The King and I (1999 film)

The King and I

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Richard Rich
Produced by
Screenplay by
Based on
Starring
Music by
  • Richard Rodgers
  • Oscar Hammerstein II
Edited by
  • Joe Campana
  • Paul Murphy
Production
companies
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date
  • March 19, 1999 (1999-03-19)
Running time
 89 minutes[1]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $25 million[2]
Box office $12 million[2]

The King and I is a 1999 American animated musical film directed by Richard Rich and written by Peter Bakalian, Jacqueline Feather, and David Seidler, loosely adapted from the Anna Leonowens story, and uses songs and some of the character names from Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II's stage musical of the same name.

The film was released theatrically in the United States on March 19, 1999 and grossed $12 million domestically on a $25 million budget.[2]

Plot

In 1862 Siam, the King of Siam rules with traditional beliefs and refusal to change. With the arrival of Englishwoman Anna Leonowens and her son Louis, his Prime Minister, Kralahome, plots to have the King overthrown with deceit. At the same time, the Crown Prince Chulalongkorn falls in love with Tuptim, a servant given to the King as a gift from Burma, but their love must remain a secret as such is strictly forbidden.

Voice cast

Musical numbers

  1. "I Whistle a Happy Tune" - Anna, Louis, Chorus
  2. "Hello, Young Lovers" - Anna
  3. "Getting to Know You" - Anna, Children
  4. "Shall I Tell You What I Think of You?" - Anna
  5. "A Puzzlement" - King
  6. "I Have Dreamed" - Chulalongkorn, Tuptim
  7. "Prayer to Buddha" - King, Anna
  8. "Anna Remembers/Shall We Dance Fantasy" - Anna
  9. "Shall We Dance? (Finale)" - Anna, King
  10. "I Have Dreamed/We Kiss in a Shadow/Something Wonderful" (end credits) - Barbra Streisand[3]

Soundtrack

A soundtrack album was released on March 16, 1999 by Sony Classical Records.[4] It was released on both CD and cassette formats.[5] All the songs on the album were composed by Oscar Hammerstein II and Richard Rodgers. William Ruhlmann of Allmusic.com gave the album a rating of 3 stars out of 5, describing it as a "surprisingly adequate" soundtrack to a "badly received" film. He adds, however, that the "overly effusive vocal performances" and "overly busy arrangements" make it "by far the worst version of this music ever recorded", and cites the use of "nine different orchestrators" as a possible factor. He concludes by conceding that there is good singing on the album.[6] John Kenrick in his article Comparative CD Reviews Part III, describes the 1999 recording as a "total disgrace" that sees "superb Broadway singers...labor against mindless cuts and gooey orchestrations".[7] In a relatively negative review of the animated adaption, the book The Rodgers and Hammerstein Encyclopedia does say that "some of the songs survive nicely, and the singing vocals throughout are very proficient".[8]

Track number Title Performer Time
1 I Have Dreamed/We Kiss in a Shadow/Something Wonderful Barbra Streisand 4:51
2 Getting to Know You Beau Brader / Christiane Noll / Emma Stephenson 3:34
3 March of the Siamese Children The Philharmonia Orchestra 2:56
4 A Puzzlement Martin Vidnovic 2:26
5 I Whistle a Happy Tune Charles Clark / Jeff Gunn / David Joyce / Larry Kenton / Christiane Noll / Adam Wylie 2:08
6 Hello, Young Lovers Christiane Noll 1:55
7 I Have Dreamed Dave Burnham / Tracy Venner Warren 3:01
8 Shall I Tell You What I Think of You? Christiane Noll 1:52
9 Prayer to Buddha Miranda Richardson / Martin Vidnovic 1:53
10 Anna Remembers/Shall We Dance Fantasy Christiane Noll 1:43
11 Shall We Dance? (Finale) Christiane Noll / Miranda Richardson / Martin Vidnovic 2:19
12 Prologue The Philharmonia Orchestra 0:54
13 Arrival in Siam/Moonshee's Mischief The Philharmonia Orchestra 2:54
14 Two Servants/Anna's Demands The Philharmonia Orchestra 2:59
15 Kralahome's Scheme/Tuptim's Gift/Anna's Academy The Philharmonia Orchestra 2:48
16 Everything Scientific/Children Outside Palace The Philharmonia Orchestra 2:03
17 What to Say to Growing Son/Evil Duo The Philharmonia Orchestra 1:14
18 Anna Will Stay The Philharmonia Orchestra 4:05
19 Mango Madness/Kralahome's Sinister Trap The Philharmonia Orchestra 2:07
20 Banquet/King's Threat/Balloon Rescue The Philharmonia Orchestra 5:12
21 King's Fate/Prince's Future/Kralahome's Demise/Anna's Surprise The Philharmonia Orchestra 5:29
22 Finale The Philharmonia Orchestra 0:54

Release

The King and I was released theatrically on March 19, 1999 by Warner Bros. and produced by Morgan Creek Productions, Rankin/Bass Productions, Nest Family Entertainment, and Rich Animation Studios.

Box office

The film was a box office bomb. It took in $4,007,565 in its opening weekend, taking the #6 spot at the box office, but only managed to gross just under $12 million at the box office, and was overshadowed by the release of Doug's 1st Movie, which was released the following week.[2]

Critical reception

The King and I received negative reviews and has a 13% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[9] Historian Thomas Hischak wrote that it was "surprising to think that the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization allowed it to be made ... children have enjoyed The King and I for five decades without relying on dancing dragons".[10] Hischak, in his work The Oxford Companion to the American Musical: Theatre, Film, and Television, says the film is "easily the worst treatment of any Rodgers and Hammerstein property".[11] The Rodgers and Hammerstein Encyclopedia says "whether or not one agrees about the 1956 film of The King and I being the best R&H movie, most would concede that [the] animated adaption is the worst". It notes that it is surprising that the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization green-lit the project, and adds that it is shocking how the source material could be made into such an "awful" movie, saying "geared towards children, the story is reduced to a carefree singalong with annoyingly superficial characters, cuddly animals, a forced love story, and a wasteland of scenes without wit or intelligence". It notes that the film seems to be a The King and I for kids, though points out that the original film has been "a kid-favourite for generations already, without the addition of supernatural elements such as dragons."[8] Roger Ebert gave it 2 stars out of 4 and felt that animated adaptations of musicals have potential but found the film rather dull.

References

  1. ↑ "The King and I (U)". British Board of Film Classification. April 15, 1999. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "The King and I (1999)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 27, 2013.
  3. ↑ Ruhlmann, William. "1999 Soundtrack: The King and I", Allmusic.com, accessed December 24, 2012
  4. ↑ Artists, Various. "The King and I - Original Animated Feature Soundtrack [Music Download]: Various Artists". Christianbook.com. Retrieved 2013-03-23.
  5. ↑ "The King and I [Original Animated Feature Soundtrack] - 1999 Soundtrack : Releases". AllMusic. 1999-03-16. Retrieved 2013-03-23.
  6. ↑ Ruhlmann, William (1999-03-16). "The King and I [Original Animated Feature Soundtrack] - 1999 Soundtrack : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-03-23.
  7. ↑ "Comparative CD reviews - 3". Musicals101.com. Retrieved 2013-03-23.
  8. 1 2 Hischak, Thomas S (2007-06-30). "The Rodgers and Hammerstein Encyclopedia". ISBN 9780313341403.
  9. ↑ "The King and I (1999)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 27, 2013.
  10. ↑ Hischak, Thomas S. The Rodgers and Hammerstein Encyclopedia. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007, p. 151 ISBN 978-0-313-34140-3
  11. ↑ Hischak, Thomas S (2008-06-02). "The Oxford Companion to the American Musical: Theatre, Film, and Television". ISBN 9780195335330.
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