Brendan Fraser continues his physical transformation into Rodney Dangerfield in this slapstick live-action comedy, playing a hapless property developer who falls foul of woodland wildlife while trying to build homes in their natural habitat — with, it must be said, the proverbial hilarious consequences.
Fraser’s gift for goofball comedy gets a full workout, Brooke Shields proves game for a laugh, and there’s a decent subtext about corporate eco-hypocrisy. The CG-enhanced animals don’t talk, and the comedy is as broad as a barn — no face goes unsprayed by skunks, no crotch unsplashed by sprinklers — but kids, not to mention grown-up fans of knockabout comedy, will howl like hyenas.