Mr. Magoo (1997) Review:

Back in the day, Mr. Magoo was very well popular during his time. The running gag in the cartoon was that Mr. Magoo couldn't see well and always ended up colliding into all kinds of mayhem. As for this film, which is live-action, director Stanley Tong did a good job keeping the realism of the cartoon the same. Mr. Magoo still goes up, down, left and right in this film like he was on an invisible roller coaster. What surprised me the most about this film was that Disney sponsored it.

The comical Leslie Nielsen as the not-so-comical Mr. Magoo

Starring as the infamous Mr. Magoo is Leslie Nielsen. What's neat, is that in beginning you actually get to see the transition from cartoon life into real life. Of course not many people will notice at first, but cartoon Magoo doesn't have hair but when Leslie Nielsen is on screen, he does have hair. Even I didn't notice until much later, so my question remains, who forgot to make this cartoon look as accurate as possible? Its not really a big deal because Disney made the same mistake two years later when Inspector Gadget (1999) was made and they had Dr. Claw right out in the open; oh well. The other thing that's sort of ridiculous about the film are the physics behind certain scenes. Again, this is a cartoon adaptation so things are kept unrealistic but still some scenes come off as being almost impossible.

Nick Chinlund as a clumsy villain

This whole movie is made to look like everyone is idiotic. I must say that it was done well because everyone in this movie are idiots, but they are funny idiots. Nielsen is good at making it look like he knows whom he's talking to even though he doesn't. The two spies played by Ernie Hudson and Stephen Tobolowsky are funny to watch too. They either end up knocking each other over just to see who can get to the finish line first or they end up knocking each other out altogether. Nick Chinlund who plays another doofus named Bob Morgan tries to get his hands on Mr. Magoo. What a wreck that guy was.

Miguel Ferrer, from RoboCop (1987), plays the main villain in this film. His character is called Ortega Peru and although he's a mean villain, he doesn't impose himself as a bad guy. I guess that's what you get for being bad guy in a silly Disney comedy. The music is good too; it has a giddy jumpiness to it, which goes well with what Mr. Magoo does in this film. Not every scene will have big laughs but it's a cute, goofy, and fun filled movie for the family. Kids will definitely love it.

Disney took a chance and although they failed to impress critics, it was a box office success to Magoo fans. The movie is silly fun that makes Magoo look like he can handle anything that's placed or thrown in his way, even though he can't which makes it all the more unrealistic for a live-action cartoon.

Points Earned --> 6:10