The King and I 1999
The King and I ★★ 1999 (G)
Animated musical tries, but fails, to split the difference between faithfulness to the Broadway version and the action needed to entertain kids. Tells the story of Anna (Richardson), an English woman who travels to Siam in order to tutor the children of the King (Vidnovic). The evil Kralahome and stereotypical comic relief sidekick Master Little (Hammond) plan to use Anna to capture the throne. The ending is given a kid-friendly twist, but eight of the original 20 Broadway songs were slashed to keep it brief for the short attention span set. 87m/C VHS, DVD. D: Richard Rich; W: Jacqueline Feather, David Seidler, Peter Bakalian; V: Miranda Richardson, Martin Vidnovic, Ian Richardson, Darrell Hammond, Allen D. Hong, Armi Arabe, Adam Wylie, Sean Smith.