DVD Review: Inkheart

When Mo Folchart reads a story, the characters leap off the page. Literally. And that’s a problem. Mo must somehow use his special powers to send the interlopers back to their world – and save ours. If ever a task was easier read than done, this is it. Mo and his daughter Meggie, aided by friends real and fictional, plunge into a thrilling quest that pits them against diabolical villains, fantastic beasts and dangers at every turn. Brendan Fraser (The Mummy films, Journey to the Center of the Earth) leads a splendid cast (including Academy Award winners Helen Mirren and Jim Broadbent) in an all-fun, all-family film of Cornelia Funke’s bestseller. Follow Mo and Meggie into adventure more exciting than any ever read. Because it’s adventure they’re going to live!

Review:
Regrettably, I can make no comparisons between Cornelia Funke’s novel Inkheart and it’s film counterpart. Although, if the two resemble each other in any fashion, I imagine that I’ll be picking up the book rather soon. As someone who dabbles in writing myself, I adore the idea of story characters coming to life, literally, once they’re read aloud.

The story centers on Mo Folchart (Brendan Fraser, The Mummy films), a man with a rare talent to bring written characters to our living world. This, however, has caused him quite a few problems, which he means to rectify. He, as well as his daughter, her great aunt, an author and some characters from classic novels, must fight against characters he accidentally read out of the book, Inkheart years ago, and stop them from destroying our world.

Brendan leads a delightful cast consisting of Paul Bettany (A Knight’s Tale), Jim Broadbent (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe), Helen Mirren (The Queen), Andy Serkis (The Lord of the Rings), and even Jennifer Connelly (The Day the Earth Stood Still) in a short appearance.

The movie is a wonderful fantasy story for the family to enjoy together and will hopefully inspire the younger generations to read some of the more classic stories as well as the source of this film.

The DVD includes one special feature with co-star Eliza Bennett reading a favorite passage from Inkheart that wasn’t included in the film. Illlustrations by Cornelia Funke are shown throughout.

Review by Jessica Mahn

Grade: A
Official site: http://www.inkheartmovie.com/
Buy on Amazon: Inkheart