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Fat Albert
EMAILPRINTTwentieth Century Fox Film Corp.
Generally unfavorable reviews
Based on 26 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 24 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Comedy | Family/Kids
Written by:
Bill Cosby
Charles Kipps
Directed by: Joel Zwick
Release Date:
Theatrical: December 25, 2004
DVD: March 22, 2005
Running Time: 100 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: PG for momentary language
Starring Kenan Thompson, Kyla Pratt, Shedrack Anderson III, Jermaine Williams, Keith Robinson, Alphonso McAuley, Aaron Frazier, and Marques Houston
As Fat Albert makes the jump to the big screen, its much beloved characters face challenges they couldn't have dreamed of as cartoon figures. By stepping out into the "real world," becoming fleash-and-blood, Fat Albert's "old-school" '50s-era sensibility makes him, and the Cosby Kids, fish out of water in today's world. (20th Century Fox)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Washington Post Desson Thomson
Seems like a pretty cool movie -- at least, for a remake of a 1970s Saturday morning TV show.
Read Full Review >Dallas Observer Melissa Levine
The film is sweet and often genuinely funny, with lively musical numbers and a cast of entertaining personalities.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Chuck Wilson
A spirited re-creation of the series that once ruled Saturday mornings.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker
Fat Albert's originality is lost on the big screen.
Read Full Review >Miami Herald Peter Debruge
Kenan Thompson may not look the part, but he's instantly likeable as Fat Albert.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen
An awkward blend of live action and animation.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Ed Park
The animated scenes conjure aromas of the stilted "Clifford," and the overall approach is to throw preordained movie sequences (rap number, shopping spree) together and hope for the best.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Robert K. Elder
Seems a little lightweight, even for a kids' movie.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
I don't think Fat Albert is up to speed; in its meandering, low-key way, it seems destined more for a future on de-ved, returning to the video world where the characters say they feel more at home.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kevin Crust
Despite the tired premise, Kenan Thompson -- is actually very persuasive as Fat Albert.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Carla Meyer
Confusing, mixing messages of self-empowerment with those of conformity.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
The sermonizing on behalf of good clean fun and hard old effort (Cosby co-wrote the script) is as faded as Big Al's sweater after too many days on earth.
Read Full Review >Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
Except for a surreal moment when Fat Albert meets the real Bill Cosby, who tells his cartoon creation he must go back into the television, nothing inventive occurs.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Wesley Morris
In the end, it's hard to see a real reason for the movie's existence. We already have Muppets.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Manohla Dargis
In Fat Albert, that trademark is resurrected to depressingly diminished ends.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps
While endearing as cartoons, they don't wear flesh well.
Read Full Review >Variety Joe Leydon
fFat-footed and ham-handed in its attempt to reconstitute a popular '70s TV cartoon show as a full-length, family-skewing feature.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Karen Heller
Alas, this eternally sunny character's mantra, "I don't have a problem, I solve problems," makes for paltry dramatic tension.
Read Full Review >Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach
Kids, except for the very youngest, are going to be bored.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell
Why did they think anyone would want to watch a Fat Albert adaptation that can't answer a simple question: "Who is this movie for?"
Read Full Review >TV Guide Angel Cohn
Basic knowledge of the original series is mandatory, but the more familiar you are, the more glaring this movie's considerable deficiencies will seem.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Leah McLaren
The result plays like an extended Pepsi commercial without the Pepsi.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Robert Dominguez
Somewhere in its quest to be educational, Fat Albert forgot to be entertaining.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
The movie is toothless and uninspired, and as directed by veteran filmmaker Joel Zwick (My Big Fat Greek Wedding), the film is a disgracefully shoddy affair.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 6.5 (out of 10) based on 24 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
kaylie t. gave it a10:
It was an awesome movie!!!
Jon I. gave it a10:
I loved this movie ya'all who r making up crap about it r crazy i can't wait till it comes out so i can purchase it and put it on my fat albert wall in my house!
Doppler Pope gave it a10:
I loved this movie it is everything a movie should be.
Joe B. gave it a0:
This movie is stupid. it is not interesting or entertaining at all it is a disgrace to the movie company just hearing the words fat albert make me want to blow chunks at you.
Chad S. gave it a5:
"Fat Albert" borrows freely from "The Purple Rose of Cairo" and "Pleasentville", but such potential narrative sophistication is negated by pedestrian-level dialogue and lowest common denominator plotting. The filmmakers couldn't think of anything more interesting than to send the kids to a block party and the mall. Intentional or not, when the young girl explains to her older sister that Fat Albert can't eat, you can't help but think of Joan Allen in the Gary Ross film, which would've allowed Albert to stay in the real world, if the double entendre was acknowledged and performed. But the film's real problem is that we're not sure about the rules of the movie's universe. A few kids recognize that they're cartoons-come-to-life, but most of them act as if they're real people.
Ron A. gave it a0:
Now really. I'm older, and consider myself rather cynical, but I can apreciate and enjoy kids films, as they are often disarmingly funny or charming. This was certainly neither. You'd think a movie about 70's cartoon would at least be partly funny, or have something that made you smile. I found hardly anything, a few parts came close, but overall just terrible. Truly my friend and I could not actually believe we were sitting in the theater watching this movie, with animation that makes the camp classic "Twas The Night Before Christmas" seem like lovingly crafted artwork, and a "real life" plot so banal one would wish it was being sarcastic, yet it isn't. Truly the only thing I enjoyed in the movie was Omarion. He's not a good actor by an stretch, but his over-the-top performance as the sleezy jock who'll do anything to make Albert look bad (and, whaddaya know, he fails!) certainly made me at least grin at times. The rest of the movie was crap though.
Cynthia G. gave it a6:
It was funny and cute in a sense that it was her grandfather and his friends based on the characters for the Fat Albert show.
