by Ruth Floresca

Created on: January 10, 2011

I like experiencing Jack Black’s humor – in small doses. There are movies of his that I don’t consider as funny as my husband and kids think they are, but Jack still has the ability to make me laugh once in a while. I think I just have a different sense of humor than the rest of my family. After all, I’m the only female among five males.

Anyway, I found Gulliver’s Travels entertaining. There were scenes that are really funny. My husband and our 12-year-old son kept laughing out loud throughout the press screening.

I like how the screenwriters adapted the Jonathan Swift classic into a modern one. I’m sure majority of the viewers would welcome the use of technologies like the internet and the mobile phone. Too, incorporating lines and characters from popular movies and songs made the story relevant and fun for today’s generations.

Special effects-wise, it’s amazing how realistic-looking the interactions between Gulliver and the Lilliputians are. The whirling tower of water that sucked in Gulliver’s boat was also very impressive. I like the scene best where Horatio (Jason Segel) was running on top of houses and buildings to keep up with Gulliver’s giant steps while having a conversation at the same time. That must have been exhausting!

The production team did a great job as well with Lilliput itself. It’s like a tiny, colorful Victorian world in the middle of nowhere. The costumes were beautiful and so was Emily Blunt who plays Princess Mary. Most of the supporting characters (including Amanda Peet as Darcy Silverman, Billy Connolly as King Theodore, Chris O’Dowd as the traitorous General Edward, and Catherine Tate as Queen Isabelle), played their parts well.

However, if I were to focus on the aspects of the movie that I appreciated the most, I’d say these would be the lessons people can learn from watching Gullivers Travels. The themes used - love, friendship, honesty, self-confidence, and determination - were universal and which people would easily identify with.

My son did a review of Gulliver's Travels for the kids’ section of one of our nationally-distributed newspapers. There, he wrote, and I quote, “Kids should see Gulliver’s Travels because it teaches lessons like don’t pretend to be someone that you’re not and that even small people can do big things if they really want to. The movie also reminds us that making friends is possible between very different people.”

I couldn’t agree more.

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