"It will be my pleasure to help write
a new chapter in the history of science."
Back to Jules Verne adaptations we go!
Because there's two more after Around the World with Willy Fog, and of course, if you know me, then you'll know I WILL be watching both of them.
How could I not?
This is basically my childhood caught in a bottle, or a snow globe, and I'm here for it.
I'm loving it, as McDonald's would say, haha!
Plus it's also just ridiculously entertaining and fun if you ask me. Who else would come up with stories like this one than the old animators in the 1990s who apparently all had the same way of thinking??
So without further ado, it's time to head on another little trip, just not around the world this time.
This time, Willy Fog will go on a Journey to the Center of the Earth!
Now, Willy Fog is happily living life in London when a professor friend of his starts claiming that he found a manuscript from famous Scandinavian explorer Saknussemm. This dude, supposedly, went down to the center of the Earth and came back again, but he was persecuted and locked up for what the authorities at the time considered heretical, and his work was lost to history and time.
Except, the professor now supposedly has something of his. And he asks for Willy's help to translate the runes.
They decipher instructions how to get to the center of the Earth, and of course, naturally, why else would it all work out nicely, but the OG bad guy who used to be head honcho at the Bank of England but lost his job because he lost the bet about the 80 day round-the-world trip, and now owns a betting company, he can't let this go.
He bets Willy Fog yet again that he won't get this done, because he needs to bring proof that he's actually visited the center of the Earth.
Willy, not to be outdone, agrees, and he and the professor head out, along with Rigodon, Willy's butler. Of course, being three disorganized dudes, they forget their train tickets, but thankfully Romy, who's still married to Willy, hurries after them and they set out for the Nordic countries together.
It's decided that Romy and Tico will wait for the group at the home of an associate while the others travel to Iceland and the volcano from which they'll find their way into the center of the Earth.
Seeing as this is something our bad guy doesn't want to happen, however, he once again sends the fool Transfer to foil Willy's plans, which he tries to do by kidnapping Romy and forcing Willy to come rescue her. Our heroes do what needs doing, send the villains packing, and then follow the instructions into a chasm inside the volcano, because nothing ever said THIS IS TOTALLY SAFE than going head-first into a hole in the ground in a volcano you don't know is active or not.
Willy Fog is a nutcase, I tell you.
Anyway, their trials and tribulations down below continue once they learn Transfer added salt to all their water, which means they have to find a source below, but to do so they have to split up.
If you've ever watched a Scooby Doo episode, you know this is a TERRIBLE idea, and they go through several different issues (including but not limited to Romy getting attacked by bats, and Romy and Tico getting lost) before finally coming to the shores of ... wait for it ...
the sea.
Yep, there's a sea in the center of the Earth, and some ginormous turtles that want to eat them, but what's also there is a sealed-up path where Saknussemm passed through, and apparently left his diary there to boot.
Willy manages to find said diary as proof that they completed the adventure right before the charges he set to blow destroy the rockslide which had covered their exit, and not a moment to soon either, because remember that they're inside a volcano?
Well, Mama Volcano MAD HANGRY, and she gonna blow, so they hustle onto their raft and cling for dear life before getting spit out of Stromboli, in Italy, because that's how far they travelled underground.
Racing to find the mayor of the nearest down - and all they have to do is follow the notes of him practicing his FIGARO tunes - they swear him as official witness to ensure they win the bet, then take their leisurely time returning to London.
People think Willy lost this time, but nope, he produces the mayor like a rabbit out of a hat, and the hopes of his opponents are once again dashed. The professor takes the bet money to construct a library, and all's well that ends well with this adventure!
Funny, short and to the point, Journey to the Center of the Earth continues with the charm that was already established in the previous movie, and somehow makes it even funnier because there are other, inside jokes to be had now. It's also only just over an hour long so it's the perfect length for a lazy afternoon, and filled with nostalgia.
Willy Fog, despite dressing for a safari rather than an underground romp, manages to make even the most outrageous claim seem scientifically correct, and it's honestly really funny!
I can't wait to watch the third and final movie in this series, so tune in next week when I'll be writing up that review!
xx
*images and video not mine
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