In the world of today’s film, monstrous beings known as Hollows walk among us, invisible to the ungifted eye and more than willing to kill. As if that’s not bad enough, some can even take on human form through gruesome rituals. Very few humans are able to see Hollows, but the ones who do have made it their goal in life to hunt them down while protecting the innocent. Each character has a story all their own, but our tale focuses on one main character and his quest to discover his place in a world he finds himself thrust into. Endowed with a unique power, he bands together with other empowered children and they work to protect their world from certain destruction.
Let me be the first to say that I’m delighted that a live-action version of this story has been made. I’ve always been a fan of Tite Kubo’s hit manga/anime Bleach ……
Hold on. I think I got the wrong movie. That one isn’t coming out for a while. But then what is this?
Ms. Pergerine’s Home for Peculiar Children is ons of those films that bears such a striking resemblance to something else that it simply has to be pointed out. It may just be the nerd of the past that's inspiring me to make the far-fetched claims that the film adaptation of this book and a Japanese Manga are strikingly similar. But there are so many similar aspects in both Tim Burton's vision and the book to Bleach that it's almost impossible for me to bring up one without comparing it to the other. From the Hollows to the showdowns to the bizarre similarities during a fight, this film hits a bit close to what the live-action Bleach adaptation that's been rumored to happen would be- in both good ways and bad.
Our star of this film is Jake, a young boy who leads a typical life until he is thrust into an encounter with the monstrous beings known as Hollows. Here he is tapped to join an alternate world full of super-powered teens or adults known as Peculiars who are kept hidden from the modern world due to their powers. He is guided by the mysterious Ms. Peregrine on his journey to find a place in this new world- but when a powerful Peculiar turncoat named Barron kidnaps the mysterious woman and sets his sight on innocents for his own needs, Jake must rally a ragtag band of Peculiars to rescue Ms. Peregrine and defeat Barron once and for all- IF they can put up with each other.
(Skip the next part if you don't want Frog's Boring Villain Comparison)
Before we continue, I'd really like to point out some similarities between the antagonists of this film and the antagonists of Bleach. Specifically, their powers. You see, in both worlds, Hollows have the ability to take on human form by one way or another. In Bleach, the strongest of these Hollows are called the Espada, and they are noted for three things: the weaker humanized Hollows they travel with (the Fracciones), the numbers on their body detailing their order of strength (lower is better), and their ability to transform into a more powerful form (Resurrecion) that represents an aspect of death- one of the ten paths of darkness that can be the death of a man. The villain I want to talk about here is properly introduced as His Majesty, the God-King of Hollows, and Espada Number 2- Barragan Louisenbairn. His aspect of death is represented by his Resurrecion form's skeletal appearance - Aging, that which overcomes all in the end- and he shares more than a bit in common with Barron.
It looks like after all his years of ruling over Hollows, Barragan has finally met his soul brother. These two should get together and talk politics sometime (or would that be Hollow-tics?). Where to start? Not only are they both Hollows who take human form and have the ability to change shape, but their personalities are similar: both maintain a cool and collected persona on the surface, but have tendencies to maintain a holier-than-thou image of themselves (Barragan constantly refers to himself as the strongest aspect of death although technically Espada 1 (Isolation) is stronger) and to fly off the handle when lightly enraged to the point of cursing or yelling at their foes. They're more than happy to throw their power around and impose their authority, even to those who may yet be stronger than them, and can become a major threat when irritated. In addition to this, each deploys a pack of six followers- Barron's four Hollows and two Peculiar/Hollow henchmen he sends out to intercept the heroes as opposed to Barragan's six Fracciones- and have two other humanoid allies who they give orders to (two more Peculiar/Hollows or Espadas 3 and 1), one of which has beast-related powers and the other has powers related to the elements (one of the Peculiars transforms her body parts into those of a wolf/cat thing and the other can freeze people Vs. Espada 3's control over water and Espada 1's Resurrecion Los Lobos), one of which is killed by a character who's powers are rarely seen and only revealed during this series of events-oh, you've got to be kidding me. We're gonna move on before I find more to say about this one.
Did the book copy Bleach? It's possible that the similarities aren't a coincidence (Bleach came out nearly 10 years before the novel of Ms. Peregrine), but if it really didn't build off the Manga, this one is a pretty nasty coincidence. Until then, let's just look at it as a happy accident and hope that nobody calls me bad words for assuming such a thing.
(OK, you can stop skipping.)
Putting aside the similarities to a well-loved Japanese series, does the movie stand on it's own? Yes, certainly- the characters are charming, the peculiarities are unique (one Peculiar can animate things by putting grotesque makeshift hearts in them), and Tim Burton's directoral input grants some frightening imagery for the Hollows and wonderful scenery, as well as some amusing comedy (Barron gets a few funny lines) like many films. It's Burton live action, which is always a good thing. The scenes are wonderful, the fighting is creative, but a bit of it suffers from the slog of everyday life for the characters and the obligatory love scenes (there's no need to develop Jake any more than you need to; we want to see his shenanigans with the Peculiars, not the random island people). Jake himself is a bit bland, and quite a bit is left to the imagination- but overall it's a fun, dark little flick. I'd say it's worth a look for the Hollows at least- I always wanted to know what happened if The Slender Man had a child with Mortal Kombat's Barakka.
OVERALL RATING: 7/10
(Skip the next part if you don't want Frog's Boring Villain Comparison)
Before we continue, I'd really like to point out some similarities between the antagonists of this film and the antagonists of Bleach. Specifically, their powers. You see, in both worlds, Hollows have the ability to take on human form by one way or another. In Bleach, the strongest of these Hollows are called the Espada, and they are noted for three things: the weaker humanized Hollows they travel with (the Fracciones), the numbers on their body detailing their order of strength (lower is better), and their ability to transform into a more powerful form (Resurrecion) that represents an aspect of death- one of the ten paths of darkness that can be the death of a man. The villain I want to talk about here is properly introduced as His Majesty, the God-King of Hollows, and Espada Number 2- Barragan Louisenbairn. His aspect of death is represented by his Resurrecion form's skeletal appearance - Aging, that which overcomes all in the end- and he shares more than a bit in common with Barron.
It looks like after all his years of ruling over Hollows, Barragan has finally met his soul brother. These two should get together and talk politics sometime (or would that be Hollow-tics?). Where to start? Not only are they both Hollows who take human form and have the ability to change shape, but their personalities are similar: both maintain a cool and collected persona on the surface, but have tendencies to maintain a holier-than-thou image of themselves (Barragan constantly refers to himself as the strongest aspect of death although technically Espada 1 (Isolation) is stronger) and to fly off the handle when lightly enraged to the point of cursing or yelling at their foes. They're more than happy to throw their power around and impose their authority, even to those who may yet be stronger than them, and can become a major threat when irritated. In addition to this, each deploys a pack of six followers- Barron's four Hollows and two Peculiar/Hollow henchmen he sends out to intercept the heroes as opposed to Barragan's six Fracciones- and have two other humanoid allies who they give orders to (two more Peculiar/Hollows or Espadas 3 and 1), one of which has beast-related powers and the other has powers related to the elements (one of the Peculiars transforms her body parts into those of a wolf/cat thing and the other can freeze people Vs. Espada 3's control over water and Espada 1's Resurrecion Los Lobos), one of which is killed by a character who's powers are rarely seen and only revealed during this series of events-oh, you've got to be kidding me. We're gonna move on before I find more to say about this one.
Did the book copy Bleach? It's possible that the similarities aren't a coincidence (Bleach came out nearly 10 years before the novel of Ms. Peregrine), but if it really didn't build off the Manga, this one is a pretty nasty coincidence. Until then, let's just look at it as a happy accident and hope that nobody calls me bad words for assuming such a thing.
(OK, you can stop skipping.)
Putting aside the similarities to a well-loved Japanese series, does the movie stand on it's own? Yes, certainly- the characters are charming, the peculiarities are unique (one Peculiar can animate things by putting grotesque makeshift hearts in them), and Tim Burton's directoral input grants some frightening imagery for the Hollows and wonderful scenery, as well as some amusing comedy (Barron gets a few funny lines) like many films. It's Burton live action, which is always a good thing. The scenes are wonderful, the fighting is creative, but a bit of it suffers from the slog of everyday life for the characters and the obligatory love scenes (there's no need to develop Jake any more than you need to; we want to see his shenanigans with the Peculiars, not the random island people). Jake himself is a bit bland, and quite a bit is left to the imagination- but overall it's a fun, dark little flick. I'd say it's worth a look for the Hollows at least- I always wanted to know what happened if The Slender Man had a child with Mortal Kombat's Barakka.
OVERALL RATING: 7/10
