This is a story about a kid who is sent to a kid prison that is headed by the Hooded Fang (an evil professional wrestler played by Gary Busey). Jacob has to take on the Fang and liberate all the wrongfully locked up kids. Two things make this movie worth watching, Gary Busey and Ice T, both play their parts hilariously. Busey looks completely coked out the entire film and makes some of the funniest faces I've seen caught on film, Ice T plays a singing judge who is tough on crime and seems to send everyone to the kiddie joint. The songs in this movie are really ridiculous, and thus really funny. Definitely worth the watch but it is no Jingle all the way.
14 Reviews
Every 90s Kids' First Acid Trip.
Movie-ManDan10 April 2020
Mordecai Richler is a Canadian legend who write many timeless books with the "Jacob Two Two" books being his best books for children. The first "Jacob" book got transitioned into the big screen in the late 1970s that nobody remembers. Twenty years later, a weirder, more disturbing version comes out with a memorable cast that includes Gary Busey as the Hooded Fang.
Jacob Is the youngest in a big family that is scared of everything and us always ignored. He is so used to repeating himself that it becomes habitual, hence the nickname Jacob Two Two.
One day, he sees a professional wrestler called "The Hooded Fang" on tv and his fears reach new heights. Wanting to show he's more grown up, he convinces his parents to let him buy two tomatoes from the local grocer. Jacob is polite, but the mean owner (Maury Chaykin) jokes around with him claiming the six-year-old is harassing him. Jacob makes a run for it but gets knocked out. The majority of the movie is Jacob having a dream of the people he recently encountered.
Jacob is found guilty (by a judge played by Ice T) for harassment and is sent to Slimers Island where all bad children go. Head of the prison is the Hooded Fang. Jacob must overcome his fears and get off the island once and for all. Full of cruelty and scary people, the movie is not a very nice watch. And Slimers Island looks like somewhere familiar to stoners.
You could say that this is a good story about courage and kindness and whatnot, but this 1999 film is not pleasurable. The grocer is mean for his prank, the Hooded Fang is mean, his sidekicks (Mark McKinney & Miranda Richardson) are mean, and all else is extremely bizarre. It is as if the director hates its characters that Richler made. His hatred rubs off into us.
I was 2+2+2 years old just like Two-Two when I first saw this. As a child that young, I liked what I saw. Fast forward, and I see that this is the opposite of good.
1.5/4
Jacob Is the youngest in a big family that is scared of everything and us always ignored. He is so used to repeating himself that it becomes habitual, hence the nickname Jacob Two Two.
One day, he sees a professional wrestler called "The Hooded Fang" on tv and his fears reach new heights. Wanting to show he's more grown up, he convinces his parents to let him buy two tomatoes from the local grocer. Jacob is polite, but the mean owner (Maury Chaykin) jokes around with him claiming the six-year-old is harassing him. Jacob makes a run for it but gets knocked out. The majority of the movie is Jacob having a dream of the people he recently encountered.
Jacob is found guilty (by a judge played by Ice T) for harassment and is sent to Slimers Island where all bad children go. Head of the prison is the Hooded Fang. Jacob must overcome his fears and get off the island once and for all. Full of cruelty and scary people, the movie is not a very nice watch. And Slimers Island looks like somewhere familiar to stoners.
You could say that this is a good story about courage and kindness and whatnot, but this 1999 film is not pleasurable. The grocer is mean for his prank, the Hooded Fang is mean, his sidekicks (Mark McKinney & Miranda Richardson) are mean, and all else is extremely bizarre. It is as if the director hates its characters that Richler made. His hatred rubs off into us.
I was 2+2+2 years old just like Two-Two when I first saw this. As a child that young, I liked what I saw. Fast forward, and I see that this is the opposite of good.
1.5/4
Great movie -- Some will get it others won't.
ridntrsh13 October 2002
This 1999 remake of a 1970's film was much better than the original. Gary Busey puts in (as usual) a great performance. The supporting cast of Ice-T, Mark McKinney and Miranda Richardson all give equally good performances. The kids in the movie give marginal performances but are acceptable.
The plot involves a young boy who gets hit on the head and finds himself in court where he is sentenced to slime island, a place where the hooded fang imprisons children for such offenses.
It also has a heart warming ending that teaches a moral lesson. Not bad for a kid flick these days!
If you liked Nightmare before Christmas or James and the Giant Peach, this one has that same Burtonesque feel to it.
Your kids under 8 will thoroughly enjoy this one. You may not. Look at it this way -- kids adore the purple dinosaur and the blue dog, but wouldn't you just like to beat the snot out of both of them? Bottom line is that if you watch it with your kids you'll enjoy it but if you took your saturday night date to the theater to see it, you will probably want to write a vicious, myopic review on IMDB.
The plot involves a young boy who gets hit on the head and finds himself in court where he is sentenced to slime island, a place where the hooded fang imprisons children for such offenses.
It also has a heart warming ending that teaches a moral lesson. Not bad for a kid flick these days!
If you liked Nightmare before Christmas or James and the Giant Peach, this one has that same Burtonesque feel to it.
Your kids under 8 will thoroughly enjoy this one. You may not. Look at it this way -- kids adore the purple dinosaur and the blue dog, but wouldn't you just like to beat the snot out of both of them? Bottom line is that if you watch it with your kids you'll enjoy it but if you took your saturday night date to the theater to see it, you will probably want to write a vicious, myopic review on IMDB.
Best watched at 3 AM
jmc699087713 October 2002
I probably came across this at the best time - 3 a.m. while channel surfing. I could not believe this was Gary Busey. And, then, imagine my surprise when I also learned it was Miranda Richardson. What? Were these people at the work house? Had they fallen so low as to do this dreck?
One might possibly term this a warmed over Captain Hook story where for some reason (all right, I did miss the beginning) children were imprisoned by a demented ex-wrestler who demanded that they keep a fog machine in operation so that their prison could remain hidden.
I know this is a children's movie but I don't even think a 5-year-old would have bought this story.
For shame.
One might possibly term this a warmed over Captain Hook story where for some reason (all right, I did miss the beginning) children were imprisoned by a demented ex-wrestler who demanded that they keep a fog machine in operation so that their prison could remain hidden.
I know this is a children's movie but I don't even think a 5-year-old would have bought this story.
For shame.
Great Cast! Great Fun!
inclass25 March 2003
This movie is extremely well done, from start to finish! Gary Busey is absolutely wonderful in his role of The Hooded Fang, and young Max Morrow delivers what is, probably one of the very best performances ever for a child at that age in his role of Jacob Two Two!
This movie was very well written and directed, making it interesting and very amusing to both children and adults. The songs are very entertaining and original and fit the plot nicely.
In order to enjoy this movie, one must first take it for what it is: a fantasy, rather than to compare its plot to the real world, which might allow those who have no sense of humor or fantasy to read into it something dark or dreadful. A child's nightmare in a fantasy story is not meant to be interpreted as being the 11 o'clock news, and the songs that were expertly written to support this movie's plot were not supposed to be "Bridge Over Troubled Waters". Everyone who has an imagination and is not too old to smile or laugh at things that are meant to be silly, will appreciate this movie for what it was meant to be, and for what it turned out to be: a lot of fun... a lot of fun!
This movie was very well written and directed, making it interesting and very amusing to both children and adults. The songs are very entertaining and original and fit the plot nicely.
In order to enjoy this movie, one must first take it for what it is: a fantasy, rather than to compare its plot to the real world, which might allow those who have no sense of humor or fantasy to read into it something dark or dreadful. A child's nightmare in a fantasy story is not meant to be interpreted as being the 11 o'clock news, and the songs that were expertly written to support this movie's plot were not supposed to be "Bridge Over Troubled Waters". Everyone who has an imagination and is not too old to smile or laugh at things that are meant to be silly, will appreciate this movie for what it was meant to be, and for what it turned out to be: a lot of fun... a lot of fun!
Disappointing adaptation of a classic children's book
Wizard-88 June 2009
I actually did see the previous film version of the classic children's book as a child - in fact, it's one of the few Canadian films I have seen in a theater. I don't remember too much about the previous version, except that it stuck pretty close to the book. When the opportunity came to see this remake, I decided to give it a chance - especially since it was a chance to see it free, and I have been burned too many times from other government-funded Canadian films.
I didn't think this version worked for a number of reasons, mainly the following three:
(1) It's pretty cheap. Now, I will admit that the production values of this movie are superior to the no-budget original movie, but the movie still looks pretty shabby. Even the scenes that take place outdoors in the "real world" look undernourished.
(2) The child actor playing Jacob Two Two was very uncharismatic. I suppose some people will give him slack because he's just a child, but I have seen over the years a number of child actors his age who could easily beat him at the acting game.
(3) The decision to make this as a musical was a bad one. Now, it COULD have worked. But the songs in this movie are HORRIBLE. There is not one song that is memorable or catchy enough that you'll be humming afterwards There is a faint pulse of life with the scenes involving Gary Busey. But even then, he seems to be phoning in a lot of his dialogue. I suspect that he felt defeated by being in this low-budget foreign (to him) production, and decided to quickly get through his scenes without working at making his role REALLY memorable and campy. I suspect that even kids who watch this movie will notice this, and the movie's other problems.
I didn't think this version worked for a number of reasons, mainly the following three:
(1) It's pretty cheap. Now, I will admit that the production values of this movie are superior to the no-budget original movie, but the movie still looks pretty shabby. Even the scenes that take place outdoors in the "real world" look undernourished.
(2) The child actor playing Jacob Two Two was very uncharismatic. I suppose some people will give him slack because he's just a child, but I have seen over the years a number of child actors his age who could easily beat him at the acting game.
(3) The decision to make this as a musical was a bad one. Now, it COULD have worked. But the songs in this movie are HORRIBLE. There is not one song that is memorable or catchy enough that you'll be humming afterwards There is a faint pulse of life with the scenes involving Gary Busey. But even then, he seems to be phoning in a lot of his dialogue. I suspect that he felt defeated by being in this low-budget foreign (to him) production, and decided to quickly get through his scenes without working at making his role REALLY memorable and campy. I suspect that even kids who watch this movie will notice this, and the movie's other problems.
One of the best kids films I've seen...
jasonweckert2 December 2004
You will either love this film or hate it. I love it. It is rare today to find a kids film that doesn't adhere to Hollywood commercialism and that has a fantastic story line that appeals to all ages. In order to appreciate this movie, you must place yourself in the mind of a 6-year-old boy who sees the world in a wonderfully creative manner. The original book that this movie is based on by Mordecai Richler has complex themes and intricate messages that I think were all portrayed beautifully in this film. The acting and singing is fantastic and very much like a Broadway musical (which is rare in films). Also, Gary Busey and Miranda Richardson were phenomenal in their roles. The first time I watched this film, I missed most of the small twists that characterize the story, but after watching it again, I was astonished at how deep the story was. My daughter and I have seen this film about half a dozen times and it has never turned tiring - it is definitely a film I am glad to have on my shelf and will be watching again in the future!
really weird, but interesting
deafskorpianking13 March 2003
Warning: Spoilers
spoilers.... this is a kid's movie but i never would have suspected. i'm 18 years old and i watched this from beginning to end and at first i thought it was rated r until i realized it was a kid's movie. the movie is not your average kid's movie you have a kid who is "wrongfully accused" for tomatoes and is treated very cruelly (with nasty attitudes i mean, all the adults seem very nasty and the kids seem very innocent....it's hilarious when you see how some of the adults act) and he shows up to court he has an hilarious yet horrible lawyer who is basically giving him up to the judge which is Ice-T. it's hilarious enough just to see ice-t, the last person you'd expect to see in a kid's movie, as a judge, he raps about how the kid was so wrong and is to be sent to the worst prison on earth. once he shows up in prison gary busey is hilarious as this wannabe superhero bad guy who "has no friends" and treats all the children like garbage. you have the 2 power ranger wannabes who try to rescue him and the others and just the way the whole movie is put together it's great and hilarious, even for an adult with a sense of humor. not for the very young or very sqeemish though.
It's a kids movie, so lighten up.
dgulbran14 April 2003
I just had to comment because I caught this late at night the other night on HBO, and I thought it was a pretty clever kids flick. I would have liked it when I was a kid, and it's certainly something I would show to my kids (age appropriate, of course... probably not under 5, and probably not over 10). No, it's not much on plot, and yes, it's totally silly... that's kinda the point. I've seen some of the other comments, and some are quite negative, but honestly, if you took the movie serious enough to react that badly to it, you missed the whole point.
A Kooky, Krazy Kid's Film
Maury McG10 February 2002
A friend and I were surfing the digital cable the other night and ran into this obscure little film at about 3 a.m. on HBO. Intrigued by the premise, and the title, we decided to watch a bit of it, and were sucked in. Jacob Two-Two is absolute fun--it has cuteness but with enough darkness to keep it from simply being fluff.
The first thing that caught us was the song that accompanied the opening credits (!), a slow, gravelly song about Jacob--the narration in the film is also done by the singer of this song (not sure who, although the music was done by Tim Burns and Jono Grant), which gives it an off-kilter quality from the start. The actors are good and are used wisely, and constitute a surprising list of talent: Miranda Richardson, Maury Chaykin, Gary Busey (appropriately grotesque as the Hooded Fang), and Ice-T as a rapping judge. Oh, and Matt McKinney of Kids in the Hall fame. Many of these characters are real people that Jacob Two-two encounters in the real world, and become (a la Wizard of Oz) warped players in his hallucination/dream of a world where children are tried and convicted of minor crimes and sent to Slime Island, a place where there is no fun or laughter.
It's a bit creepy, a bit hokey, a bit funny, a bit sad--it's a lot of things, really, and is definitely a film that more people should see. And, last but not least, the young actor who plays Jacob, Max Morrow, is a real find--a better and more naturally sweet child actor than any other I've seen (Jonathan Lipnicki and the Lloyd kid from Episode One come to mind). He makes Jacob cute without being treacly, and this is a delicate thing which could have ruined the film for me. Get him in more good movies, please! And check this movie out--whether for adults or children (I'd say not under eight years old, though--it could be too scary), it works.
The first thing that caught us was the song that accompanied the opening credits (!), a slow, gravelly song about Jacob--the narration in the film is also done by the singer of this song (not sure who, although the music was done by Tim Burns and Jono Grant), which gives it an off-kilter quality from the start. The actors are good and are used wisely, and constitute a surprising list of talent: Miranda Richardson, Maury Chaykin, Gary Busey (appropriately grotesque as the Hooded Fang), and Ice-T as a rapping judge. Oh, and Matt McKinney of Kids in the Hall fame. Many of these characters are real people that Jacob Two-two encounters in the real world, and become (a la Wizard of Oz) warped players in his hallucination/dream of a world where children are tried and convicted of minor crimes and sent to Slime Island, a place where there is no fun or laughter.
It's a bit creepy, a bit hokey, a bit funny, a bit sad--it's a lot of things, really, and is definitely a film that more people should see. And, last but not least, the young actor who plays Jacob, Max Morrow, is a real find--a better and more naturally sweet child actor than any other I've seen (Jonathan Lipnicki and the Lloyd kid from Episode One come to mind). He makes Jacob cute without being treacly, and this is a delicate thing which could have ruined the film for me. Get him in more good movies, please! And check this movie out--whether for adults or children (I'd say not under eight years old, though--it could be too scary), it works.
A classic from my homeland
joebrian552 March 2012
This movie is a really good Canadian film, and probably one of (if not the) best Canadian films and shows I watched, keep in mind that I spent a good part of my childhood watching Little Bear, Babar, Care Bears, Arthur etc. and those shows were made in Canada.
To begin, I borrowed this movie from the library when I was 8 and it was not long before I liked it. If I were to list what's good about it, let's see. The acting is OK for a cinema production, I was very impressed by Miranda Richardson's performance as Miss Fowl, but for a movie with very few well-known names, it's likely not hard for some cinephiles to recognize the actors' names.
The story is good from beginning to end, the set design is decent and the songs are not as bad as some make it out to be, but like I said, I was a kid when I first saw this.
I especially like the judge's (Ice-T) song "Guilty" which is played at one point during the movie, and I loved the ending scenes, but I'm not mentioning any more about that.
To wrap it up, I would not recommend this movie for under-5 because some bits can be scary, but when it comes to movie watching, parental supervision always pays.
To begin, I borrowed this movie from the library when I was 8 and it was not long before I liked it. If I were to list what's good about it, let's see. The acting is OK for a cinema production, I was very impressed by Miranda Richardson's performance as Miss Fowl, but for a movie with very few well-known names, it's likely not hard for some cinephiles to recognize the actors' names.
The story is good from beginning to end, the set design is decent and the songs are not as bad as some make it out to be, but like I said, I was a kid when I first saw this.
I especially like the judge's (Ice-T) song "Guilty" which is played at one point during the movie, and I loved the ending scenes, but I'm not mentioning any more about that.
To wrap it up, I would not recommend this movie for under-5 because some bits can be scary, but when it comes to movie watching, parental supervision always pays.
Great movie
christygimble29 May 2003
I love the movie. Gary Busey does an excellent villian. The producer and the writer did an excellent job. The plot was good too. The songs are good in here. Ice-T does a good rap song. It's a kid movie, that's for sure. I would show it to my kid. It's pretty weird and pretty good.
All In Context
a-e-olsen25 November 2006
Although I haven't seen this movie, I saw the 1970's version as my first movie theater outing on a school trip when I was only seven years old. Jacob Two-Two is a cultural icon in Canada. Children are told this story and study it in school, as it is one of the most famous of Mordecai Richler's writings. He was a well-loved Quebecois writer.
Don't diss the actors in this movie because you are not aware of the background of the story. One could make similar comments of depressing scariness involving children about any number of stories that children clearly love, for example the Harry Potter and A Series of Unfortunate Events series, or even the modern remaking of any fairy tale! And as you know, children are not concerned with costumes or plot on the same level as older people. They love things that seem strange and cheesy to adults -- witness the success of Barney and The Power Rangers.
I think it's great that there is a new version of Jacob Two-Two for today, and I am looking forward to watching it.
Don't diss the actors in this movie because you are not aware of the background of the story. One could make similar comments of depressing scariness involving children about any number of stories that children clearly love, for example the Harry Potter and A Series of Unfortunate Events series, or even the modern remaking of any fairy tale! And as you know, children are not concerned with costumes or plot on the same level as older people. They love things that seem strange and cheesy to adults -- witness the success of Barney and The Power Rangers.
I think it's great that there is a new version of Jacob Two-Two for today, and I am looking forward to watching it.
Sweet Ass Flick!
tywebb256928 April 2003
Jacob Two Two is the best movie I have ever seen! I am stunned that it did not even get an oscar nod..Gary Busey plays the role of a lifetime, and Jacob is super cool. ICE-T drops some funky raps too! All in all, I have not seen a better movie since The Langoliers. Truly a film for all ages.
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