Monkeybone (2001)

He does it again ladies and gentlemen. Our boy is back with a brand new edition...and this time ...hes... brought... Whoopie! Mr. Fraser does an amazing job playing not only one but two roles of extreme eyeball pleasure. B.F.'s last seemingly effortless journey left us ...Bedazzled? And so will this. If you love movies that involve not only animated characters with purple gas but Chris Kattan then you will absolutely adore this hilarious romp through reality and B.F.eality. Thats right, we're in his head people and we can't get out but ask yourself, Would you really want to? Some young new hotshot, Bob Odenkirk, enjoyed a role but of course paled in comparison to the performance of Stu Miley...dreamer...comic book artist...giggler...Brendan Fraser.

Fmovies: The Fantasy genre is pretty much wide open, which allows a filmmaker to take an audience where he will, without the constraint of parameters of realism or any significant frames of reference. It's a kind of create-as-you-go market, and it's hard to go wrong, especially with the special effects and technology available today. Mixing fantasy and comedy, however, is a whole different thing, and even in the abstract it is bound to wind up in a very subjective arena, and to be successful it must be created and presented with great care, vision and an innate sense of what works by the filmmaker. `Monkeybone,' directed by Henry Selick and written by Sam Hamm is-- well-- none of those things, which is unfortunate for everyone involved with the project, but mostly for the unsuspecting audience upon which it is sprung.

The movie begins with a short `Monkeybone' cartoon, a pilot created from a popular comic strip written by Stu Miley (Brendan Fraser), which has just been picked up by Comedy Central and contracted for a number of episodes. The cartoon depicts the origins of Monkeybone himself, and the appeal is purely infantile (and that's being kind). After the premiere of this animated masterpiece, Stu attends the promo party with his girlfriend, Dr. Julie McElroy (Bridget Fonda), who is indirectly responsible for the existence of Monkeybone in the first place. Stu had suffered from a sleep disorder due to nightmares since he could remember, and it was Dr. Julie who turned his life around, treating him at the sleep clinic into which he checked himself when he finally couldn't take it anymore. At that point in his life, Stu's cartoons ranged from the gruesome to the downright disturbed-- all extensions of his nightmares; then Julie suggested drawing with his left hand instead of his right, and the result was the emergence of Monkeybone, who apparently is supposed to be the flip side of his nightmares. Which may be true for Stu, but not necessarily for the audience.

Monkeybone himself (with voice provided by John Turturro sounding like he's been inhaling helium), is-- far from being funny, cute or endearing in any way, shape or form-- an annoying little spud who grates on the senses from the moment he appears on screen, which beyond the opening cartoon, begins with Stu's descent into `Down Town,' the land of nightmares residing within his own mind into which he slips when a freak accident puts him in a coma. It's a freakish place, a kind of demented `Toon Town,' populated by (besides the ever-present and irritating Monkeybone) such illustrious nightmare mongers as Edgar Allan Poe, Jack the Ripper, Lizzy Borden, Attila the Hun and Stephen King (yes, the real King, in a cameo appearance). The crux of Stu's problem is that he has to get his hands on an `Exit Pass,' in order to defy Death (Whoopi Goldberg), and make his escape back into the land of the living.

Brendan Fraser has to be given credit for not being afraid to take on challenging (some would say questionable) roles; from the comic antics of `George of the Jungle,' to the comedy/drama of `With Honors,' to the action-packed `Mummy' films that have been so successful. Overall, he's made a career out of taking chances and ferreting out parts that have quite effectively showcased his versatility and talent as an actor. And it's easy to understand why this vehicle would've appealed to him. On paper, at least, it probably looked like it would work; and Stu, as written, proba

Well, sadly, yes.

I had really high hopes for this one. I liked it, don't get me wrong. I just wish they'd pushed a lot farther with it. I was expecting something truly trippy and messed up with frightening and bizarre images. What I got was more like a frat party attended by the minor characters in "the Never-ending Story".

Come to think of it, that's one heck of an idea for a movie. I thought of it first, so hands off!

If you've already seen "Nightmare Before Christmas" and the highly underrated "James and the Giant Peach", you won't miss anything much by skipping "Monkeybone". If you haven't seen either of those two movies yet, well, check them out ASAP!

Monkeybone fmovies. MONKEYBONE / (2001) *** (out of four)

By Blake French:

"Monkeybone" takes us on an energetic and lively roller-coaster ride through the bizarre mind of a troubled cartoonist trapped inside a nightmare of his vary own imagination. The film is somewhat bad in its storytelling ability, but the filmmaking and creative juices save this otherwise preposterous picture. Henry Selick, the genius behind similar movies like "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "James and the Giant Peach," once again uses a variety of eye-popping, indulgent gimmickry to provide a delight for the senses. Model puppets, elaborate set designs, computer animation, stop-action photography, claymation, convincing and complex makeup, far out costumes and even some nifty voice effects preside the entertainment of "Monkey Bone." Selick creates a world so full of energy and inventive characters that it justifies the movie's existence.

Brendan Fraser makes another fool of himself as Stu Miley, a modest cartoonist who finally achieves success and does not know what to do with it. His long time girlfriend, Julie (Bridget Fonda), comforts, loves him and is ecstatic when Stu's cartoon primate creation, Monkeybone, a wisecracking and obscene libido portraiture, becomes a national television show. His manager wants to market the franchise big time, but Stu wants his simple life to stay simple with one major change: he wants to marry Julie.

Before he has a chance to propose, a car accident leaves Stu in a coma and his spirit plunged into a weird, subconscious world called Downtown, a waiting place while a person is between life and death. The carnival-like realm inhabits a variety of unusual characters, like Kitty (Rose McGowan from "Jawbreaker") an attractive waitress dressed in a feline furnish, Hypnos (Giancarlo Esposito) the half-man, half-goat ruler of Downtown, Death (Whoopi Goldberg) the cynical head honcho who determines the visitor's fate, and even the concoction of his own imagination-the aggravating nuisance himself: Monkeybone (voiced by John Turturro).

Back on planet earth, Julie struggles to keep Stu's fanatic sister (Megan Mullally) from pulling his plug. Stu conceives a plan to escape Downtown by stealing an exit pass from none other than Death herself. He tries, gets the pass, but Monkeybone betrays his crafty creator and takes it for himself. Now inhabiting the body of Stu, Monkeybone is free to wreak havoc on Stu's lifestyle. While Stu himself possesses the body of a dead gymnast (Chris Kattan from "House on Haunted Hill") to save what is left of his relationship with Julie.

The scenes depicting Stu's nightmare reality are absolutely extraordinary. The artful sets, special effects, costumes, animation, and makeup are some of the most intricate and tasty examples of effective eye-candy. It's like we've entered an imaginative dreamscape of zany and entertaining characters. Everyone involved feels alive and inexhaustible, especially Brendan Fraser in a very effective performance. Monkeybone himself is quite annoying-but in a fun kind of way. The involving and fresh atmosphere make this world a memorable movie experience.

There are several hilarious sequences, one involving a dog's nightmare where several of his feline nemeses secure him and prepare to detach his manhood, and another when a walking organ donor loses his guts during a fight sequence. By now you are probably realizing, despite the c

An endearing young nebbish named Stu (Brendan Fraser) is a cartoonist whose main creation is the personification (or, if you will, the simianization) of his libido. The ornery Monkeybone represents all of Stu's repressed feelings, you see. This is not uncommon among cartoonists or comic-book artists (or, for that matter, any artist); the product on the page is often the result of the demons within the artist's tortured soul. Anyway, Stu has a lovely girlfriend named Julie (Bridget Fonda), who just happens to be a doctor. Monkeybone's about to hit big, and Stu's friend/agent (David Foley) is trying his damnedest to merchandise the hell out of the uncontrollable penis with legs. (There's a not-so-subtle symbolism at work here, of course; Stu represses his emotions, including all sexual feelings, and releases them only in the form of Monkeybone on the page.) The day that deals for the commercialization of Monkeybone (reluctantly by Stu, of course) are made, tragedy strikes. A freak car accident leaves Stu in a coma, although somehow his girlfriend escapes unharmed. So there he is, lying in a hospital bed. Trust me, folks, there's comedy afoot here. We're only now getting to it. While clinically dead, Stu finds himself in Hell. Everyone down there knows him, because he's suffered through nightmares for many, many years (and they've served to inspire him in his artistry, too). In 1991, there was a movie called Cool World that covered some of the same ground. In that film, cartoonist Gabriel Byrne ran into all of his old creations - in this one, Stu finds that the denizens down there have been audience to his nightmares since they began, and they've been counting on him to churn out more. Keeps 'em alive, apparently. Oh, but just to complicate things, Julie the doc has found out what causes nightmares. Actually, I guess that actually makes things nice and simple, not more complex. What's worse, down in Hell (actually, an offshoot of Hell called "Downtown"), Monkeybone is quite the center of attention, and even has a standup act that humiliates the reserved and introverted Stu. The movie really consists of two main parts: Stu down in Hell (although not quite dead yet in real life), trying to find a way back up; and Stu back on terra firma, trying to Save The Day. What connects the two parts is that the nefarious Monkeybone, who's ostensibly been helping Stu to get an "exit pass" has actually schemed to return to the land of the living himself - in Stu's body. So that's where the hijinks really begin; at least, that was the plan. Once Monkeybone gets back up there, things seem to fall into a familiar plotline, which is a shame. There are many scenes down in the underworld that are positively funny, including Whoopi Goldberg as the Lord of the Dead. Oh, and some good bits with Grim Reaper recruits. And the sets! VERY good, fascinating stuff. If you're a fan of scenes, how things look - set design, set decoration, the whole bit - then this movie has oodles of eye candy. It's very well designed. And here's a bit of praise for someone I thought I'd never give it to: Chris Kattan. See, after Monkeybone returns to Earth in Stu's body, Stu has to find a way back up there himself. He's sent back in the body of a gymnast who was just killed in a car wreck (broken neck). The scenes of Stu waking up on the dissection table then being pursued by a mob of angry pathology doctors anxious to get his organs (which, of course, were supposed to be donated)

OK, I couldn't just sit back and let these bad reviews tarnish this movie and perhaps keep someone from watching it. I can't even begin to describe Monkeybone and how it makes me feel and where it takes me when I watch it. I own it on DVD and have bought several copies for others.

I have watched this movie countless times and literally see something new each time. You are supposed to feel anxious and uneasy, that is kind of the whole point of the movie! Stu is lost in a nightmare and trapped with all of the things we imagine in a dreamworld. It really isn't that disturbing and both my son and my niece hold this movie very close to their hearts. You see, instead of Barney or the like they wanted Monkeybone over and over.

And anyone who thinks kids shouldn't watch it needs to lighten up.(Someone actually thought the opening sequence about a kid getting an erection over his teachers arm fat was too inappropriate to mention. My god, I am glad they weren't my parent is all I can say!)

I loved these kinds of movies when I was a kid and that is probably why love it so much. I think all the actors are hilarious and do a great job pulling off their roles; Chris Kattan gets me every time!