Hey, hey, hey! 'Fat Albert' is timeless

Those of us who grew up watching the animated series “Fat Albert” are likely to enjoy the movie by that name which is now in theaters. Those who don’t remember the original series or who watch re-runs on the TV Land cable channel are also likely to enjoy the film.

“Fat Albert” stars Kenan Thompson as Fat Albert — in person. The voice of the animated Fat Albert was courtesy of Bill Cosby, who also created the series based on his childhood friends. The film itself deals with Fat Albert and his friends crossing the plane from animated television to real life in order to fulfill Fat Albert’s ongoing goal of helping out those who have problems.

In this particular instance, a North Philadelphia high school student named Doris (played by Kyla Pratt) is the one with the problems. Ever since her grandfather passed away, Doris has lost all self-confidence.

She doesn’t think she has any friends, and while she’s on the track team because her grandfather ran track, she no longer thinks she’s fast.

One afternoon Doris arrives home after school, turns on TV Land, and cries during the Fat Albert episode. A tear falls on the remote control, and Fat Albert senses a person with a problem. He crosses the plane into Doris’ living room and becomes real, and his friends follow while Bill Cosby’s little brother Russell (who was part of the original cartoon series) is left behind.

The original Fat Albert animated series ran from 1972 to 1979. Since it was based on the childhood friends of the 67-year-old Cosby, the actual activities took place in the 1940s and 1950s. While helping others is in Fat Albert’s nature, Fat Albert and his friends are unfamiliar with concepts such as DVDs, cell phones, laptop computers, and hip-hop music.

Doris is reluctant to accept the help, but the group cannot return to animation until the next Fat Albert re-run the following afternoon.

They accompany Doris to school, which tends to embarrass Doris more than help her popularity.

The real world seems appealing to the boys. Fat Albert has taken a liking to Doris’ foster sister, Lauri (played by Dania Ramirez), and Lauri has taken a liking to Fat Albert. In the real world Old Weird Harold is coordinated, Mushmouth can speak and be understood,and Dumb Donald is quite intelligent.

But there are problems with the animated characters being in the real world other than their acceptance by Doris’ schoolmates. Since Russell is alone in the junkyard, the bullies plan to take it over. More importantly, since they don’t belong in the real world they are fading and in danger of turning to celluloid if they don’t return to their true animated state. Fat Albert seeks out Bill Cosby for answers.

“Fat Albert” is funny — not only do the former animated characters have to adjust to the 21st century, but the material which has resulted in so many Bill Cosby stories is still present in Fat Albert and his friends. One need not be familiar with the original series to enjoy the movie; it can be enjoyed both by older audiences who remember the cartoon and by younger viewers. As was the case with the original series, enjoyment of “Fat Albert” crosses ethnic lines; while Fat Albert and his friends are black (although Doris attends a mixed-race high school and her foster sister is Hispanic), both the movie and the original cartoon can be enjoyed by both white and black viewers. The movie is rated “PG” for momentary language, but it’s a straight PG rather than PG-13 and is appropriate for young children as well as comprehendible and enjoyable by viewers still in elementary school.

The transition from animation to reality created problems for the characters and the transition from the 20th to the 21st century created humor, but the movie shows that “Fat Albert” is timeless. Bill Cosby may be long removed from his childhood, as is the case for many of the viewers who enjoyed the original series on Saturday mornings, but Fat Albert is far from being out of date.