Around the World in 80 Days (2004)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Frank Coraci

Writers (WGA):

Jules Verne (novel)
David N. Titcher (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

16 June 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Romance | Western

Tagline:

The race begins: June 16.

Plot:

A bet pits a British inventor, a Chinese thief, and a French artist on a worldwide adventure that they can circle the globe in 80 days.

Plot Keywords:

Around The World | London | Inventor | Paris | Buddha

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Jackie Chan	...	Passepartout / Lau Xing
Steve Coogan	...	Phileas Fogg
Robert Fyfe	...	Jean Michel
Jim Broadbent	...	Lord Kelvin
Ian McNeice	...	Colonel Kitchener
David Ryall	...	Lord Salisbury
Roger Hammond	...	Lord Rhodes
Adam Godley	...	Mr. Sutton
Karen Mok	...	General Fang (as Karen Joy Morris)
Howard Cooper	...	Academy Member #1
Daniel Hinchcliffe	...	British Valet
Wolfram Teufel	...	Belgian Dignitary
Tom Strauss	...	Academy Member #2
Kit West	...	Academy Member #3
Ewen Bremner	...	Inspector Fix

Also Known As:

Around the World in Eighty Days (USA) (alternative spelling)
In 80 Tagen um die Welt (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG for action violence, some crude humor and mild language.

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA | Germany | Ireland | UK

Language:

English | Cantonese | French | German | Hindi | Turkish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

France:U | Malaysia:U | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Ireland:PG | South Korea:All | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Brazil:10 | Canada:PG | Germany:6 | Iceland:10 | Netherlands:MG6 | Norway:11 | Philippines:G | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:PG | USA:PG (certificate #40586) | Finland:K-11

Filming Locations:

Babelsberg, Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany

Company:

Walt Disney Pictures

Trivia:

Director Cameo: [Frank Coraci]as the angry man that Fogg confronts in San Francisco while asking for money.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: When Fogg and companions escape the gallery in France where they encountered the men searching for Passepartout and exit through the manhole to the balloon scene, the movie still clearly portrays them as being in France. However, the actual location of the Balloon scene and the palace in the background is Schloss Charlottenburg, a palace in Berlin, Germany.

Quotes:

Lord Kelvin: What's this obstruction blocking my jade reserves? This will certainly have to be demolished.
Lord Salisbury: But that is the Great Wall of China sir!
Lord Kelvin: ...It's not that great.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Ministry of Mayhem: (2004-06-19)" (2004)

Soundtrack:

It's a Small World

Three Screenwriters Named Dave

The credits roll, and I sarcastically turn to my friend, and whisper, "Dude, 3 screenwriters, and they're all named Dave."

Oddly enough, that turned out to pretty much sum up the whole movie.

It's not BAD. It leans toward good, except it's not so much a remake as it is a Disney-fication. Like 'Cinderella' and 'The Little Mermaid' before it, Disney takes the title of the story and a few major characters, and just turns it into a theme-park attraction with emotional and dramatic resonance to match.

Frank Coraci is solely responsible for making Adam Sandler's star stick. "Happy Gilmore" was cute, but it didn't have the style of a REAL movie, like his two films with Coraci, "The Wedding Singer," and "The Waterboy." Those films work as FILMS, not just Adam Sandler vehicles.

I had high hopes for this one, and for that reason, it splatted. Amusing lines here and there, and great kung-fu choreography ruined by the same poor photography that screwed up "Rush Hour." This is martial arts. DO NOT shoot your actors from the waist up. Things happen too fast, people are moving in too many directions. So in "80 Days," like in "Rush Hour," I had a sense that there was martial arts taking place, but could barely see it. Coraci does pull the camera back a few times, down to the ankles maybe, so a few scenes are reasonably well-shot. But not as well as they could have been. In fact, the entire movie feels rushed, like they're trying to cram the whole script into the alotted time frame. Some "Indiana Jones"-type pacing would have worked wonders, even if it made the movie 30 minutes longer. We're still talking about the book 100 years later for a reason, you know.

What could have been fun for everyone turns into Disney-video wackiness that will barely appeal to anyone over 13, and not at all to any fan of Jules Verne. And thus the old rule applies once again.... the more screenwriters, the worse the film. Even if they're all named Dave.