Hey, Hey, Hey
Fat Albert is OK!

With trepidation, I awaited the release of the film Fat Albert, a live-action film starring Kenan Thompson. With fresh memories of the debacle created by the Scooby-Doo film, I worried that this may be another attempt to usurp my cherished childhood memories and make them the objects of derision and ridicule. Once I learned that Bill Cosby himself was involved in the project, however, I set aside my concerns.

Back in the 1970s, when I was a kid, Cosby was known as a comedian. He had some success with the "I Spy" television series in the 1960s, but he would become a household name when one of his best-loved comedy routines became the basis of a children's cartoon. I am speaking, of course, of "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids." Since its inception in 1972, Fat Albert and the gang have helped entertain children with stories that promised "if you're not careful, you may learn something before it's done!"

In the new film, Fat Albert and his friends find themselves pulled out of their cartoon world when a young girl watching the show cries and unwittingly summons them. As fans of the cartoon know, Fat Albert is a problem solver. When he sees Doris (Kyla Pratt) crying, he leaps out of the television to try and help her. In the process, he pulls along the rest of the junkyard gang (minus Russell who gets left behind).

Doris is clearly unnerved by the idea of Fat Albert (Thompson) and the others popping into reality, but their show ends before they can return to the television. So, she is stuck with them for 24 hours until it is rerun again. The tale takes on a "strangers in a strange land" quality as Fat Albert and his crew adjust to the real world. They are from the 1970s and don't understand things like pop-top soda cans, laptop computers, or rap music. But the gang learns quickly.

Fat Albert is determined to help Doris, despite the fact that she claims that she doesn't have a problem. His efforts lead him to her foster-sister Lauri (Dania Ramirez) and he is instantly smitten. When he learns that Doris has had trouble making friends after the death of her grandfather, Fat Albert and the gang try to help her jumpstart her social life. The result is a series of funny and somewhat predictable attempts to help Doris become popular.

To add a bit of tension, the crew face a couple of different obstacles. For one thing, their cartoon junkyard is in danger of being overrun by a rival crew. Only little Russell is left to hold on to the cartoon world. The gang also discovers that their hold on the real world is tenuous at best. Their colors are fading and they are in danger of disappearing altogether if they don't return home.

The biggest gem of the film comes from the brief cameo by Cosby. Fat Albert seeks out his creator in hopes of finding out why he is fading. Cosby explains why Doris was able to summon Fat Albert from the television and why the gang can't last in the real world. It's a simple explanation without any need for solid physics or reasoning. But in this case, it works.

The film version of Fat Albert is true to the ideal of the original cartoon. It also takes some very modern twists without giving up its foundation of wholesomeness and good morals. While the story may seem a bit simplistic for some, I found it a refreshing movie aimed at kids but with a nostalgia factor for adults who remember the original cartoon. It may not win points for originality or style, but it offers up a good lesson in self esteem and delivers laughs along the way.

MY RATING: 6 out of 10.

RATED: PG
RUN TIME: 100 min.