5 Film & TV Trailer Explanations From This Week: #5
Mowgli, Missing Link, Back Roads, and more.
Today’s 11.11, or ‘Singles Day shopping bonanza’ as it’s known. If you haven’t bought anything yet…you’re probably too late (just as I was at 12.05am, when the Chromecast I wanted went out of stock. Sigh). Did you know that in the first few minutes of 11.11, Alibaba already logged 10 billion RMB (US$1.44 billion) in sales? It’s crazy.
But let’s continue to look to the future. The school holidays are about to start here in Singapore, and that equals the perfect time for a load of new trailers to drop:
1. Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (2018)
What is this movie about?
If it seems like it’s way too soon for Disney to rebooting Jungle Book (2016) again, you’re right: this was actually commissioned by Warner Bros and started production before Disney’s version.
Based on the original novel by Rudyard Kipling, and not the 1967 Disney movie, Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle was originally supposed to be released in October 2016, a mere 6 months after Disney’s version. As Disney’s version picked up accolades, though, this version was delayed ‘to work on the visual effects’, and in July of this year, Warner Bros decided to sell the rights to Netflix.
What’s the trailer saying, if I can’t be bothered to watch it?
Mowgli lives in a jungle in India, where he’s brought up by the animals there, including Baloo the bear and Bagheera the panther. He learns how to swing from trees and connect with the other animals (except Shere Khan, of course).
Like any curious boy, though, he also ventures out to the nearby village, where he meets other humans, including Freida Pinto (playing a character named Messua, mentioned in the original novel) and Matthew Rhys, looking menacing as a character called John Lockwood, which happens to be Kipling’s father’s name.
These two worlds collide, and Mowgli has to choose (and navigate) between his two homes.
In a nutshell, expect a grittier version of the story than you’re used to.
Why the hell should you care about this?
Andy Serkis directs and stars as Baloo, which, to me, is enough reason to watch this film. The voice and motion-capture cast also includes Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, and Benedict Cumberbatch.
2. Back Roads (2018)
What is this movie about?
Alex Pettyfer (from I Am Number Four (2011) and Magic Mike (2012)) stars (and directs!) as a lost and troubled young man named Harley, who’s left to care for his three younger siblings after his mother is arrested for killing his father.
It’s based on a 1999 book of the same name, by Tawni O’Dell, an American author, and is set in a small town in Pennsylvania.
What’s the trailer saying, if I can’t be bothered to watch it?
It’s focused on family drama, with Harley struggling to manage his siblings and hold down two dead-end jobs are the same time.
He falls in love with a character played by Jennifer Morrison (from Once Upon A Time), and it seems to slowly spiral out of control as secrets keep spilling out…
Why the hell should you care about this?
As the directorial debut of Pettyfer, this film will be interesting to watch. At the same time, it looks intriguing, without the trailer giving everything away.
3. Missing Link (2019)
What is this movie about?
The newest Laika masterpiece is out! Following in the footsteps of their other stop-motion productions, including Coraline (2009) and Kubo & The Two Strings (2016), this film deals with a new type of legend: a hybrid between BigFoot and the Abominable Snowman.
What’s the trailer saying, if I can’t be bothered to watch it?
This trailer sets the scene: a myths and monsters investigator, Sir. Lionel Frost, is trying to prove himself to the academic community by finding a mythical creature. And he does, meeting Mr. Link, the aforementioned hybrid, who speaks and acts like a giant, clumsy giant covered in fur.
They then have to make their way back to civilisation, to prove his existence. Mr. Link also finds out about similar creatures around the world, and wants to be united with the only others of his ‘family’.
Why the hell should you care about this?
It seems pretty silly as a premise, and I was on the fence, even as a Laika fan, until I saw this comment:
4. The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019)
What is this movie about?
A sequel to the 2016 The Secret Life of Pets, which made $875.5 million from a production budget of $75 million, The Secret Life of Pets 2 features the same voice cast, with the exception of Louis CK (who has been replaced by Patton Oswalt).
The same director, Chris Renaud, is taking the reins, and Brian Lynch, one of the original writers, has taken on the writing role solo here.
What’s the trailer saying, if I can’t be bothered to watch it?
Just because Max and Duke, the main characters, have safely returned to owner Katie’s arms doesn’t mean that their lives are perfect. After all, pets still have to go through terrifying mundane moments, such as going to the vet.
The trailer shows Max getting conned by the oldest trick in the book: the walk that became a vet visit. However, he finds himself talking to other pets in the clinic, and realises that this vet specialises in behavioural disorders…
Why the hell should you care about this?
Pets are cute as hell, and considering how much money the previous film made, you know that Universal Pictures is going to spend a ton of money on marketing.
5. The Princess Switch (2018)
What is this movie about?
If you thought that The Christmas Chronicles (2018) was the only Netflix Christmas film for 2018, you would be severely mistaken.
The Princess Switch stars Vanessa Hudgens playing two characters: Margaret Delacourt, Duchess of Montenaro, and Stacy De Novo, a baker from Chicago. Guess what happens?
Yup, they pull a The Prince and the Pauper-style switch.
What’s the trailer saying, if I can’t be bothered to watch it?
It’s saying that this film is going for ‘full sickly-sweet Christmas earnestness’. Stacy bumps into Margaret, literally, and they have the ‘double-take’ moment. Stacy has a hot co-worker that she doesn’t have feelings for, while Margaret is soon to be married to a Prince that she’s not attracted to.
So…yes, there’s the dual love stories, there’s the confusion (and cover-up) when their friends find their behaviour weird, and there’s the inevitable breakdown of the secret in the end.
Why the hell should you care about this?
To be honest, I don’t know.
Netflix seems to be churning out love stories at an accelerated rate, regardless of the quality (or originality) of the plot. Some of them are surprisingly great, while others are so bad that people hate-watch and tweet about it.
Considering that Hudgens is still quite well-known to the High School Musical crowd, I assume that there will be publicity (good or bad) surrounding this film anyways.
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