i cried during _babe_ . i admit it . the special effects , the story , the great dialogue were woven together so delicately and successfully that my mind lost track that this was a " children's film " --so much so that , yes , i got a little overly sentimental . such , my friend , is the power of cinema . when word came out that they were using this newly developed f/x for a doctor dolittle update , in which eddie murphy plays the title character , and many great comic actors supply the voices , my anticipation rose to great expectations . they can't possibly drop the ball on this one . can't miss . can't possibly miss . <NEG> they missed . what went wrong ? </NEG> after much thought , i supply three general rules . ( 1 ) don't let a television actress-turned-comedy movie director near an urbanite script ( i . e . , penny marshall's dreadful " preacher's wife " ) . betty thomas worked wonders with " the brady bunch movie " , but the same sitcom-airiness <NEG> doesn't quite work here </NEG> . it's as if she lifted a generic sitcom , and iced it with light doses of modern r&b . take away the black cast , take away the atrocious soundtrack , and you have the residue of some mid-80's kirk cameron show . ( 2 ) the greater the cast , the less the individual cast-member has to do ( i . e . , " con air " ) . it is great to have the comic voices of jenna elfman , garry schandling , john leguizimo , ellen degeneres , and gilbert godfried in your lineup , but they have nothing to do but improvise their underdeveloped , stereotyped characters , one-line-at-a-time . <NEG> it's even worse </NEG> , because sometimes their voices are so unrecognizable that you don't get the satisfaction of linking the voice to the comedian until the credits . now there are three character actors who do get special treatment : albert brooks brings dignity to nearly every project he's in , and the scenes as a depressed tiger do resonate a certain poignancy . norm mcdonald fares nearly as well , as a stray dog who learns to bond with dolittle . but <NEG> there's little humor here </NEG> . that rests on the shoulders of chris rock , <NEG> sorely miscast and unfunny </NEG> as the voice of their wise-ass guinea pig . even the mouth is ill-synched . ( 3 ) don't let the special effects technicians walk away with the script . there's a certain timing that's mandatory in comedy . to have this timing usurped by the brilliancy of computer generated mouths or lifelike creations of jim henson's creature shop , is <NEG> a travesty </NEG> . this is not to say that special effects filled comedies or muppet movies aren't well-timed laughfests ; with the right director , they can be and have . here , betty thomas is clearly over her head . i wish i could commend the special effects , but <NEG> they're merely average </NEG> . count the number of times where the animal's mouth is turned away from the camera , or too far to notice , or ill-synched . this is less a " babe " and more of a " look who's barking " clone . you may be wondering , 'how does eddie murphy fare ? ' well , he came back with the exceptional " nutty professor " , and i don't doubt he can come back again . here , he's tied into a straight man and given little to do . the exceptions are when he fears he's going crazy : a far cry from his smarter-than-you'd expect routine that he's more adept at . it's unfortunate that he is where richard pryor was ten years ago , making lame comedies without the same bite he had given in his early years . after all this , what's left ? butt jokes . a _lot_ of butt jokes . i guess for kids that may be funny , but <NEG> i was stone-faced </NEG> . if there's a lesson the film may be telling us , is that animals have feelings too , and they care way too much for your butt .
