Buddy

Buddy is being marketed as a light-hearted family frolic, but let's face facts: it's a psychological drama. That places it in the company of plenty of classic children's tales with dark undercurrents, but writer/director Caroline Thompson never finds the balance between trauma and entertainment. The first half of her story introduces eccentric socialite Trudy Lintz as an animal lover whose menagerie includes horses, birds, raccoons, a pair of high-spirited chimps, and the titular character, an orphaned gorilla she raises from infancy. The conflict in the story comes when little Buddy becomes great big Buddy, and his ape priori need to rumble in the jungle clashes with civilization. The resulting scenes are often surprisingly intense, with the friendly Buddy becoming a raging, tortured soul. The first half of Buddy is a pleasant, if innocuous, parade of cuddly critters and their tricks; then Kong goes on the rampage, and the fun is lost in a succession of dark moments which find one of our heroes frequently on the verge of crushing the other. Parents beware: this gorilla's got some teeth. Optional. (S. Renshaw)