Fat Albert
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Joel Zwick
Produced by	John Davis
Written by	Bill Cosby, Charles Kipps
Starring	Kenan Thompson Kyla Pratt Shedrack Anderson III Dania Ramirez Omarion Keith Robinson Bill Cosby
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	December 25, 2004 (USA)
Running time	93 minutes
Language	English

Fat Albert is a 2004 live-action/animated film based on the Filmation animated series Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. The movie was produced by Davis Entertainment for 20th Century Fox, and stars Kenan Thompson as the title character.

The plot surrounds Fat Albert and the gang leaving the cartoon world and entering the real world in order to help a teenage adolescent deal with the challenges of being unpopular, and not having any friends except her foster sister. Her unpopularity stemmed from her tendency to withdraw into a world of her own as a consequence of the death of her grandfather, Albert Robertson, who was actually the inspiration for the Fat Albert character. It is up to Fat Albert and the gang to show her that she is special and can make friends.

Unlike some movies that meld the cartoon world with the real world while at the same time keeping the cartoon characters two dimensional, e.g. Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Fat Albert takes a twist and transforms the cartoon characters into three dimensional humans, who have to come to grips with the differences that exist between their world and the real world (like Enchanted).

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 2.1 Cameo Appearances 3 Box office and critical reception 4 Production details 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Plot

The film opens with an animated sequence featuring Fat Albert (Kenan Thompson) performing the classic theme song "Gonna Have A Good Time" .

In real life, Doris (Kyla Pratt) is a sad teenager still recovering from the death of her grandfather, ignoring her foster sister, Lauri's (Dania Ramirez), efforts to bring her a social life. Upon learning that her parents will be away for the weekend, Doris sadly lets a tear hit her TV remote, as the Fat Albert Show is on. The tear opens up the TV world to the real world and Fat Albert and the gang (Keith Robinson, Shedrack Anderson III, Jermaine Williams, Alphonso McAuley, Aaron Frazier and Marques Houston) (minus Bill's little brother Russell (Jeremy Suarez) go to help her. Doris insists that she is fine, but the gang can't leave yet - their show is over and they have to wait until the next day's show to go back. They follow Doris to school the next day and are amazed by the new technology like laptops and the internet.

Fat Albert also notices Lauri and falls in love with her. In another attempt to help Doris, the gang persuades some cheerleaders to invite them all to an outdoors party. With some reluctance, Doris agrees to attend. While they're there, Lauri dances with Fat Albert. An annoying pest named Reggie (Omarion), who has a desperate crush on Lauri, attempts to make her jealous by dancing with Doris. When Lauri doesn't notice him, he tries to kiss Doris. Doris runs from the party and Fat Albert warns the boy to stay away from Doris. The next day, Doris goes to school, but asks the gang to go to the park instead of following her. Weird Harold, normally very clumsy, joins in a basketball game and is able to play perfectly. Mushmouth, who can't talk normally, is taught how to speak by a little girl. Dumb Donald goes to the library and is able to read and remove his pink face-covering hat.

When Doris gets them and takes them back to her TV, Bucky, Dumb Donald(who's eyes float in the TV without the hat on), and Weird Harold jump into the TV but the show ends before the others can enter. Fat Albert and Bill have an argument in private about going back (Fat Albert wants to stay in the real world with Lauri). Searching for guidance, Fat Albert literally meets his maker, Mr. Cosby (Bill Cosby as himself) and tells him of the dilemma. Mr. Cosby tells him that his character is based on Doris's grandfather, which explains Doris's confusion over why Albert seems so familiar to her. Mr. Cosby then tells Fat Albert that he has to return to the TV, or he will turn into celluloid dust. Devastated, Fat Albert tries to tell Lauri that he has to leave, but she doesn't believe he's from the TV and thinks that he is just being insensitive.

The next day, Bill, Mushmouth, and Rudy jump back into the TV. Fat Albert waits and goes to a track meet that Doris and Lauri have, then takes them home and jumps into the TV (this convinces Lauri that Fat Albert wasn't lying to her).

At the end of the movie, Mr. Cosby and his old friends (who the characters in the show were based on) stand in front of their old friend Albert Robertson's grave. Doris is also there. Then the group of men have a little race, showing no matter how old they are, they are still kids at heart, the same kids from the TV show that they helped Bill Cosby inspire.

Before the end credits start, Fat Albert is trying to leap out of the movie screen but his pals are pulling him back. He points out that people in the audience need help and he even tells someone in the back of the theater that he/she needs to come back and finish watching the credits. The boys pull Fat Albert back inside and the end credits resume beginning with the a blend of both the animated characters and the live-action characters singing the Fat Albert Theme Song.

[edit] Cast

• Kenan Thompson as Fat Albert
• Kyla Pratt as Doris Robertson
• Bill Cosby as Mr. Cosby (Himself)
• Dania Ramirez as Laurie Robertson
• Shedrack Anderson III as Rudy
• Omarion as Reggie
• Marques Houston as Dumb Donald
• Jermaine Williams as Mushmouth
• Aaron A.Frazier as Old Weird Harold
• Alphonso McAuely as Bucky
• Jeremy Suarez as Russell (voice)
• J. Mack Slaughter, Jr. as Arthur
• Alice Greczyn as Becky

[edit] Cameo Appearances

• Raven-Symone as Danielle (voice)
• Aaron Carter as Darren (credited as "Kid")
• Joel Madden as Dude with Mohawk
• Fonzworth Bentley as Salesman

[edit] Box office and critical reception

Critics were not impressed with the film, whose characters may not have been familiar to a generation raised on other recent franchises, though the film did modest business at the box office, making $48 million.^[1]

[edit] Production details

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (September 2009)

• Jesse McCartney's song, "Get Your Shine On" is sung in the film. It is mistaken as an Aaron Carter song, because Carter is in the film.
• Joel Madden also makes a cameo in this movie. He is in the scene where Kyla Pratt's character brings the boys to her school. He has a mohawk and a made shirt with a sweater probably to cover his tattoos.
• Kenan Thompson had impersonated Bill Cosby in All That prior to filming, and would later go on to star in Saturday Night Live where he once again would occasionally impersonate him.
• The filming locations were in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Valencia, Santa Clarita, California.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Fat Albert

• Fat Albert at the Internet Movie Database
• Fat Albert at Allmovie
• Official Bill Cosby Site