cult film freak: DISNEY DUO 'UNIDENTIFIED FLYING ODDBALL' & 'SNOWBALL EXPRESS'

Written by James M. Tate / 7/02/2018 / No comments / adaptation , adventure , comedy , dennis dugan , disney , jim dale , mark twain , science-fiction

DISNEY DUO 'UNIDENTIFIED FLYING ODDBALL' & 'SNOWBALL EXPRESS'

7/02/2018 | No comment

presents Dennis Dugan never quite taking off as Disney's Flying Oddball

Skinny, rather sickly-looking actor (and future Adam Sandler director/collaborator) Dennis Dugan is a cross between Don Knotts and Dean Jones in Disney's fantasy comedy THE INDEMNIFIED FLYING ODDBALL, playing duo roles: a scientist and a robot-astronaut clone of himself.

Year: 1979 Rating: **1/2

Both go up in a rocket (the scientist by accident) and land in King Arthur's court where our wimpy hero battles strong and formidable Sir Mordred (Jim Dale, a Disney staple) and woos a beautiful farm girl while teaching King Arthur and Merlin about the history of America...

What begins as a semi-intriguing sci-fi inspired comedy gets weighed down by the setting of the book, Mark Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court", wherein the adaptation value of a modern man in Arthurian England being mistaken for a wizard, the best aspect of the novel, is all but lost within silly swordplay and meandering, unfunny hijinks. Overall this is a Disney dud, but there's enough silly camp... even at that time, perhaps intentional... to make for an entertaining ride, or better put, semi-enjoyable crash landing.

Year: 1973 Rating: *1/2

SNOWBALL EXPRESS: Dull, uninspired Disney flick about a New York office worker (Dean Jones doing his usual Jimmy Stewart impersonation) who inherits a hotel in snowy Colorado that he and his family turn from a big shabby shack into a plush ski resort and wackiness ensues, but it's all very lame and tiresome...

The thing that makes seventies live-action Disney films like GUS and CANDLESHOE good are the "pockets" within the overall Disney "coat"... within these pockets are little adventures that makes you forget (or care) about an overall plot. But this coat is tired and worn with pockets full of slush.

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Tags : adaptation , adventure , comedy , dennis dugan , disney , jim dale , mark twain , science-fiction

James M. Tate

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