Recensie Disney+-series ‘Journey to the Center of the Earth’
Jules Verne turns in his grave with this rancid series.
Journey to the Center of the Earth It is obviously based on Jules Verne’s book To the Center of the Earth. And that’s where the similarity ends. This adventure series tells a messy and chaotic story with too many events and characters that certainly do not give credit to a great creative thinker like Verne.
As of episode one there is no clear story to be found. Or a theme. Or whatever. Most of the episodes seem to start in the middle of the story, while a brief summary at the beginning is missing and sorely missed. It almost seems like a second season, where things get more complicated and we should already know the characters to understand their actions.
Many characters are introduced at a fast pace, without strong motivation or sympathetic backstory. The fact that the kids in particular act like they’re reading an instruction manual doesn’t really help to empathize with their characters. The interpreter of the villain of the story, on the other hand, is overacting like a man possessed, which in the midst of the half-asleep actors is presented as extremely annoying. With a mechanical parrot on his shoulder, this Pompilius is very reminiscent of the pirate Sponge Bob Square Pantswhich was just as annoying.
The events are often predictable, while the story is quite over the top and contrived. It is full of unnecessary details and characters, but again without originality. In addition to Jules Verne, for example star trek in Strange things used as a source of inspiration, but rather to loot than to put its own spin on it. Otherwise the story is flat and humorless unless you like fart jokes.
The effects are particularly poorly executed, not just the robot parrot, who is about to dangle from a rope. Both the effects and the quality of the script make the series reminiscent of the questioned children’s series of the nineties. Adults may shed a nostalgic tear (because it was the only children’s show airing just before dinner time at the time), but today’s youth will laugh mercilessly at that television.
Only halfway through the series does he really descend to the center of the earth, where all sorts of unlikely obstacles arise again, including quicksand and a swamp of corrosive acid. There, all the laws of logic are challenged when gravity reverses and diminishes in another story, while movie classics like Jurassic Park in men in black be imitated
The last part of the series is quite difficult to watch due to the many dark scenes that seem to have been filmed in an amusement park. Perhaps this indicates the ultimate goal of this entire event: inspiration for an attraction at a Disney park. It would possibly explain what possessed the creators to deliver shoddy work. The cliffhanger that ends this season hints at a sequel, but let’s just hope it doesn’t come. This series is not worth it. Better take the kids for one. sponge Bobmarathon parking lot
Journey to the Center of the Earth can be seen in Disney+.