Rupert The Great Christmas Wish Squirrel: Movie Review Mood: don't ask Topic: Literary Squirrels
Disclaimer: I am a scrooge when it comes to Christmas movies. I don't like Christmas movies. I despise It's a wonderful life and I loathe Miracle on 42nd street. I dislike movies that are manipulative in their attempts to "tug on the heartstrings" and I resent any "redemption at Christmas" story that isn't the original by Charles Dickens or Dr Suess. Those two did it well enough that it doesn't need to be done again. My favorite movies for Christmas tend to be ironic -National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Bad Santa, of course Will Ferrel as "Elf" I like White Christmas, -it's a big old cliche of a musical with the thinnest of plots, but it scores big points for being honest and self aware: It's a great big box of sweet, fancy chocolates wrapped in shiny red and green tinsel that's perfect for Christmas but no other time of the year. It knows what it is, gives a sly wink and nod to the audience, and it doesn't try to be something it's not. Keeping this in mind here's my review for a Christmas movie that includes a squirrel. You would think that a movie with a squirrel would be something I would automatically like. But you would be wrong.
The Great Rupert is a movie from 1950 starring Jimmy Durante and a stop-motion animated squirrel. It's about a down on their luck family on the brink of losing everything and they are saved just in time for Christmas by Rupert, the Performing Squirrel. It's absolute drivel and tripe, the kind of stuff packaged by Hollywood as "heartwarming" and "charming" By putting a bright red bow on it and covering the final scene in tinsel they also sell it as a "Family Christmas movie" It's a sickening sweet confection that could only be passed off at Christmas when people's tolerance for sugar is highest. Any other time of year and without the tinsel and shiny wrapping paper it would be seen as the bad movie that it is.
It has been colorized and repackaged and retitled "A Christmas Wish" about as clichéd and hackneyed a movie title as you can get -which pretty much sums up everything about this movie. Adding more tinsel and brighter colors didn't help.
How bad is it? So bad that it was allowed to lapse into public domain without so mush as a peep from anyone. Let's watch this little tid-bit on youtube:
And that opening scene is the very best part of the movie: the dancing squirrel in a kilt is adorable and the dancing Jimmy Durante is charming but after the dance is done the movie turns stupid and maudlin. The entire movie is on youtube, being public domain and all.
The only thing that rescues this movie from the oblivion it so richly deserves is Jimmy Durante, who adds a real sparkle that even the shiniest tinsel can match -nor can it outshine. He almost makes the movie worth watching. Rupert the Squirrel also has tons more personality than any of the other humans in the movie, all who are painted with the broadest of brushstrokes. If there were more squirrel and less humans and no Christmas crap, then the movie could be fun. As is it's just lame and a bit weird.
So One star out of Five, not even ironically hip or self-aware. This movie needs a hipster ironic self-aware re-make, perhaps with Will Ferrell in the Jimmy Durante role, a bratty princess for the little girl, and a streak of greed somewhere.
don't ask
