Gooby

As in the animated Monsters, Inc., the live-action Gooby takes place in a world where the imaginary creatures of childhood can come to life. Eleven-year-old loner Willy (Matthew Knight) lives on “the best street in the whole world”…until his social-climbing parents, Jack and Elize Dandridge (David James Elliott and Ingrid Kavelaars), buy their dream home. While packing, Willy purposefully abandons his stuffed bear Gooby, considering himself too old for such toys, but once the Dandridges settle into their new suburban environs, Willy starts to see Hoonies—the two-headed aliens he likes to draw—which he feels is proof-positive that the move was a bad idea. Chocolate-marshmallow cookies also begin to disappear until Willy catches the culprit furry-handed: the now fully-grown orange Gooby (voiced by Robbie Coltrane), who has followed Willy to his new home in order to help stave off the bad monsters. Subsequently trying to hide the big lug—who resembles Fozzie Bear—from parents, housekeeper, and nosy teacher Mr. Nerdlinger (Eugene Levy), becomes a full-time job for Willy. During the process, Gooby manages to bring father and son closer together. Writer/director Wilson Coneybeare shoots this entertaining family film the old-fashioned way: relying mostly on puppetry and animatronics (like earlier Jim Henson and Sid and Marty Krofft productions). In fact, the title character is about as believable as a six-foot tall stuffed toy can get. Recommended. (K. Fennessy)