Plot: After Mr. and Mrs. Twit’s theme park gets condemned, their plot to fill the city streets with hot dog meat backfires on a group of orphans who try to even the score by giving the Twits a dose of their own medicine.
Review: As Netflix continues to explore the weird and wonderful world of Roald Dahl, director Phil Johnston is here to drop something wildly outrageous, surprisingly political, and incredibly touching on unsuspecting audiences with The Twits. Taking cues from Dahl‘s 1980 children’s novel of the same name, The Twits explores themes of found family, acceptance, and mob mentality, complemented by a healthy dose of gross-out humor, delightfully demented characters, and brilliant set design that boggles the mind.
The Twits delivers on its promise of being an emotionally complex story with highbrow themes and lowbrow comedy. The tale focuses on Mr. and Mrs. Twit, voiced enthusiastically by Johnny Vegas and Margo Martindale, respectively, and a group of mischievous orphans hoping to teach the couple a lesson after the Twits sour their chances for adoption. Mr. and Mrs. Twit loathe one another, but in that bittersweet way where you can tell that a bowl of live worms for dinner, or a frog tongue to the face means “I love you, you old coot.” The prickly duo wants nothing more than to reopen their decrepit theme park, Twitlandia. However, the city thinks the attraction’s Port-O-Potty Ferris Wheel, soiled mattress trampoline hole, and House of Broken Mirrors is better left condemned. When Twitlandia closes indefinitely, the crotchety couple exact their revenge by coating the city in hot dog filling, clogging the streets with spoiled pink meat, and contaminating the water supply in specific parts of the metropolitan area.
Little did the Twits know (or care) that their shenanigans would affect the local orphanage, as thorny couples hoping to adopt pay no heed to children “contaminated” by hot dog-flavored drinking water. This series of unfortunate events inspires Beesha, an eleven-year-old orphan, voiced with sass and spunk by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, and her fellow orphan Bubsy, voiced innocently by Ryan Lopez, to investigate the Twits. Before exiting the couple’s property, they discover a family of magical monkey-like creatures called Muggle-Wumps, whose magical tears power the attractions of Twitlandia. Not satisfied with merely exposing the Twits for the hot dog incident, the kids free the Muggle-Wumps, effectively sparking a war between the Twits and the orphanage.
Stylistically, I adore the look of The Twits. The film has LAIKA Studios vibes with a heavy touch of Double Fine Productions, the makers of games like Psychonauts 2, Day of the Tentacle, and Grim Fandango, among others. While the film features a handful of original songs by Talking Heads frontman David Byrne and Paramore‘s Haley Williams, these audio offerings are mostly forgettable. What the film lacks in stand-out tracks, it excels at delivering a surprising amount of timely political commentary.
Throughout the film, The Twits prey upon a subset of dim-witted city dwellers to help reopen Twitlandia through a political campaign that would see the couple become co-mayors of the city. While grandstanding for the public, the Twits promise unrealistic returns for not insignificant donations. Picture trading cards, valueless commemorative coins, or unsightly sneakers that only serve those grasping at power. The commentary on mob mentality in The Twits is both surprising and clever as Johnston explores the effect of false promises on crowds desperately looking to keep their heads above water.
But as The Twits unfolds, a specific sweetness cuts through the grime, teaching kids (and adults) in the audience the importance of found family and recognizing when your selfless efforts are more than enough to earn yourself a respite from carrying the weight of the world upon your shoulders. It’s essential to recognize love when you can find it and bask in the warmth of others who appreciate all you do to lift them when life pushes them into the muck.
While it would be easy to wave The Twits away as another middling adaptation of Dahl’s timeless work, I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s got layers. There are plenty of characters to enjoy, such as Alan Tudyk’s backward-talking Sweet Toed Toad, the Muggle-Wumps, voiced by Natalie Portman and Veep‘s Timothy Simons, Jason Mantzoukas as Mayor Wayne John John-John with the exploding butt, and Emilia Clarke as Pippa, our insect narrator, who tells the tale from inside Mr. Twit’s raggedy beard.
The Twits surprises in ways I did not expect with its biting political satire, clever Dahlian dialogue, and warm, gooey center at the heart of an animated adventure that’s as unconventional as it is witty and decidedly gross. While I don’t think The Twits will be everyone’s cup of booger tea, those savvy enough to catch its clever commentary and enjoy its delightfully distorted visual presentation could fall for this oddball feature in a big way.
Source:
JoBlo.com
