Brandy lends her voice, alongside
Chris Rock,
Laurence Fishburne, David Hyde Pierce,
William Shatner, and
Ron Howard, to this entertaining and wacky
(mostly) animated feature.
Most of the story is set inside the body of Frank (Bill Murray), a somewhat dim dude who'se also the stereotypical slob. Trouble starts with the arrival of
Thrax (Laurence Fishburne), an evil virus determined to cause far more than mere cough and cold symptoms.
Pitted against the menacing microbe are a maverick immune
cell who goes by the name Osmosis Jones (Chris Rock), and his sidekick Drix (David Hyde Pierce), a perky cough and cold tablet.
Brandy plays the voice of Leah, conscientious aide to the self-interested and unscrupulous Mayor Phlegmming (William Shatner). It's quite evident that the
animators studied Brandy's performances closely; while Leah is but a drawing, her expressions and mannerisms are strikingly reminiscent of Brandy.
The film features plenty of animated action, a dash of suspense, and no shortage of
Chris Rock's trademark in-yo-face wit.
The biologically derived humour is very cute, though some of it may be lost to younger audiences unfamiliar with physiology. (And please don't expect the analogies to be
all that accurate.)
Just as with The Simpsons, there are many layers of parody; you really have to watch it more than once to fully appreciate it.
There's also a lesson to be learned from the story, in that the way in which you treat your body will come back to you times ten.
The film is a mix of live action, 3D animated, and 2D animated footage. Live action is used for the outside world. The innards of Frank, and all the cellular characters
therein, are portrayed in 2D animation. 3D animation is used to bridge the two worlds.
The 3D animation is good, if not quite as realistic as can be done today (the film is over five
years old). As a transition from live to 2D, it serves its purpose well.
Oddly enough, the 2D was apparently done to a large extent using traditional cel animation (hand drawn frames) as opposed to computer generated imagery. This is surprising,
because CGI is in many ways more efficient than cel animation, and can be made to look exactly like cel, if desired.
The lengths they go to to make realistic voices!
The DVD version includes:
audio and subtitles in English, French, and Spanish;- the entire movie with mildly interesting voice-over commentary from the producers;
- a very cute “tour” of Frank's body and the film's creation, hosted by Brandy; and
- an interesting short on the voice acting in the film.
Technically, there are enhanced features for PCs on the DVD, though there doesn't appear to be anything more content-wise than you could get out of a DVD player.
Osmosis Jones will all at once have you on the edge of your seat, and laughing hysterically. Clever writing and flawless execution combine to make this a thoroughly
entertaining film.
