Cheap The Fairly Odd Parents - Abra-Catastrophe The Movie (DVD) (Jamie Diaz, Gary Conrad, Larry Leichliter, Butch Hartman, John Fountain (II), Sarah Frost) Price

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Customer Reviews of The Fairly Odd Parents - Abra-Catastrophe The Movie

Hilariously proving the existence of...FAIRY GODPARENTS!
How does a grown man review something called "The Fairly OddParents: Abra-Catastrophe" without looking like a complete fool? I'll start by saying it's a feature-length spin-off of one of the funniest TV cartoons I've seen in years.

For those not in the know, "The Fairly OddParents" is cable channel Nickelodeon's latest hit cartoon series, and deservedly so. It concerns 10-year-old Timmy Turner, whose only means of facing a kid-unfriendly world are Cosmo and Wanda, two fairy godparents willed upon him to grant him his every wish. Cosmo and Wanda can serve Tommy only as long as he never reveals his secret to anyone else.

This sounds a lot more precious than it plays. Butch Hartman, a former Cartoon Network writer who created and oversees the series, is definitely the right man for this cartoon. It has the kind of in-jokes, pop-culture references, and outrageous-looking settings and characters one used to associate with "Rocky and Bullwinkle."

As for "Abra-Castastrophe," like most recent cartoon spin-offs, it provides more of the same, though if you're a fan of the show, that's hardly a bad thing. Basically, the movie has Timmy do battle with each of the grown-ups who cause him grief in the series: Vickie, a babysitter with the sensibility of Eddie Haskell; Jorgen von Strangle, the fairy overseer who has a definite Schwarzenegger complex; and most of all, Timmy's science teacher, Mr. Crocker, whose obsession with proving the existence of fairy godparents sends his into spasms whenever he simply mentions them.

Why a movie? Because any cartoon that smells of demographic appeal these days is instantly spun off into a movie. (How opportunistic is "Abra-Catastrophe"? Nickelodeon "premiered" it on their network three days before its release on DVD.) But at least this one, unlike "Rugrats Go Wild" and "The Powerpuff Girls Movie," doesn't completely reek of cynicism, keeping the wacko tone of the TV show intact. It lags a bit in its climactic "battle" scene but picks up cheerily towards the end.

If you're an "OddParents" fan, you've probably seen the movie already and are waiting in line to buy the DVD as we speak. (I know I'm there!) Non-converts might want to watch a couple of episodes of the TV show first, to understand the "back story." But if you're into family-friendly cartoon comedy, it's worth the trouble.

Really fun, just a little tamer than usual.
Several of the Fairly Oddparents episodes that air on Nickelodeon include gags that are strictly aimed at adults. While that is also the case with Abra Catastrophe, it is not as evident. Add that with the abundance of action sequences, and you have a movie that's more clearly determined to please kids. Certainly there's nothing wrong with that. Abra Catastrophe is still great, in spite of my little objection. Within the first minutes of the movie we're in Timmy's mind and we get to see the terrible nightmare he's having. That section alone, and an unexpected cameo appearance (sorry, I'm giving no spoilers), are worth the money I paid for the DVD. Bear in mind that their unexpected and often shocking humor is more abundant within their regular series (the movie itself, however, is clearly made for TV; there's a brief fade-to-black between chapters, where commercials are placed.)