Cinema: The King And I

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Chow's next role is as the King of Siam, opposite Jodie Foster as Anna, in a new version of the story Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II musicalized in 1951 and filmed with Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner five years later. So who needs another King and I movie? Kids, apparently. So here is an animated feature that expands and dumbs down the story. There's some kung fu, a Jafar-style villain with satanic powers, a cartoon menagerie (funny monkey, majestic leopard, etc.), and lame comedy with a crudely drawn, Buddha-shaped fall guy. It's all needless--and harmless. But even with pretty, painterly backgrounds and the eternal lilt of the songs, this film has a limited target audience: six-year-old boys who want to be Michael Crawford.

--R.C.