Little Jimmy (Dennis Jones) wishes for time to stand still - and thanks
to some weird constellation or other, it really does. This worries the
almighty Astronomer (Karl Stoeber) but plays right into the hands of the
timekiller Mr Fig (David Blight jr), who wants time to stand still forever
so he can be lazy for the rest of his life. Not an option figures the
Astronomer so he sends his daughter Aurora (Nancy Jo Berg) to Jimmy, and
she convinces him to kickstart time again, which is not as easy as it
sounds, because he has to accompany her to the World's End where he has to
insert a globe ... well, somewhere. And all along the way, Mr Fig sets up
traps to keep them from achieving their goal. Thing is, he's not all that
good when it comes to setting up traps, he hardly slows anyone down, and
Jimmy and Aurora even take some time out to watch a cartoon (a cutdown
version of the French animated feature La Bergère et le Ramoneur/The
Curious Adventures of Mr Wonderbird [1952] by Paul Grimault, which
follows roughly the same storyline) for inspiration. Eventually, Jimmy
and Aurora succeed in kickstarting time once more ... Herschell
Gordon Lewis has become famous first and foremost for his gore films of
course, but he has also made a small handful of kiddie movies - which are
far less impressive than his horror output. Basically, the problem of Jimmy
the Boy Wonder is its cheapness coupled with Lewis' apparent inability
to capture his young audience's imagination. So a trip to the World's end
with elements from Lord of the Rings and Wizard
of Oz is nothing more than a walk through some fields on a
reasonably sunny day, all the song-and-dance routines look ill-prepared
and lazily executed, and the occasional special effect just crappy. Add to
this props and costumes that don't in the least look fancy or convincing,
and a storyline that for the longest time seems to lead nowhere in
particular and is full of stale ideas, and you will have a rough time
keeping your young audience interested. Definitely not worth your time -
but certainly of interest to Herschell Gordon Lewis afficionados.
|