Gulliver's Travels

Review by Sean Lynch

Bigger is better - that seems to be the theory with Jack Black's Gulliver's Travels.

Using all the same tricks that made the Ben Stiller's Night At The Museum a billion dollar franchise - plenty of comedy stars in cameo roles and plenty of size distortion - Gulliver's Travels sees Jack Black take on the iconic role of Gulliver who, in this modern take on the classic novel, is a perpetual underachiever and wannabe travel writer at a New York newspaper.

When he finally makes an effort to actually venture out the city to write a travel piece, a storm-tossed voyage lands him on an island inhabited by tiny folks called Liliputians. 

After a rocky beginning, the gargantuan Gulliver becomes an inspiration to his new six-inch-tall friends. Quickly becoming a hero to most - all except the one Liliputian who feels his authority is threatened (The IT Crowd's Chris O'Dowd).

From here, cue plenty of "Modern Man brings Old Fashioned folk Modern Things" gags - iPhones, The Artist Formerly Known As Prince, Chuck Taylors, Guitar Hero and Avatar.

Making a successful kids movie isn't the easiest of tasks, especially in this day and age. So it's something of a pleasure to see a film like Gulliver's Travels (and the Night At The Museum movies) which delivers just the right about of silliness, adult humour and over-the-top-ham for the littlies.

The cast comprises of the whose who of comedy, perhaps not on the scale of Night At The Museum, but certainly the whose who of modern day British comedy and the level of freedom and fun they supply really comes across on the screen.

Jason Segel is an excellent everyman, despite a fairly weak UK accent, while Jack Black delivers his most charming and likable performance since School Of Rock. 

When Black is given the freedom to play himself, he is at his best, and director Rob Letterman has really done an astounding job in getting the most out Black and of each comedian who has managed to pop their head on the screen in Gulliver's Travels.

If parents lost faith in the prospect of ever seeing a genuine "Feel Good Family Film" ever again after the woeful Christmas offerings from Alvin & The Chipmunks, fear not, Gulliver's Travels has something for everyone.

4 out of 5

Gulliver's Travels
Australian release: 26th December, 2010
Official Site: Gulliver's Travels
Cast: Jack Black, Jason Segel, Emily Blunt
Director: Rob Letterman