''Jack and the Beanstalk'' is a 2009 American

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Gary J. Tunnicliffe Gary J. Tunnicliffe (born 27 February 1968) is a British special make-up effects designer, writer, and director. He has performed make-up effects in all the ''Hellraiser'' films from '' Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth'' to '' Hellraiser: Hellwor ...

, from a story based on the classic fairy tale of the same name. The film stars an

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast t ...

led by

Colin Ford Colin Ford (born September 12, 1996) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Josh Wheeler in '' Daybreak'', Joe McAlister in '' Under the Dome'', the voice of Jake on ''Jake and the Never Land Pirates'', Mikey on ''Can You Teach My Al ...

Gilbert Gottfried Gilbert Jeremy Gottfried (February 28, 1955 – April 12, 2022) was an American stand-up comedian and actor, known for his exaggerated shrill voice, strong New York accent, and his edgy, often controversial, sense of humor. His numerous r ...

Christopher Lloyd Christopher Allen Lloyd (born October 22, 1938) is an American actor. He has appeared in many theater productions, films, and on television since the 1960s. He is known for portraying Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown in the ''Back to the Future'' tril ...

Chloë Grace Moretz Chloë Grace Moretz (; born February 10, 1997) is an American actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including four MTV Movie & TV Awards, two People's Choice Awards, two Saturn Awards, and two Young Artist Awards. She began acti ...

, Wallace Shawn,

Katey Sagal Catherine Louise "Katey" Sagal (; born January 19, 1954) is an American actress and singer. She is known for playing Peggy Bundy on '' Married... with Children'' (1987–1997), Leela on ''Futurama'' (1999–2003, 2008–2013, 2023), Cate Hennes ...

James Karen James Karen (born Jacob Karnofsky; November 28, 1923 – October 23, 2018) was an American character actor of Broadway, film and television. Karen is known for his roles in ''Poltergeist'', ''The China Syndrome'', ''Wall Street'', ''The Return ...

, Daniel Roebuck, Madison Davenport, and

James Earl Jones James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...

Plot

Jack Thatcher (

) must perform a heroic deed or flunk out of fairy tale school. He sells a valuable possession for magic beans that grow into a giant beanstalk overnight. One bean also is eaten by the family goose Grayson, turning them into a mostly human-man (

). They climb the enchanted beanstalk due to Jack wanting to prove himself a hero after the legacy of his father, with Grayson accompanying him to try and keep him safe. They enter a magical and dangerous world to rescue Destiny ( Madison Davenport), a little girl who has been transformed into a harp by an evil giant. This version of the tale includes references to other fairy tale characters as well as contemporary elements.

Cast

as Jack *

as Damsel in Distress / Jillian Squarejaw *

as Headmaster *

Adair Tishler Adair Rae Tishler (born October 3, 1996) is an American former child actress, model, voice actress, and singer, who has appeared in television shows such as ''Charmed'' and ''House'' and in movies such as ''Within'' and '' An American Girl: Chr ...

Rapunzel "Rapunzel" ( , ) is a German fairy tale recorded by the Brothers Grimm and first published in 1812 as part of '' Children's and Household Tales'' (KHM 12). The Brothers Grimm's story developed from the French literary fairy tale of '' Persinet ...

* Billy Unger as

Prince Charming Prince Charming is a fairy tale stock character who comes to the rescue of a damsel in distress and must engage in a quest to liberate her from an evil spell. This classification suits most heroes of a number of traditional folk tales, includi ...

* Emily Rose Everhard as

Red Riding Hood "Little Red Riding Hood" is a European fairy tale about a young girl and a sly wolf. Its origins can be traced back to several pre-17th century European folk tales. The two best known versions were written by Charles Perrault and the Brothe ...

* Sadie Eve as

Sleeping Beauty ''Sleeping Beauty'' (french: La belle au bois dormant, or ''The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest''; german: Dornröschen, or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess cu ...

* Victoria Atilano as Ugly Step Sister * Atalaya Atilano as Mean Step Sister * Anthony Skillman as Hansel * Sammi Hanratty as Gretel * Daniel Roebuck as Mayor Lichfield * Wallace Shawn as Broker / Booker / Lancelot Squarejaw *

as Jack's Mother *

as Grayson *

as Verri Saddius * Madison Davenport as Destiny * David Mattey as Giant *

as Giant's Voice * Jeff L. Deist as Dobbytok *

as Dobbytok's Voice / Nervous Lumberjack * Frank Payne as Sergeant Who *

Kevin Schon Kevin Dodd Schon (born February 7, 1958) is an American voice actor who is known for his voice-over work in video games, movies and television shows. He is best known as a voice double for Nathan Lane for animated media, most notably as Timon in ...

as Officer What * Hal B. Klein as Officer Where *

Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor and writer. He became a key cast member in the first season of '' Saturday Night Live'', where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment became a staple of the ...

as General Antipode

Release

The film premiered at the

Samuel Goldwyn Theater The Samuel Goldwyn Theatre is a screening-only movie theater named after filmmaker Samuel Goldwyn. It is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills, California, at headquarters of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). ...

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

on November 6, 2009. It later screened at the

Newport Beach Film Festival The Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) is an annual film festival in Newport Beach, California, typically held in late April. In 2022, it was announced that the festival have permanently changed its date to be held in October, as the festival beg ...

on April 24, 2010, before being released on DVD in the United States by

Screen Media Films Screen Media Ventures, LLC. is an American-Canadian distribution company founded in 2001. In 2008, Screen Media selected The Creative Coalition as its exclusive nonprofit partner in launching the Spotlight Initiative. The partnership permits the p ...

on May 11, 2010.

Reception

Critical response

Tracy Moore of

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

called the film "goofy fun" and gave it 3/5 stars. In an otherwise positive review, ''

MovieGuide Millard Robert E. Theodore Baehr (born 1946) is an American media critic and chairman of the Christian Film and Television Commission, a division of Good News Communications, Inc. He is publisher and editor-in-chief of ''Movieguide'', a website ...

'' wrote, "The sets and costumes are occasionally hokey. Also, the occasional toilet humor and slapstick comedy sometimes detracts from the movie’s natural charm." Nevertheless, MovieGuide gave the film 3/4 stars. Sloan Freer of ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves ...

'' called it a "charmless take on the classic fairy tale" and later lamented that "

wastes his rich tone as the voice of the underwhelming goliath." Jason Best of ''

What's on TV ''What's on TV'' is a weekly television listings magazine published by Future PLC. Overview ''What's on TV'' is a weekly UK television magazine. It publishes features, TV listings, news and gossip from soap operas, as well as puzzles and compet ...

'' wrote that ''Jack and the Beanstalk'' "seeks to emulate the playful wit of the wondrous

The Princess Bride The Princess Bride may refer to: * ''The Princess Bride'' (novel), 1973 fantasy romance novel by American writer William Goldman William Goldman (August 12, 1931 – November 16, 2018) was an American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. He ...

but falls woefully short." He went on to note that "

, Wallace Shawn and

are also involved, so you’d expect the film to be a lot funnier than it is, but Gary J Tunnicliffe’s flat direction doesn’t give anyone a chance to shine." Donna Rolfe of

The Dove Foundation The Dove Foundation is an American non-profit organization based in Portland, Oregon, that issues film reviews, ratings and endorsements of movies that it considers suitable for family audiences, and that bases said reviews on Christian values. D ...

wrote, "This is a charming fairy tale with encouraging values and colorful characters who will entertain the entire family." The

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

company DVD.com called it a "family-friendly comedy" and gave it 3^1/3 out of 5 stars.

Accolades

References

External links

* {{Gary J. Tunnicliffe 2009 films 2009 comedy films 2009 fantasy films 2009 independent films 2010 direct-to-video films 2000s adventure comedy films 2000s children's adventure films 2000s children's comedy films 2000s children's fantasy films 2000s fantasy adventure films 2000s fantasy comedy films American adventure comedy films American children's adventure films American children's comedy films American children's fantasy films American direct-to-video films American fantasy adventure films American fantasy comedy films American independent films Direct-to-video adventure films Direct-to-video comedy films Direct-to-video fantasy films Fairy tale parody films Films based on Jack and the Beanstalk Films directed by Gary J. Tunnicliffe Films shot in Los Angeles 2000s English-language films 2000s American films