Film: Shaolin Soccer

Director: Stephen Chow
Genre: Comedy
Source: Hong Kong (2001)
Rating: PG-13
Location/Format: Netflix Instant Streaming
Grade: B

Well this was unexpected fun. One part Looney Tunes cartoon, one part Hong Kong action movie, one part underdog sports story. The three disparate portions go together surprisingly well, and if the outcome was never really in question, the film created a lot of genuinely entertaining moments getting there. I actually laughed out loud a couple of times, and even when I wasn't laughing I was smirking knowingly at the kung-fu movie references (nice Bruce Lee suit, goalie), the goofy jokes, and Stephen Chow's face. Just a generally enjoyable experience.

I have to admit I was also pleasantly surprised by the quality of the CG. While it was definitely cartoonish (by design) and dated (by technical advances), it looked better than I expected it to, particularly when the focus was just on a little soccer ball doing ridiculous things. Granted, I was watching this on an iPad screen at the gym, so it might not stand up as well on a full sized television, but this was still pretty good looking. I can imagine showing this to my ten year old son (if I had a ten year old son) just to do a little movie bonding once he had grown tired of Kung Fu Panda. 

One note: apparently there are multiple versions of this film. I'm guessing the version on Netflix is the more heavily edited US version, though I'm not sure. I would like to find the longer version just to compare. And also because I would enjoy sitting through this once more a few months or years down the line.

Alternate Film Title: "Live Action Roadrunner"