McDull, prince de la bun (2004)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Toe Yuen

Writers:

Alice Mak (writer)
Brian Tse (writer)

Release Date:

24 June 2004 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Animation

Plot:

To secure a better future, Mrs Mc sends her son McDull (who is a piglet attending kindergarten) to many...

Plot Keywords:

Single Mother | Failure | Based On Comic | Poverty | Working Class Family

Awards:

3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Jan Lamb	...	McDull (Adult) (voice)
Chet Lam	...	(voice)
Andy Lau	...	McBing, McDull's father (voice)
Sandra Ng Kwan Yue	...	Mrs. Mc (voice)
Anthony Wong Chau-Sang	...	Principal (voice)

Runtime:

Hong Kong:73 min | Switzerland:73 min | Argentina:84 min (Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente)

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Hong Kong:I | Argentina:Atp

Company:

Bliss Picture Ltd.

Movie Connections:

Follows Mak dau goo si (2001)

The Nominal Phenomenal

He's short, he's pudgy and his leg shakes too much. If there's a sweet, neurotic porker on the screen, it's got to be McDull – and what a joy it is to see him again.

If you've seen the first McDull film, then you'll be somewhat familiar with the aesthetic magic of these films – the external veneer of expressive cuteness, set within a photo-realistic CG backdrop of urban decay and construction. The plot this time is a little less straight forward; whereas the first film was an autobiographical backward-glance at McDull's life as seen through his sometimes-stormy connection with his mother, this time around the child McDull begins to uncover the real story of his father through his mother's attempts at fantasy fiction a la J. K. Rowling.

It's hard to comment on this sequel without commenting on the first as well. There is something that is happening in these films that speaks to the joy of great art. Perhaps it's the great contradictions that are alive in these films: the childish cartoon style that somehow carries a wealth of serious adult emotions; the biting satire of popular culture, and yet the sincere embrace of the follies of humanity; the overwhelming feeling of being lost, of being mediocre, of being erased, and yet the celebration of the little talents that make us unique, and the determination of the human spirit that refuses to collapse; the sharp sense of laugh-out-loud humor, and yet the quiet moments that bring good cause for a tear or two.

McDull: Prince de la Bun is certainly every ounce as good as its predecessor. It's a tale within tale, a bit difficult to unravel, but worth every moment. Congratulations to director Toe Yuen for crafting another complex masterwork out of such a seemingly simple set of characters. I hope these films get the audience they deserve.