The King and I (1999 film)

The King and I is a 1999 American animated musical romantic drama film produced by Morgan Creek, Nest, Rankin/Bass, and Rich Animation Studios, and distributed by Warner Bros. under their Family Entertainment unit. The only Morgan Creek animated feature film to be made,[3] it was directed by Richard Rich. The film is loosely based on the 1951 musical of the same name. Life of the English school teacher Anna Leonowens, it portrays a fictionalized account of her historical encounter with the King of Siam Mongkut, and royal court. The voice cast stars Miranda Richardson and Martin Vidnovic as Leonowens and Mongkut, respectively, with Ian Richardson, Darrell Hammond, and Adam Wylie. The score, songs, and some of the character names come from Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II's 1951 stage musical of the same name.[4] Screenwriters Peter Bakalian, Jacqueline Feather, and David Seidler took creative liberties with the history and with the source material from the musical in an attempt to make the film palatable to all audiences.

For the 1956 live-action film, see The King and I (1956 film). For the live-action adaptation of the same story also released in 1999, see Anna and the King.

The King and I
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRichard Rich
Produced by
Screenplay by
Based on
Starring
Music byWilliam Kidd
Edited by
  • Joe Campana
  • Paul Murphy
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • March 19, 1999 (1999-03-19)
Running time
89 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$25 million[2]
Box office$12 million[2]

The King and I was released on March 19, 1999, eight months prior to Anna and the King, a live-action adaptation of the same story. It received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics, who praised its visual aspects, voice acting, musical score, and the songs, but criticized its story and the quality of the animation, while the film's allegedly racist overtones and artistic license received polarized responses. The King and I earned $12 million at the box office[2] and its gross was seen as a disappointment compared to that of other animated films released at the time. The film received five nominations including the London Critics Circle Film Award for British Actress of the Year for Richarson and the Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing in Animated Feature.[5]

Plot

In 1862, a ship sails from London to Bangkok, on board are Anna Leonowens and her son Louis. The Prime Minister, Kralahome uses his powers of illusion to cause it to appear as if a massive sea serpent is attacking the ship as its battered in a storm. Anna, with the help of Captain Orton, manage to save Louis from drowning. As they approach Bangkok, the Captain fills Anna in on the political structure of the kingdom.

In the Grand Palace, in Siam, Anna witnesses King Mongkut receive a gift in the form of a slave named Tuptim, a young woman from Burma. Despite being promised her own house outside of the Palace, Anna is denied such. The King drags Anna to his workshop were he tests new inventions such as hot air balloons, and trains. Louis is taken on a tour of the armory by the Kralahome's henchman, Master Little, who barely misses injury. The King's wives help Anna unpack despite her protests, this is when Anna sees Prince Chulalongkorn and Tuptim getting to know each other in the courtyard. Anna who wants to leave since she won't be receiving the house, changes her mind after she meets the Royal Children, namely Chulalongkorn.

With the Kralahome still plotting to overthrow the king, he writes a letter to the British Empire claiming Anna is in danger. Anna begins to teach the children only to learn they've never been outside the palace walls. To give the hands on experience she takes all of the royal children around the city to see how other people live, this in turn angers the king when the Kralahome reports this from Master Little telling him of seeing the outing. It boils over into a fight with Anna still complaining about the house she was promised but didn't receive.

Chulalongkorn meets with his father to discuss traditions, wanting to be with Tuptim but knowing his father would never allow it. Confused, Mongkut goes to pray to Buddha. While he is, the Kralahome uses his powers on the statues in the room to try and attack the king, which the king's black panther Rama fights off. When Chulalongkorn is kickboxing, Tuptim finally learns he is the crowned prince and that their love is forbidden. But he tells her that he doesn't care about tradition and wants to be with her. Master Little learns of their relationship and tells the Kralahome who plans to use it to anger the king at the right time.

Anna goes to the king to learn he is troubled after learning the British are coming because he is allegedly a barbarian, which she knows isn't true. Anna advises the King to throw a banquet for the British when they arrive to show he is civilized. At the dinner, the Kralahome mentions the royal ivory pendant the king is supposed to wear, the one which he gave to his son, who then gave it to Tuptim. When it is revealed Chulalongkorn gave it away, Tuptim is brought in by guards. Dishonored by the relationship, the king threatens to whip Tuptim to death, but she and Chulalongkorn escape into the jungle along with Louis.

While they are escaping, the Kralahome uses his powers to guide them through the jungle across a rope bridge. The bridge collapses and Tuptim and Chulalongkorn are almost swept away by a river. The king, having had a change of heart and using one of his hot air balloons, rescues the two with Louis' help distracting Master Little's interference. But on their journey back to the palace, the Kralahome fires a firework, destroying the balloon and causing it to crash. Everyone but the king was able to jump into a lake to safety. When the Kralahome leaves victorious, Sir Edward and the royal guards get angry at him for trying to kill the king. An injured, bedridden king lays in bed telling his son to be ready to lead Siam when or if he dies, and allows him and Tuptim to be married. The Kralahome loses his position as prime minister, and as a punishment, he is forced to clean the elephant stables, with Master Little as his boss. He then gets assaulted by Master Little after his last tooth falls out. But the king doesn't die, like in the musical; instead, he heals and presents Anna with her house outside of the palace walls, and the two of them dance.

Voice cast

Production

Development

After the success of Walt Disney Animation Studios' The Little Mermaid in 1989 Warner Bros. began to seek out animated films to distribute, which led to them releasing The Nutcracker Prince and Rover Dangerfield, in 1990 and 1991, respectively. But it wasn't until the success of Disney's The Lion King, and all Hollywood studios began looking at getting into the animation field that the company began to develop animated feature films internally. In 1991 Morgan Creek Entertainment began a production and distribution deal with Warner Bros. In 1993 the company established Warner Bros. Feature Animation led by Max Howard to produce their own animated films while still distributing third party animated films. Warner Bros. distributed Thumbelina, and New Line Cinema distributed The Swan Princess in 1994, before releasing their first internally created feature film Space Jam in 1996. With the film a financial success, the next film was quickly underway Quest for Camelot. Arthur Rankin Jr. the head of Rankin/Bass Productions, who had been brought in to co-produce the film, was able to convince the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization who is in charge of the rights to their works that an animated feature film "would be a superb way" to expand the property.[6]

Writing

Prior to the theatrical release of the Quest for Camelot it's writers David Seidler and Jacqueline Feather were contracted to adapt The King and I for Morgan Creek, to be released under the Warner Bros. Family Entertainment label. In 1998 it was revealed the plot had been "slightly altered" from the original musical "in the interest of family viewing."[7] But no change could be made without approval by the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization, it was known that the family friendly changes would be a risk, but they hoped the film would "introduce a generation of younger people to the show, earlier than they might have been under normal circumstances" according to R&H President at the time Ted Chapin.[6]

Design and animation

Each of the characters in the film were designed by a team of animators consisting of Bronwen Barry, Elena Kravets, and Michael Coppieters. The final design of each character had to receive final approval from James G. Robinson, the head of Morgan Creek Entertainment. Over one thousand animators were hired in over 24 countries across four different continents to hand draw each second of the film.[8] Clean-up animation was contracted to Hanho Heung-Up in Seoul, South Korea.

Soundtrack

A soundtrack album was released on March 16, 1999 by Sony Classical Records.[9] It was released on both CD and cassette formats.[10] All the songs on the album were composed by Oscar Hammerstein II and Richard Rodgers. William Ruhlmann of Allmusic.com gave the album a rating of 3 stars out of 5, describing it as a "surprisingly adequate" soundtrack to a "badly received" film. He adds, however, that the "overly effusive vocal performances" and "overly busy arrangements" make it "by far the worst version of this music ever recorded", and cites the use of "nine different orchestrators" as a possible factor. He concludes by conceding that there is good singing on the album.[11] John Kenrick in his article Comparative CD Reviews Part III, describes the 1999 recording as a "total disgrace" that sees "superb Broadway singers...labor against mindless cuts and gooey orchestrations".[12] In a relatively negative review of the animated adaption, The Rodgers and Hammerstein Encyclopedia does say that "some of the songs survive nicely, and the singing vocals throughout are very proficient".[13]

No.TitlePerformer(s)Length
1."I Have Dreamed/We Kiss in a Shadow/Something Wonderful" (Musical number)Barbra Streisand4:51
2."Getting to Know You" (Musical number)Christiane Noll & Chorus3:34
3."March of the Siamese Children"The Philharmonia Orchestra2:56
4."A Puzzlement" (Musical number)Martin Vidnovic2:26
5."I Whistle a Happy Tune" (Musical number)Christiane Noll, Adam Wylie, & Chorus2:08
6."Hello, Young Lovers" (Musical number)Christiane Noll1:55
7."I Have Dreamed" (Musical number)David Burnham & Tracy Venner Warren3:01
8."Shall I Tell You What I Think of You?" (Musical number)Christiane Noll1:52
9."Prayer to Buddha" (Musical number)Martin Vidnovic1:53
10."Anna Remembers/Shall We Dance Fantasy" (Musical number)Christiane Noll1:43
11."Shall We Dance? (Finale)" (Musical number)Christiane Noll & Martin Vidnovic2:19
12."Prologue"The Philharmonia Orchestra0:54
13."Arrival in Siam/Moonshee's Mischief"The Philharmonia Orchestra2:54
14."Two Servants/Anna's Demands"The Philharmonia Orchestra2:59
15."Kralahome's Scheme/Tuptim's Gift/Anna's Academy"The Philharmonia Orchestra2:48
16."Everything Scientific/Children Outside Palace"The Philharmonia Orchestra2:03
17."What to Say to Growing Son/Evil Duo"The Philharmonia Orchestra1:14
18."Anna Will Stay"The Philharmonia Orchestra4:05
19."Mango Madness/Kralahome's Sinister Trap"The Philharmonia Orchestra2:07
20."Banquet/King's Threat/Balloon Rescue"The Philharmonia Orchestra5:12
21."King's Fate/Prince's Future/Kralahome's Demise/Anna's Surprise"The Philharmonia Orchestra5:29
22."Finale"The Philharmonia Orchestra0:54

[14]

Release

Theatrical run

The film debuted Friday, March 19, 1999, in 2,352 theaters, grossing $4 million in its opening weekend - number six at the box office behind two other Warner Bros. films, Analyze This, and True Crime.[15] The King and I played for 228 days in theaters, about 41 weeks.[16]

As with most film adaptations of Anna and the King of Siam, the film is banned in Thailand.

Home media

Despite the underwhelming box office performance of the film, upon the home media release the film July 6, 1999 on DVD and VHS by Warner Home Video, it stayed in the top 20 of Billboards Top Kid Video Chart for over 15 weeks.[17] Leading to The King and I going on to be the 16th best-selling children's video tape of 1999.[18] The King and I was available on Amazon Prime when the streaming service premiered on August 1, 2011. The film was listed on iTunes for digital sale in 2010.[19]

Mill Creek Entertainment released the Blu-ray/digital combo pack of the film on October 6, 2020.[20]

Reception

Box office

The film was a box office bomb. It took in $4,007,565 in its opening weekend, taking the #6 spot at the box office, but only managed to gross just under $12 million at the box office, and was overshadowed by the release of Doug's 1st Movie, which was released the following week.[2]

Critical reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, The King and I has an approval rating of 13% based on 24 reviews, and an average rating of 3.51/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Charmless and shoddily animated, The King and I pales in comparison to its classic namesake in every way."[21] Historian Thomas Hischak wrote that it was "surprising to think that the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization allowed it to be made ... children have enjoyed The King and I for five decades without relying on dancing dragons".[22] Hischak, in his work The Oxford Companion to the American Musical: Theatre, Film, and Television, says the film is "easily the worst treatment of any Rodgers and Hammerstein property".[23] The Rodgers and Hammerstein Encyclopedia says "whether or not one agrees about the 1956 film of The King and I being the best R&H movie, most would concede that [the] animated adaption is the worst". Roger Ebert gave it 2 stars out of 4 and felt that animated adaptations of musicals have potential but found the film rather dull.

See also

References
  1. "The King and I (U)". British Board of Film Classification. April 15, 1999. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  2. "The King and I (1999)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 27, 2013.
  3. "The man behind Morgan Creek". The Baltimore Sun. March 21, 1999. Archived from the original on November 12, 2019. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  4. Lenburg, Jeff (2009). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons (3rd ed.). New York: Checkmark Books. p. 194. ISBN 978-0-8160-6600-1.
  5. "Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA 2000 Awards". IMDb.
  6. Jones, Kenneth (March 18, 1999). "Shall We Kickbox? Animated 'King and I' Opens at Movie Theatres March 19". Archived from the original on November 12, 2019.
  7. Simonson, Robert (May 4, 1998). "Plot Changes Planned for Animated The King and I Film". Archived from the original on November 12, 2019.
  8. Making The King and I bonus feature (DVD). Warner Home Video. 1999.
  9. Artists, Various. "The King and I – Original Animated Feature Soundtrack [Music Download]: Various Artists". Christianbook.com. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  10. "The King and I [Original Animated Feature Soundtrack] – 1999 Soundtrack : Releases". AllMusic. March 16, 1999. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  11. Ruhlmann, William (March 16, 1999). "The King and I [Original Animated Feature Soundtrack] – 1999 Soundtrack : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  12. "Comparative CD reviews – 3". Musicals101.com. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  13. Hischak, Thomas S (June 30, 2007). The Rodgers and Hammerstein Encyclopedia. ISBN 9780313341403.
  14. Ruhlmann, William. "1999 Soundtrack: The King and I", Allmusic.com, accessed December 24, 2012
  15. "Domestic 1999 Weekend 12". Box Office Mojo.
  16. "The King and I Domestic". Box Office Mojo.
  17. McCormick, Moria (November 13, 1999). "Top Kid Video". Billboard. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  18. McCormick, Moria (December 25, 1999). "'Simba's Pride,' Buena Vista Rule Kid Vid Chart For '99". Retrieved November 11, 2019. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  19. "IMDb King and I Company Credits". IMDb.
  20. "Upcoming Mill Creek Entertainment Blu-ray Releases". Blu-ray.com. June 9, 2020. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  21. "The King and I (1999)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 27, 2013.
  22. Hischak, Thomas S. The Rodgers and Hammerstein Encyclopedia. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007, p. 151 ISBN 978-0-313-34140-3
  23. Hischak, Thomas S (June 2, 2008). The Oxford Companion to the American Musical: Theatre, Film, and Television. ISBN 9780195335330.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.