A Dog’s Purpose,” beloved dog Bailey finds his new destiny and forms an unbreakable bond that will lead him, and the people he loves, to places they never imagined.

Bailey (voiced again by Josh Gad) is living the good life on the Michigan farm of his “boy,” Ethan (Dennis Quaid) and Ethan’s wife Hannah (Marg Helgenberger). He even has a new playmate: Ethan and Hannah’s baby granddaughter, CJ. The problem is that CJ’s mom, Gloria (Betty Gilpin), decides to take CJ away. As Bailey’s soul prepares to leave this life for a new one, he makes a promise to Ethan to find CJ and protect her at any cost.

Thus begins Bailey’s adventure through multiple lives filled with love, friendship and devotion as he, CJ (Kathryn Prescott), and CJ’s best friend Trent (Henry Lau) experience joy and heartbreak, music and laughter, and few really good belly rubs.

Directed by Emmy winner Gail Mancuso (TV’s “Modern Family”), “A Dog’s Journey” is produced by Gavin Polone (“A Dog’s Purpose”), and written by W. Bruce Cameron & Cathryn Michon, and Maya Forbes & Wally Wolodarsky, based on the best-selling novel by Cameron. The film, from Amblin Entertainment and Reliance Entertainment, in association with Walden Media and Alibaba Pictures, will be distributed by Universal Pictures domestically, and by Universal Pictures and Amblin Partners internationally.

Cast: Marg Helgenberger, Betty Gilpin, Henry Lau, Kathryn Prescott, with Dennis Quaid and Josh Gad

Director: Gail Mancuso

Screenplay By: W. Bruce Cameron & Cathryn Michon and Maya Forbes & Wally Wolodarsky

Based on the novel by: W. Bruce Cameron

Producer: Gavin Polone

Executive Producers: Seth William Meier, Lasse Hallström, Luyuan Fan, Wei Zhang