| The King and I | |
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 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Richard Rich |
| Screenplay by |
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| Based on |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Edited by |
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| Music by | William Kidd |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros.[1] |
Release date |
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Running time | 89 minutes[2] |
| Country | United States[1] |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $25 million[3] |
| Box office | $12 million[3][4] |
The King and I is a 1999 Americananimatedmusical film directed byRichard Rich. As of February 2024, it is the only animated feature film produced byMorgan Creek Entertainment.[5] Loosely based onRichard Rodgers andOscar Hammerstein II's 1951 stage musicalof the same name, it portrays a fictionalized account ofEnglish school teacherAnna Leonowens' historical encounter with kingMongkut ofSiam and the royal court. The voice cast starsMiranda Richardson andMartin Vidnovic as Leonowens and Mongkut, respectively, withIan Richardson,Darrell Hammond, andAdam Wylie. The score, songs, and some of the character names come from the stage musical.[6] Screenwriters Peter Bakalian,Jacqueline Feather, andDavid Seidler took creative liberties with the history and with the source material from the musical in an attempt to make the film palatable to all audiences.
The King and I was released on March 19, 1999, eight months prior toAnna and the King, a live-action adaptation of the same story. The film was panned by critics and earned $12 million at the box office;[3] its gross was seen as disappointing compared to that of other animated films released at the time. The film received five nominations, including theLondon Critics Circle Film Award for British Actress of the Year for Richardson and theGolden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing in an Animated Feature.
In 1862, a ship sails fromLondon toBangkok; on board areAnna Leonowens and her sonLouis. Kralahome, thePrime Minister, uses his powers of illusion to make it appear as if a massivesea serpent is attacking the ship as it's battered in a storm. Anna, with the help of Captain Orton, manages to save Louis from drowning, and they all manage to fend off the sea serpent bywhistling. As they approach Bangkok, the captain explains to Anna how the kingdom is politically structured.
In theGrand Palace ofSiam, Anna witnesses KingMongkut receive a gift in the form of a slave—a young woman named Tuptim fromBurma. “A BARBARICAL custom — the king LOVES it!” says Kralahome to Anna, the former secretly plotting to have Mongkut removed from the throne on grounds of barbarism. Hoping to use Anna to achieve his goal, he cultivates an attentive friendship with her while grossly and unfairly exaggerating every one of the King's flaws. Despite being promised her own house outside the palace, Anna is denied it, which Kralahome warned her would happen. The King drags Anna to his workshop, where he tests new inventions such ashot air balloons andtrains. Louis is taken on a tour of thearmory by Kralahome's henchman, Master Little, who barely misses an injury and begins to lose histeeth one after the other. In the palace gardens, PrinceChulalongkorn meets Tuptim, and they fall in love, but Chulalongkorn keeps his true identity hidden. While the King's wives help her unpack, Anna sees Chulalongkorn and Tuptim in the courtyard and supports their relationship. Since she will not receive the house, she wants to leave, but she soon changes her mind after meeting the royal children, especially Chulalongkorn.
With Kralahome still plotting to overthrow the King, he writes a letter to officials from theBritish Empire, led by Sir Edward, that claims Anna is in danger. As for Anna, she begins to teach the royal children, especially given that they have never been outside the palace walls. To give them hands-on experience, she takes all of them around the city to see how other people live. Kralahome hears it from Master Little, who tells him of the outing, and informs the king in the guise of praising him for his daring, which in turn angers the King, as he had no knowledge Anna would take his children without his permission, and is understandably fearful for their safety. Mongkut confronts Anna when she and the children return, and it boils over into a fight, with Anna still complaining about the house that she was promised but has yet to receive.
Chulalongkorn meets with his father to discuss traditions. He wants to be with Tuptim, but he knows that his father would never allow it. Confused, Mongkut goes to pray toBuddha. Kralahome then uses his powers on the statues in the room to try and attack the King, whose petblack panther, Rama, manages to fight them off with aroar. While Chulalongkorn is practicingkickboxing, Tuptim finally learns that he is the crown prince and that their love is forbidden. However, he tells her that he does not care about tradition and wants to be with her. Master Little learns of their relationship and tells Kralahome, who plans to use it to anger the King at the right time.
Anna goes to the King and sees that he is troubled after learning that the British are coming because he is allegedly abarbarian, which she knows is false. Anna advises Mongkut to throw abanquet for the British when they arrive so that he can show them he is civilized. At the dinner, Kralahome mentions the royalivory pendant that the King is supposed to wear, which he gave to his son, who then gave it to Tuptim. When it is revealed that Chulalongkorn gave it away, Tuptim is brought in by the guards. Dishonored by the relationship, the King threatens to whip Tuptim to death but finds that he can't do it. He orders her to be sent back to Burma, but knowing that this will be a death sentence for her, Chulalongkorn turns against his father and fights off the guards, fleeing with Tuptim and escaping into thejungle with Louis onelephants.
While they escape, Kralahome uses his powers to guide them through the jungle to a river marking the borderline of the kingdom. Encouraged by this knowledge, they attempt to cross a rope bridge. But the bridge collapses, and Tuptim and Chulalongkorn are almost swept away by theriver. The King, having had a change of heart and using one of his hot air balloons, rescues them with Louis's help in distracting Master Little's interference. However, on their journey back to the palace, Kralahome fires afirework, destroys the balloon, and causes it to crash. Everyone but Mongkut is able to jump into alake for safety. Kralahome celebrates his apparent victory in the murder of the king but ends up exposing his true nature in front of Sir Edward and the royal guards.
An injured, bedridden Mongkut tells his son to be ready to lead Siam if he dies and allows him and Tuptim to be married and become king and queen. With his evil schemes of overthrowing the King exposed, Kralahome loses his position; as a punishment, he is forced to clean the elephant stables with Master Little as his boss, who now loses his last tooth and attacks him out of retaliation. The King heals from his injury and presents Anna with her house outside the palace walls, and the two of them dance.
After the success ofWalt Disney Feature Animation'sThe Little Mermaid (1989),Warner Bros. began distributing several animated films, such asThe Nutcracker Prince (1990) andRover Dangerfield (1991), while also distributing Disney films theatrically in overseas markets until 1992. However, it was the success ofThe Lion King (1994) that convinced other Hollywood studios to consider producing in-house animated feature films.[7]
In 1991,Morgan Creek Entertainment began a distribution deal with Warner Bros. to release its films within the United States.[8] In 1994, the company establishedWarner Bros. Feature Animation, hiringMax Howard a year later to preside over the new division.[9] In 1994,Arthur Rankin Jr., the head ofRankin/Bass Productions, had touredThailand, where he considered adaptingThe King and I into an animated feature film.[10] Together with his partnerJules Bass, they were able to convince theRodgers and Hammerstein Organization, which held the copyright to the musical, that an animated feature film "would be a superb way" to expand the property.[11] Both parties struck a deal, with the organization getting a potential share of the box office gross. Rankin/Bass then recruited Morgan Creek as the production company.[10]
Prior to the release ofQuest for Camelot (1998), screenwritersDavid Seidler andJacqueline Feather were contracted to adapt the film for Morgan Creek, to be released under theWarner Bros. Family Entertainment label. In 1998, it was revealed the plot had been "slightly altered" from the original musical "in the interest of family viewing."[12] However, no changes could be made without the approval of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization. According to then-president Ted Chapin, it was known within the organization that the changes would be a risk, but they hoped the film would "introduce a generation of younger people to the show earlier than they might have been under normal circumstances".[11]
Each of the characters in the film was designed by a team of animators consisting of Bronwen Barry, Elena Kravets, and Michael Coppieters. The final design of each character had to receive final approval fromJames G. Robinson, the head of Morgan Creek Entertainment.[5] Over one thousandanimators were hired in over 24 countries across four different continents to hand draw each second of the film.[13] Patrick Gleeson and Colm Duggan served as the supervising animators for domestic production, while additional animation was outsourced to Giant Productions, Canuck Creations, Partners in Production, Manigates Animacion, and Stardust Pictures. Clean-up animation was contracted toHanho Heung-Up inSeoul,South Korea.
Asoundtrack album was released on March 16, 1999, bySony Classical Records.[14] It was released in both CD and cassette formats.[15] Many songs from theoriginal musical are performed in this film. All the songs on the album were originally composed byOscar Hammerstein II andRichard Rodgers.The Philharmonia Orchestra covers the instrumental score.[16]
William Ruhlmann of Allmusic.com gave the album a rating of 3 stars out of 5, describing it as a "surprisingly adequate" soundtrack to a "badly received" film. He adds, however, that the "overly effusive vocal performances" and "overly busy arrangements" make it "by far the worst version of this music ever recorded", and cites the use of "nine different orchestrators" as a possible factor. He concludes by conceding that there is good singing on the album.[17] John Kenrick, in his articleComparative CD Reviews Part III, describes the 1999 recording as a "total disgrace" that sees "superb Broadway singers...labor against mindless cuts and gooey orchestrations".[18] In a relatively negative review of the animated adaption,The Rodgers and Hammerstein Encyclopedia does say that "some of the songs survive nicely, and the singing vocals throughout are very proficient".[19]
| No. | Title | Performer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Getting to Know You" | Christiane Noll & Chorus | |
| 2. | "A Puzzlement" | Martin Vidnovic | |
| 3. | "I Whistle a Happy Tune" | Christiane Noll,Adam Wylie & Chorus | |
| 4. | "Hello, Young Lovers" | Christiane Noll | |
| 5. | "I Have Dreamed" | David Burnham & Tracy Venner Warren | |
| 6. | "Shall I Tell You What I Think of You?" | Christiane Noll | |
| 7. | "Shall We Dance Fantasy" | Christiane Noll | |
| 8. | "Shall We Dance? (Finale)" | Christiane Noll &Martin Vidnovic |
As with most film adaptations ofAnna and the King of Siam, the film was banned inThailand.[20]
The King and I was released on VHS and DVD on July 6, 1999, byWarner Home Video. During its home video release, the film remained in the top 20 ofBillboard'sTop Kid Video Chart for over 15 weeks.[21] In December 1999, the film became the sixteenth best-selling children's title of the year.[22] The film was later made available onAmazon Prime Video when the streaming service premiered on August 1, 2011. The film was listed oniTunes for digital sale in 2010.
Mill Creek Entertainment released the Blu-ray/digital combo pack of the film on October 6, 2020.[23]
The King and I earned $4 million during its opening weekend, occupying the sixth spot at the box office.[24] The film ultimately grossed under $12 million at the box office.[3][4] Its release also coincided withDoug's 1st Movie, which was released the following week.[10] The film was abox office failure.
OnRotten Tomatoes,The King and I has an approval rating of 13% based on 24 reviews, with an average rating of 4/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Charmless and shoddily animated,The King and I pales in comparison to its classic namesake in every way."[25] Historian Thomas Hischak wrote that it was "surprising to think that the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization allowed it to be made ... children have enjoyedThe King and I for five decades without relying on dancing dragons".[26] Hischak, in his work The Oxford Companion to the American Musical: Theatre, Film, and Television, says the film is "easily the worst treatment of any Rodgers and Hammerstein property".[27]The Rodgers and Hammerstein Encyclopedia says "whether or not one agrees about the 1956 film ofThe King and I being the best R&H movie, most would concede that [the] animated adaption is the worst".Roger Ebert gave it 2 stars out of 4 and felt that animated adaptations of musicals have potential but found the film rather dull.
