Toonpur Ka Superhero

Every festive time we have something stunning from Ajay Devgan; 'All the best' last new year, 'Golmaal 3' this Diwali and this Christmas he is back... read more

Every festive time we have something stunning from Ajay Devgan; 'All the best' last new year, 'Golmaal 3' this Diwali and this Christmas he is back with 'Toonpur Ka Superhero'. Even before we have seen him using animation in his flicks but this is his first time in live-action animated edition. Undoubtedly the idea to design three dimensional characters worked in his favor but the biggest set-back is the fact that he did not flaunt them properly.

There are so many characters in the film, which are introduced in the beginning but during the movie viewers will just get confused. Movie is full of colors but lack on its script and music. Another thing which was not that convincing was the transitions of Ajay Devgn from real world to animated. Debutant director Kireet Khurana did a commendable job in combining action & animation, which looked stunning on screen. All the animated characters (Loveena, Pandu Hawaldar, Big Ben, Guppy, and the emperor who sounds like AK Hangal) are designed so wonderfully that they will take you to some other world.

Film-makers could have done a much better job by giving more scope to kids and 3D characters rather than keeping the spot-light on Ajay Devgn entirely. Before this I saw 3D animated adaptation of Ramayana and it was so amazing in every sense that it narrated the complete epic without getting sluggish anywhere.

Even the screenplay, dialogues and humor could have been better. The gags get so repetitive in between that they will neither sound hilarious nor witty. Being a 'Kids Movie' it would have been way better if the children in the movie were used properly but unfortunately they all looked like giving special appearances. Knowing the fact that Kajol has got the potential to hold the entire film on her shoulders, film-makers kept her character under-developed and honestly it will affect the film on Box office.

Footer: Going by film's 3D animated characters it's flawless but it falls weak on its writing part. Do take your kids for such a classy piece of animation but try not to complain about the technical bit.
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Redemption is a funny thing. When done well, it licenses you to undo past fuck-ups. Ask Andy DeFrain (Shawshank Redemption). Ask Saif Ali Khan how ... read more

Redemption is a funny thing. When done well, it licenses you to undo past fuck-ups. Ask Andy DeFrain (Shawshank Redemption). Ask Saif Ali Khan how it felt after Omkara. Ask Uday Chopra howsorry, wrong guy. But its always so much more dramatic in cinema . Because unless you are Rahul Gandhi or Carla Bruni, much of your life has probably been a series of fuck ups that youve learnt to make peace with.
With ToonPur Ka Superhero, Bollywood is on the path of redeeming itself.
Toonpur is a cartoon land, which is undergoing a war like situation between the good and the bad. The people on the good side are a mix of all the stereotyped characters youve seen in Bollywood- a smartass, sardar kid(Bolly), a South Indian programmer, a Parsi scientist, a fat, Gujju woman(named Big Benwhat a masterstroke!), a Bong singer(Gappia rip off from Bappi Lahiri), a king, whos been kidnapped by the evil guy(Zagarro) and a wise old man. The resemblance with Asterix comics is striking- the king looks like one of the Romans and the wise old man looks likeGetafix!
So well, they need a superhero to fight Zagarros evil men, well call them Toon Goons- a rip off from 80s Indian villains- one of them sounds like Jeevan and one like Tinnu Anand! That superhero turns out to be Aditya(Ajay Devgan) whos a Bollywood superstar, married to Priya(Kajol) and has kids- all in the real world. His son fires him a self-esteem killer , when in an inexplicable moment he tells his dad hes a fake hero, and he takes it seriously(Fuck up 1). The good toons kidnap Aditya and ask him for help. Adityas and Toonpurs redemption follows.
But not before an awesome climax. And these 10 minutes is why everyone must watch the film.
Adityas fight with Zagarro actually happens in a gaming arena. For all you gamers, this bit brings forth the best of Prince of Persia and Tekken. There are Levels to be crossed, which increase in difficulty, theres that Life Indicator that appears on top of the screen, and theres Life Points to be grabbed. It plays out EXACTLYlike a virtua-reality game! Of course, the Final Stage is where he defeats Zagarro, which ends with a Zagarro Game Over. Aditya Wins. And Toonpur is officially ready to live happily ever after.
This part is BRILLIANTLY done, and it takes a brave filmmaker to do that. But it also takes a lazy filmmaker to focus more on the animation and not on the script. The hall audience comprised lots of kids, who were way beyond the edge of their seats. But for us cynical grown-ups , better writing couldve done the trick. Chronicles of Narnia was animated/3D, but it owed its magic to terrific writing. Its amazing how that bit can/should never be compromised.
Yet, its worth enduring those weak areas if youve ever played a videogame or seen a Bollywood masala movie- the climax combines those and is a must watchon the big screen.
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We have long lamented the presence of intelligent, meaningful and commercial cinema for kids. All that we have to offer them is mythology, or crude... read more

We have long lamented the presence of intelligent, meaningful and commercial cinema for kids. All that we have to offer them is mythology, or crude low budget cinema. I have an inkling that all of that is about to change, and the process has already begun with this one ! Toonpur is a delight simply in the way it creates a whole new world out of cartoons and video games. Smaller viewers will instantly connect, and love the concept.

Toonpur ka Superhero uses a concept made popular from Space Jam, a Warner Bros film released 14 yrs back, where Michael Jordan plays basketball along with the Looney Tunes (Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tasmanian Devil etc.) The live action/animation feature was irresistible as it combined sporting talent with popular cartoon characters. Here, an action hero Aaditya (Ajay Devgn) gets kidnapped by cartoons to help them counter the baddies in the animated world, and he fights the rakshasa Jagaro to help set things in order. All this is done with the help of an action packed climax, where Aaditya crosses 3 levels of a game to finally claim victory from the evil asur.

The maker created a plethora of new characters, all drawn in from the Indian landscape - There's Guppy Lahiri, the out of tune singer, Bolly, the nanha sardaar, and Big Ben, a Gujarati housewife. All of these and many more help create the Indian setting. The animation is top notch, mind you - not once do the characters feel hotch-potch, and scenes and characters from both worlds merge easily.

The screenplay is brilliant - crisply edited, the film doesn't drag at all, albeit the second half is much better owing to story development in the first. Dialogues are humorous and smart, and will appeal to all age groups. (specially the song when Aaditya interacts with RabDoot). As with all such films, there is a small message, but the Director avoids serving preachy sermons, and always gets back to the fun quickly.

This is the second time Ajay and Kajol team up for kids (the first one was a forgettable Raju Chacha) - and how !! Only two qualms - there should have been more of Kajol (she is a powerhouse of talent, and should have spent more time in Toonpur combating Loveena's charms :-) ), and the lack of proper marketing effort to promote this film. Kids, enjoy your bachpan while it lasts - Sheila and Munni can wait. view less

Who Framed Roger Rabbit, the path breaking live animated flick of 1988, which brought the geniuses of Robert Zemeckis, Richard Williams and Steven ... read more

Who Framed Roger Rabbit, the path breaking live animated flick of 1988, which brought the geniuses of Robert Zemeckis, Richard Williams and Steven Spielberg together, gave the world a whole new genre of movies, which involved A list actors along with animated characters, all in 1 frame. This film has been the source of inspiration to many more such films like Looney Tunes, Space Jam etc. It is also the inspiration, and rightfully so, for Toonpur Ka Super Hero, Indias first live animation feature film.


Synopsis: Bollywood superstar, Aditya Kumar (Ajay Devgn, Once Upon A Time in Mumbai, Golmaal 3) has it all, fame, success and a loving, supporting wife Priya (Kajol, My Name is Khan). What he does not have, is the adoration of his children as they do not consider him to be anything since he takes the credit for all the hard work of the stuntmen. Aditya gets sucked into his kids favourite TV show and finds himself amidst the battle of the Devtoons & the Toonasurs. The Devtoons look upto Aditya, being huge fans, to be their modern day messiah. Adityas realization of his current situation, his need to rise to the occasion and be the hero that his kids always wanted him to be, is Toonpur ka Superhero.


Rating: 2/10

Y2:

Initiative: The effort put in by all is commendable. The fact that the makers have taken the initiative to make this product, will lead the way for more such flicks being made in the future with more A-list stars like Devgn venturing into this genre. We are all aware the quality of animation currently being dished out in India, this inspite of the huge talent pool and the vast amount of fables that we all have grown up listening to. If the more popular actors do take such steps, it is possible, that in the very near future you will see animation products like Ratatouille, Cars being churned out with equally plomb, locally.


Christmas: Even though the animation comes across as amateurish, and not comparable to that of Pixar or Dreamworks, it is still one of the best of our times. This will be one of the major drawing points for the target audience namely children who would want to see more of such animation flicks by Bollywood rather than dubbed products advertising hindi mein. Although the story has nothing new to offer, there are a few scenes which will still appeal to the children for example, Devgns western avatar riding an ostrich sequence.


Y Not:

Even though the live action animation is in its infancy stages, it is no excuse for the lack of a decent story / plot. The animated characters are purely clichs which offer nothing new to the movie. The Gujjuben, a sardar child, the bappida lookalike, the hawaldar and the moll etc. Wish they had spent equal amount of time in the development of the script rather than focusing only on the animation. Also, in todays times, for a film to connect universally, there has to be catchy music, which will ensure the ringtone/ music sales and also arouse the curiosity of the audiences. For example, the Akshay Kumar voiced, Thai animated, Jumbo (2008), did manage to create some interest due to the somewhat peppy music.

Unfortunately, inspite of starring Ajay Devgn, the film has not managed to create the buzz required for a strong opening, especially considering it is Christmas weekend. Will definitely lose out to the other 3D Hollywood flick, Megamind, if not to the insult to intelligence TMK.


Does it have The Y Factor:NO.
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This is one movie where the second half is much better than the first. And for that feat itself it deserves to be seen. The (nicely)animated story,... read more

This is one movie where the second half is much better than the first. And for that feat itself it deserves to be seen. The (nicely)animated story, set in a cartoon city called Toonpur is a fight of the good toons against the evil ones helped by a real life superhero played by Ajay Devgun. Only that he is actually not such a brave guy (a hilarious scene at the start shows us how action scenes are really shot) and he has to prove to this son that he is not a fake hero but a real one.

A strong story line makes this film a good watch. The voice over at the start is avoidable since it does not meet the purpose of establishing the characters in our minds Its a bit like getting introduced to a bunch of people at a party in a one go and then promptly forgetting their names. As the movie progresses, we get to know Gappi (the Bappi Lahiri look alike. I dont know why he complained. I would have been flattered to be caricatured thus), the belan wielding Gujju ben, the little sardarji boy straight out of Kuchh kuchh hota hai and the baddies modelled on assorted people.

The first half is a bit clunky and you feel the director is trying to find his groove. Post interval the action is fast and furious with Ajay pitted in a gaming battle with the bad guy to save his family and the good toons. Kids who are immersed in PS games will totally identify with this part of the movie.

Ajay Devgun as the superstar trying to prove himself is confident (And it takes a whole lot of confidence to flirt with a cartoon!). Kajol has a miniscule role and the voice overs are fun to try and identify.

The dialogues are pretty funny and some of them are very clever. I laughed quite a bit. (Of course having a laughing kid next to you helps!)

Go watch it with kids or without. It is a fun movie. My 5 year old daughter Keya who is looking on as I write this out has given the verdict very very very good. Please put a 100 smileys next to it :)

Ok Keya!
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