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Things are really hopping in this impressively animated adaptation of the book Uncle Remus: The Complete Tales as Told by Jules Lester. Remus, a 19th-century character whose legacy is highly problematic among contemporary African Americans, is nowhere to be seen. Instead, a turtle (Danny Glover) relates the tales of clever and mischievous Brer Rabbit (voiced by Nick Cannon) to young Janey. Over the course of most of the 12 stories, Brer Rabbit outwits a menagerie of characters bent on devouring him, including Brer Fox (D. L. Hughley), Brer Wolf (Wayne Brady), and Sister Buzzard (MAD TV's Debra Wilson). "It's not mean," the turtle reassures Janey. "It's just the animal way." In other stories, the animals are all seen fishing and even partying together. At one point, Brer Rabbit himself learns about friendship and performs a selfless act to rescue Brer Turtle. Two of the better-known stories, "Brer Rabbit's Laughing Place" and "Brer Rabbit and the Briar Patch," were featured in Disney's Song of the South, as yet unreleased on home video in the United States, which is anything but "satisfactual" to fans of this controversial classic. This may not be the ideal introduction to what some consider precious American folklore: The script is an often disconcerting mix of dialect and contemporary references such as "yadda, yadda, yadda." Still, with all its animal antics and funny voices -- including Wanda Sykes as a characteristically sassy Sister Moon -- younger viewers will find that The Adventures of Brer Rabbit zip delightfully by, even if that "zip" remains unaccompanied by "doo-dah." Donald Liebenson

All Movie Guide

The timeless tales of Uncle Remus come to life as never before as Brer Fox, Brer Bear, and the mischievous Brer Rabbit hip hop their way into children's hearts in an animated adventure featuring the vocals talents of Danny Glover, D.L. Hughley, Wanda Sykes, Wayne Brady, and Nick Cannon. Brer Rabbit is certainly one crafty little critter, but when Brer Fox cooks up a scheme that will have the whole forest talking it seems that he may finally have gotten a jump on his furry friend. Of course everyone knows that you have to have to get up pretty early in the morning to pull one over on Brer Rabbit, and by the end of the day Brer Fox may just find that his foolproof scheme waterlogged. Jason Buchanan

Product Details

• UPC: 025192576027
• Source: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
• Region Code: 1
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby AC-3 Surround Sound
• Editions: Subtitled
• Time: 1:12:00
• Sales Rank: 27,242

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