Show i 0 Magee's Covert Operation in Theaters By JoSelle Staff Writer Movie-goers Movie take note A star from the has just been should we say redrawn Hes He's none other than Mr the latest cartoon character to be recreated in live-action live by Disney Like this summers summer's popular George of the Jungle Mr r. is a new movie based on an old idea The first Mr cartoon was created in 1949 and Jim Backus Island as the voice of the title character The plot of each episode was usually usually usually ally very simple The very nearsighted h ed would become involved in ina a variety of mishaps from which he would always narrowly escape After a series of and movie adventures the cartoon was finally retired in 1979 only to be revived in late 1997 The plot of this movie is simple The wealthy and nearsighted Quincy accidentally becomes embroiled in the theft of a large ruby called the Star of from the museum where it is on display Although innocent Mr is suspected by the FBI and CIA of having having haying hav hay ing stolen the jewel After a series of mishaps and chases involving a beautiful beautiful beautiful beau beau- thief the criminal Underworld and a few assorted animals everything everything everything every every- thing ends happily While most of cartoons end up feeling like dull watered-down watered shadows shadows shadows shad shad- of the originals this film survives survives survives sur sur- vives with some of its humor intact This is largely due to the fine performances performances performances mances of the cast Leslie Nielsen Naked Gun is well-cast well as Mr While portraying him strictly as a cartoon character Nielsen man man- ages to make Mr surprisingly likeable In spite of widely differing ideas about the political correctness of the film many audience members may find themselves almost cheering for Mr as her flawlessly escapes from danger Likewise Kelly Lynch and Nick Chinlund are excellent excellent excellent excel excel- lent as the jewel thieves However two actors seem to be misplaced in this movie Matt Keeslar as nephew comes across as too realistic One has the feeling that he is not playing a cartoon character but a flesh-and-blood flesh human being Consequently the scenes he is involved in lose their quality and seem out of place Jennifer Garner as ambassador ambassador ambassador ambas ambas- suffers from a different lem She is given a pretty wardrobe but a confusing and often flat role as Keeslar's love interest Like the actors the movie itself has its successful and unsuccessful moments Many of the action sequences especially the clever chase scenes are often hilarious However Mr like most live-action live adaptations of cartoons suffers from froman an unintentional overuse of cliche A prime example of this is the climactic climactic climactic cli cli- scene in which Mr is sent over a waterfall in a raft His escape from this situation is inconceivable inconceivable inconceivable incon incon- and trite even for a movie that is supposed to be both In spite of its mixed success however however however how how- ever Mr will probably always be a controversial movie Recently the visually impaired have expressed much concern over the films film's comic portrayal of a nearsighted ed person While some jokes about Mr sight do appear to be bedone bedone bedone done in poor taste it is very likely that none were made with malicious intent Disney's disclaimer at the movies movie's end helps somewhat to address these concerns but may be conceived as too little too late Clearly Disney's decision to make a live-action live Mr is highly ques ques- However all audience members should recall that the movie like all cartoon adaptations distorts and exaggerates every character in some form of another In the end Mr rated PG for violence and some off off- color humor is a mixture of successes success success- es and failures on all fronts I would recommend it only for fans of the original cartoon or those not easily offended While the redrawing of cartoon stars occurs frequently frequently frequently fre fre- fre- fre these days Disney's latest effort is well a draw i L I C o I- I I J A t 1 I I Ii Ji M V 2 r I S t w f. ft t y I 14 fl I 1 Photo By Doug Curran 1 Luanne Leseur Kelly Lynch will stop at nothing to retrieve a ruby from 1 Mr Leslie Nielsen S. 1 i ll M S 1 f Ji S F 5 S S e 4 7 4 c 4 SW X 0 S h r- r fW f lf 9 f. f j c s XH B 4 t. t 3 tt 4 i S. S i g p 9 i fu W 1 F n I rt ir n w 2 ild h hv v. h- h SS 1 x 4 v WA 1 f V t. t S h C k- k km m t 4 mi N r 3 V 1 c J i R i 0 t tc k W Ww w t. t 1 f- f d p E 1 fM r J d rD V 7 I J I i it 5 sc S. S k h d f fj ii i i A rl w i t J. J w Con t. t hz J. J t-R t A i W 1 f i tl t g tr vV w t t W Photo By Doug Curran Walt Disney Pictures' Pictures live Leslie Nielsen stars as lovable but bumbling Quincy t tM M agoo |