424. Wheely; movie review

WHEELY
Cert PG
90 mins

BBFC advice: Contains mild bad language, threat

If you have seen Cars, you have seen Wheely.
I'm sorry if this seems uncharitable to the Malaysian Studio which has expressed its pride in its fast-paced animation but I would ask why their key character is so obviously based on Lightning McQueen.
Wheely has so many of the same foibles that I had to do a double-take that this wasn't a Cars spin-off. In common with Lightning, Wheely (voiced by Ogie Banks) is a champion street racer but he goes off track after crashing out of a big race into a harbour.
It wasn't clear to me why he lost his race licence but he does and, therefore turns to illegal street racing.
Inevitably, he is caught so has to be a lowly taxi driver to earn a living and help his mum (Tamyka White) whose restaurant is in trouble.
Anyway, despite being down on his luck, he falls for a glamorous actress (Frances Lee) and his adventures, with his sidekick Putt-Putt (Gavin Yap) begin.

Yusry Abd Halim and Carl Mendez's film is a microcosm of what has been wrong with cinema in 2019.
In essence, its makers didn't have enough faith in their own ideas so piggybacked on someone else's.
It is all very well stating that it would have been a fine film if it had been original but it simply isn't.
My hope for 2020 is that studios start re-hiring producers with an imagination.

Reasons to watch: If you or your child is in need of a Cars copy
Reasons to avoid: We have seen it all before

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 4/10

Did you know? The film’s soundtrack “Never Gonna Get Me” released by KRU Music, is a fast-paced upbeat song by Malaysian hip-hop duo Dualiti .

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