The Inseparables (U)

Enchanted puppet Don is condemned to forever play the fool on the stage of a children's theatre in New York. The mannequin daydreams about inhabiting the armour of noble sword-wielding knight Don Quixote and vanquishing terrifying beasts. Consequently, Don quits the theatre and charges heroically into Central Park in search of a fabled Castle in the Sky. En route, he encounters battery-operated toy DJ Doggy Dog, whose greatest wish is a place to call home.

LondonNet Film Review

The Inseparables (U) Film Review from LondonNet

Playthings come to life when human eyes are averted a la Toy Story in a charming but narratively simplistic computer-animated fantasy adventure from the director of The House Of Magic and Bigfoot Family. Opening with an inspirational quote from John Lennon, The Inseparables depicts a puppet’s journey through Central Park in New York as a series of daredevil escapades as they unfold in the marionette’s vivid imagination. Thus, the rescue of stricken raccoon babies from a drain after a torrential downpour is realised as a thrilling descent into the belly of a gargantuan whale during a cacophonous storm…

Director Jeremie Degruson oscillates between reality and outlandish fantasy and lightly references Home Alone in a night-time sequence when two thieves break into a children’s theatre and fall victim to booby traps set by puppets that walk and talk without the assistance of human hands. The script’s key learning – we are heroes of our own life story – is distilled with the subtlety of an excited preschooler gifted a toy drum for Christmas but cloying sentimentality does not drown out the heartfelt sweetness.

The fate of puppet Don (voiced by Dakota West) comes with strings attached as a member of cast in a children’s theatre situated in midtown Manhattan. He is condemned to forever play the fool while oafish hunk Alfonso (Donte Paris) always portrays the dashing hero who rescues damsel in distress Dee (Monica Young) from the clutches of a hungry giant. Don daydreams about inhabiting the armour of noble sword-wielding knight Don Quixote (catchphrase: “Prepare to taste my steel!”) and vanquishing terrifying beasts. “I’m going to make something of my life and it’s not going to happen if I just sit around here taking pies in the face,” Don tells co-stars Dee and Sunny (Tripp Karrh).

Consequently, he quits the theatre and charges heroically into Central Park in search of a fabled Castle in the Sky. Don encounters battery-operated toy DJ Doggy Dog (Jordan Baird), whose greatest wish is a place to call home. “When our quest is complete, I promise I will find you a new family to call your own,” Don assures his canine companion and they test their mettle by rescuing stricken animals. Meanwhile, larcenous siblings Petra (Laila Berzins) and Preston (Patrick Hambrick) plot to break into the theatre and sell the puppets as valuable collector’s items.

The Inseparables is a mismatched buddy comedy adventure for family audiences that looks to the exploits of Buzz Lightyear and Woody as a template for briskly paced childhood wonder. Stylised visuals do not needlessly sear retinas and the script mines gentle laughs from Don’s well-intentioned delusions. An obligatory toe-tapping musical number with lyrics that summarise the film’s tenets confirms we have all got a friend in Degruson’s picture.

– Sarah Lee