Jumbo Hindi Movie Review
Movie Review: Jumbo Star Cast: Akshay Kumar (The Voice of Jumbo), Lara Dutta, Dimple Kapadia, Rajpal Yadav, Gulshan Grover (Voices of other animated characters) Director: Kompin
Another animation (a good one though) goes into the credit list of the Indian cinema. The movie Jumbo is about a fat, blue colored, young elephant named Jaiveer, who loves playing with frogs and is in his own dream world where there are loads of fun and fun around. Everything is happy around him but one thing disturbs Jumbo the most, that he is without a father. It was rumored that his father was a coward and had ran away from the elephant community. This is not well digested by Jumbo who decides to venture out in search of his father.
Jaiveer sets on a journey to the human camp close to the jungle. Unluckily he fails in his quest. On his way back home, he meets a pink, pretty eyed elephant Sonia (now every hero however fat and round deserves to have a heroine right?). Sonia, who by the way despises being called Pinky accompanies Jumbo back home only to find his mother gone. So the friendly Sonia takes the crestfallen Jumbo to her home - a village full of good humans.
Jaiveer sets his journey to the human camp, close to the jungle. Unfortunately he fails in his motive. On his way back, he meets a pink, pretty girl elephant, Sonia and he falls for her. This was quite obvious because our Bollywood films are incomplete without heroines, you see (and we are proud of it).
So, Jumbo and Sonia come back and find that his mother is gone. So Sonia, who also starts developing feelings for Jumbo takes him to her home - a village full of good humans.
Jumbo gets weaker by the time he reaches the village, where humans and animals are working together for beasts and warlords. “Jumbo” sees a cow chained and Jumbo also learns the value of humans who captured him and he is trained in the camp. Jumbo becomes stronger than anyone under the training of a mahout.
The local warlord comes regularly to collect Taxes from the villagers, who get greedy every year to face opposition from the villagers and in a rebel between the villagers and the warlords, the beasts and warlords get defeated.
The king calls for the elephant Jumbo for his army and he finds him breaking chains to meet his mother and the king recognizes him. The king calms Jumbo to hire him as his war elephant and in this quest Jumbo meets a gigantic war elephant with a Fiery Eye, which was responsible for the death of Jumbo’s father, and Jumbo gets a chance to relieve themselves in the battle for the glory of the Kingdom, and take revenge.
The movie is well directed. The romantic song which features Jumbo and Sonia developing feelings for each other is not much appreciated. The animation is good, especially the fight sequence.
The movie has it all, fun, friends, romance, fight, revenge.
The director in short, has shown a typical bollywood movie in his animated film, Jumbo.
Brimming with new genre of 'Animation', Bollywood has been striding on with its best efforts in churning out a perfect of its style. Well, note this down. Possibly, even a diehard fan of animation flicks wouldn't appreciate 'Jumbo' for it isn't so appealing. Perhaps, an Akshay Kumar's fan would go through similar-experiences.
Indeed, it's an animation flick sans 'out-of-box-thinking' and furthermore, the motif of plotline merely clichéd of 'get lost-get found-seek revenge' pattern. Uh-huh, it does carry whole lot of traces from Disney's top-charting 'The Lion King' made more than a decade ago.
Patently, Animation flicks made in
As a young elephant, Jumbo is taunted by the other elephants because he is fatherless. Naturally, Jumbo is curious about his father, and he's told that his father is a war elephant for the king.
So Jumbo wants to find his father. Still a young elephant, he wanders off in search of his father.
He is soon captured by a raiding party. In trying to escape from the camp, the young elephant is befriended by a boy prince, who has been ransomed to his foes. The prince has the ability to calm Jumbo into thinking clearly, and Jumbo makes his escape.
Heading all the way to a village, the grown-up Jumbo (Akshay Kumar) happens to meet her girlfriend (Lara Dutta). And then, the call goes out from the king for elephants for his army. Jumbo is taken to the palace. There, he is seen by his mother (Dimple Kapadia), who calls out to him. Jumbo goes wild in trying to break free from his chains to meet his mother. The King notices this, and remembers Jumbo from his childhood. The king is able to calm Jumbo, and from then on Jumbo serves as the personal war elephant of the king.
In battle, Jumbo meets a giant war elephant Bhaktavar (Gulshan Grover) with fiery eyes responsible for the death of Jumbo's father, and Jumbo gets a chance to acquit him in battle for the glory of the kingdom, and take revenge.
With attempt of savoring to the tastes of kids, 'Jumbo' runs short of humor quotients. Except, Rajpal Yadav's voiced character of Zazoo Kinda, there aren't any drollness on rest of the characters. Precisely, 'Jumbo' has mixed plotlines of 'The Lion King' – central character avenging for its father death and 'Finding Nemo' that's about searching for mother. Lekhin, we don't find such emotions or comedic attributes of both these flicks over here.
Alas! None of the lip movements by elephants can be viewed as it takes place behind their trunks. You believe or not, their conversations look alike voiceovers. But you can't blame it, they're elephants and makers of this flick could've opted for some other creature.
Akshay Kumar is just narrator in the first half while takes on the characterization of Jumbo in the latter part. Voices of Dimple Kapadia and Lara Dutta are off mediocre while Gulshan Grover's voice sans intonation doesn't suit for the characterization. Overall, none of the voices are so sharper on modulation and you can call it 'imperfection'…
As a whole, Jumbo isn't so impressive for any audiences while it has possibilities of occupying theatres for Christmas holidays. Kids looking out animation flick for the first time may enjoy watching it…
