Dec 1, 2005

Hanuman


(Pic adopted from Rediff)

Hanuman is an interesting cartoon movie (they call it India's first 2-D animation movie), surely worth owning as a DVD. It is not a typical epic story conveyed in the old-fashioned style of 'pure' language and lotsa songs. It is short, cute, pacy and informative. If you have children at home, instead of immersing them with Harry Potter mania, you can show Hanuman and you would have done what your grandma did to you when you were young. Yes, story telling, in its unique way.

For the Pixar fans, this is not to be compared with any of their works.. In fact, IMHO, this work is inferior even to good-old 'Bambi' in terms of showing the subtle body language changes in animation. You can see a 'shaking effect' when the characters are in brisk motion.. but once you set your eyes into the narration, the finer things are rightly forgotten and one is completely engrossed in the movie.

To tell what a Ramanand Sagar or B.R. Chopra would have made as a year-long teleserial into a less than 100 minute venture is by itself an applauding one. The screenplay would have made a Dharani or Hari proud, since the director never releases his foot from the gas. There are some minor quirks in the story that some of us can pick up, but for kids it is certainly a full-time spiritual entertainment. Mukesh Khanna's voice fits very well for Hanuman. Overall, it is what can be called a 'milestone' in Indian animation movies. I couldnt stop thinking how it would be if Pixar picks up our epics and mythology for a faithful story-telling.

I strongly recommend this movie for both real kids and the kids in all of us.. :-)

14 comments:

ada-paavi!!!! said...

i think adults enjoy animation movies much mroe than kids, even today i watch cartoons, enjoy them especially tom and jerry.

inda padathukku i am going for sure

Balaji said...

great review raju. u're right about the pace. not a single boring moment. loved the last line in your review. so true :)

Me said...

hey abt my comment in ur prev post...adhu kindal illa....am really feeling it....for abt a month now...

i read a review of this film by another blogger....they also said it was good...

NaiKutti said...

me not a big fan of these fantasy movies :-)... so donno if i will watch it...

"instead of immersing them with Harry Potter mania, you can show Hanuman" -- lemme see if this makes me change my mind to watch this movie, i doubt though...:-)

Raju said...

Vatsan, I also enjoy Tom and Jerry, Lion King, and other Pixar movies, but I can 'feel' that I used to enjoy them more in my childhood... :-) Parthuttu unga opinions sollungo..
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Balaji, thanks. One friend's kid came now, and I am seeing it third time now.. True, not a single boring moment...
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Me, appadithaan therinjudhu.. so chumma comment vittenn.. :-)

Raju said...

Karthik, naikutti-ya irundhuttu ippadi sollalama? :-)

Take my word, watch the movie... You will surely feel better than what you felt watching some recent tamil movies.
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Ananth, thanks. Since the first day was totally washed off, there was no chat with Prem. And he said he would be busy with a party related to 'India Abroad'.
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Smyta, true.. Myth and fantasy are both interesting.. but I see nowadays negliget of our mythological stories.. IMHO, our myths are no less compared to the modern-age fantasies.

End of the movie was OK.. I didnt see anything wrong with it. May be it was too fast for those who had watched Ramayana in TV.

Ram C said...

seems to be interesing... one more to our family's "to-see" list..

You are right about the kids within ourselves. Normally, I will go for Tom & Jerry, if an option is given to watch either an action movie or a cartoon movie.

Raju said...

Ram, mm.. this deserves to be among the top of 'to see' list.. :-)

Me too have a liking for the cartoon movie.. am a big fan of Tom&Jerry too.. :-)

Me too said...

mmm... indha pakkam 'Bambara kannale'-yum paakareenga, andha pakkam 'Hanuman'-um paakareenga, 'bb' range-kku!! Anyway, thanks for the nice review.

Raju said...

Aparna, :-)

When a producer is investing crores of rupees for a project, when an upcoming hero agrees to act in it, I get a feeling that the director would have come up with some interesting story/screenplay to make the movie worth watching.. sometimes, I am pleasantly surprised; sometimes disappointed... So, unless a movie has absolutely nothing to offer interms of star cast/technicians, I may watch it when I get a chance.. :-)

Anonymous said...

please suggest a trusted website where you can buy this Hanuman-DVD (hindi)version.

Thanks,
aathidevo

Raju said...

Aathidevo, hanuman DVD comes with the optional sub-titles of both Hindi and English.. i rented it from our local Indian grocery stores.

Are you from India or abroad? Fabmall has a good deal if u are in India; I am sorry, I donno much about the website for NRIs. The cheapest I found was here.

Anonymous said...

// Om Shri Hanumate Namah: //

If you love Shri Hanuman Ji, you can download Hanuman Chalisa Mp3 and other Bhajans at:

http://hanumanji.wordpress.com

YouRs SinCereLy M!sTer CrippLeD SaM

Anonymous said...

Hi ,

Can i know who is the voice talent behind Ram's voice in Hanumans movie (Hindi Version)...please let me know if you are aware of it.....