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By Joginder Tuteja, March 17, 2009 - 12:37 IST
MOVIE DETAILS
Voices: Akshay Kumar, Lara Dutta, Dimple Kapadia, Rajpal Yadav, Gulshan Grover, Asrani
Director: Kompin Kemgumnird
Producer: Percept Picture Company
Music: Ram Sampath
Lyrics: Munna Dhiman, Asif Ali Beg, Israr Ansari
THE FILM
Do all animation films arriving from a foreign country turn out to be an interesting affair? One may be tempted to say so because while Indian animation industry is yet to grow (Roadside Romeo was a step in the right direction though), West has always been a forefront in coming up with quality animation flicks. However, Jumbo (which again is an imported product actually) doesn't really turn out to be as impressive as one would have imagined. Also, a point to be noted is that it is neither an Indian film nor a Western product. Instead, it comes from the East since it is basically a Thai animation film (by the name Khan Kluay) which has been dubbed in Hindi.
So what did presenters of Jumbo did to make the film identifiable in India? They roped in top star Akshay Kumar to give a voiceover for Jumbo and marketed it as an out and out Akshay Kumar starrer. A deception of sorts because first and foremost half the film has Jumbo in his childhood avtar. It's the baby elephant that struts around the frames for most part of the film which makes one wonder what the fuss was around Akshay's presence in the film.
Of course, the film begins with Akshay Kumar's superb music video 'Everything Gonna Be All Right' that has been brilliantly shot, actually manages to convey a message and is energetic enough to get your attention on the screen. There is a scene featuring Akshay which follows immediately after where he begins to narrate the story of Jumbo. From here on, Akshay only makes an occasional appearance as a background voiceover, only to lend his voice to the grown up Jumbo in the second half. Even in this half, there aren't many dialogues that one would have expected Akshay to mouth. Hence, all and all, it turns out to be quite disappointing when one realizes that Akshay's biggest contribution to the project was the music video.
Talking about the other voiceovers, Dimple Kapadia is hardly there and even in the portions where she comes behind the mike, she seems distant, aloof and uninterested. The worse is yet to come though. Lara Dutta has like two and a half dialogues to mouth which only makes one exclaim - 'Dhokha'. Gulshan Grover's voice of a villain elephant is quite recognizable but his trademark dialogue delivery is missed as he hardly gets any fiery dialogues to mouth. As for Rajpal Yadav, he seems to be the most involved of the lot and though he does enjoy the proceedings, the same cannot be said about the viewer for whom Rajpal's part as well as dialogues are hardly funny.
Let's talk about some other wasted opportunities here. Ram Sampath's music is top notch here and for any other mainstream commercial film, songs like 'Everything Gonna Be Allright', 'Chayee Madhoshiyan' and 'Dil Mera Jumbo' would have been chartbusters. However, in the context of 'Jumbo', except for the first song to some extent, the remaining didn't get their due at all.
Coming to the film, it has an interesting subject (that of a son going all out to restore his family pride by taking upon the evil). Still, the narrative is uneven and by the time the battle begins with the son and the evil elephant coming face to face, the interest is lost. The training portion in the middle though is interesting where the baby elephant turns into a warrior. The sequence in fact instantly reminds audience of the similar setting in Chandni Chowk To China where the number 'Chak Lain De' had played in the background. Is it a coincidence that both the films featured Akshay Kumar?
PACKAGING
Packaging of Jumbo is the best that one has seen of an animation film DVD in recent times. A 'celebration edition', the film comes in a cardboard packaging with a soft padding to it. Also the colorful cover design makes it instantly eye catchy with a 'Jumbo Trump Card' pack making it a good deal for the children.
DURATION
The film's duration is 137 minutes
SPECIAL FEATURES
The DVD doesn't come with any special features. However, the bonus DVD of Hanuman is added to the package.
TECHNICAL DETAILS
- 1:85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen Presentation
- Subtitles in English
- Dolby Digital 5.1 and Digital Stereo
PRICE
Rs. 299/=
CONCLUSION
The 3D animation of Jumbo is decent but no amount of animation can make the film a very good affair if the script isn't sound. Same is the case with Jumbo as well that could have been a much better affair but doesn't turn out to be in its final cut. Very average.
 
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