Murray plays zookeeper Elena Franklin and Bill Murray as daughter and father in OSMOSIS JONES. © 2001 Warner Bros.Frank Detorri a wreck of a human specimen whose hygiene is poor and eating habits are even worse. His young daughter Shane (Elena Franklin) worries about him incessantly, though that still doesn't stop him from eating monkey-handled hard-boiled eggs and anything else disgusting that looks tasty.
Of course, it's the spoiled egg that could end up being Frank's downfall once digested, a sinister virus has entered Frank's internal system. The virus (animated of course) goes by the name of Thrax (voiced by Laurence Fishburne) and his intentions are to take down Frank in less than 24 hours by posing as a common cold.
The "animation" insides of Frank work like a miniature city. For example, there's Mayor Phlegmming (William Shatner), whose goal is to keep the status quo and keep the peace in the city "a fat Frank is a happy Frank" is his motto.
But status quo may not be what Frank needs and it's up to a renegade white blood cell officer to find out what's really going. That would be Osmosis Jones (voice of Chris Rock) of the FrankPD, who's on to Thrax as he leaves a suspicious trail of death and destruction in his wake. When a common cold pill named Drix (David Hyde Pierce) arrives to alleviate some of Frank's discomfort, the two are paired up. Bitter rivals at first, they come to understand each other and what it will take save Frank from expiring due to this deadly virus.
The script by Marc Hyman is snappy and fun. It would have been easy to go the obvious route with the humor, but much thought went into crafting Frank's internal world so much so that it's often more entertaining at times than the somewhat disjointed flow of the live action material.
The interplay between Rock and Pierce is also incredibly funny playing up every single cop cliché plays well, especially when applied to the functions of the internal body.
Although OSMOSIS JONES © 2001 Warner Bros.the film does come off a bit adult in the advertising, it's actually family fun all the way. The PG rating insures the gross-out quotient is kept in check and the animation is classic Warner Bros. Like their underrated IRON GIANT, there's a hip factor to the proceedings, but it also is unique and unlike any other animation films out there. Tonally, both films know exactly what they are and try not to conform to the Disney archetype that's become the norm. Disney certainly has trouble whenever they veer from formula (case in point ATLANTIS: THE LOST EMPIRE) in that they don't know what to do and in the end the product ends up being a slave to everyone and a master to no one.
Thankfully, OSMOSIS JONES knows what it is and achieves that effortlessly. A fine vocal cast, the always-funny Murray and a good story make this a crowd-pleaser for the entire family and that's the hardest sell there is.
Reviewed Format: Wide Theatrical Release | ||
Rated: PG | ||
Stars: Bill Murray, and featuring the voices of Chris Rock, David Hyde Pierce, Laurence Fishburne, Brandy Norwood, William Shatner | ||
Writer: Marc Hyman | ||
Director(s): Peter Farrelly & Bobby Farrelly; animation directed by Piet Kroon and Tom Sito | ||
Distributor: Warner Bros. | ||
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