Fat Albert (2004)
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23% of critics liked it
(82 reviews) -
51% of users liked it
(59,403 ratings)
Bill Cosby's gang of childhood pals evolve from standup comedy to an animated cartoon series to real life in this family-friendly comedy. Doris (Kyla Pratt) is a teenager who doesn't fit in with most of her classmates at school, has been depressed since the death of her grandfather, and is… More Bill Cosby's gang of childhood pals evolve from standup comedy to an animated cartoon series to real life in this family-friendly comedy. Doris (Kyla Pratt) is a teenager who doesn't fit in with most of her classmates at school, has been depressed since the death of her grandfather, and is disturbed by her foster sister's willingness to remake herself in order to be popular. One of Doris' few solaces comes from watching reruns of the animated television series Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, and one day while watching the show she starts to cry, with a tear dropping into her remote. The tear draws big-hearted (and just plain big) Fat Albert (Kenan Thompson) from the animated universe into Doris' real world in hopes of cheering her up and helping her deal with her problems. As Fat Albert and his pals -- Rudy (Shedrack Anderson III), Bucky (Alphonso McAuley), Mushmouth (Jermaine Williams), Weird Harold (Aaron A. Frazier), Dumb Donald (Marques B. Houston), and Bill (Keith D. Robinson) -- adapt to the three-dimensional world and try to teach Doris to believe in herself, they learn that traveling back to the animated world is harder than they thought, which becomes alarming when they start to fade away. The real world also poses some new dilemmas for Fat Albert when he falls in love with Doris' foster sister, Lauri (Dania Ramirez). Bill Cosby co-authored the screenplay for Fat Albert, using his full name, William H. Cosby Jr., and collaborating with Charles Kipps; the project was begun with Forest Whitaker as director, who left midway through shooting, with Joel Zwick taking over in his place. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Joel Zwick
- Written By
- Bill Cosby, Lowell Ganz, Charles Kipps, Babaloo Mandel
- Genres
- Comedy, Kids & Family
PG,
- In Theaters
- Dec 25, 2004 Wide
- Studio
- 20th Century Fox
Critic Reviews
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J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader
At the end of this weak comedy is a strange and touching scene in which Bill Cosby and his childhood pals from Philadelphia, now elderly men, gather at the grave of Albert Robertson, the real-life inspiration for Cosby's bighearted Fat Albert.
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, Time Out
The Cosby touch (he's co-writer and co-executive producer) is in full effect, schmaltz notwithstanding, as Albert and the gang run through their series of pleasantly diverting escapades.
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Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly
The sermonizing on behalf of good clean fun and hard old effort (Cosby co-wrote the script) is as faded as Big Al's sweater after too many days on earth.
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Kevin Crust, Los Angeles Times
The movie feels small and flat.
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Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
Squeaky-clean but uninspired.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Kenan Thompson
as Fat Albert
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Kyla Pratt
as Doris
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Shedrack Anderson III
as Rudy
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Jermaine Williams
as Mushmouth
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Keith Robinson
as Bill
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Alphonso McAuley
as Bucky
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Aaron Andre Frazier
as Old Weird Harold
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Marques Houston
as Dumb Donald
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Dania Ramirez
as Lauri
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Omarion Grandberry
as Reggie (as Omari Grandberry)
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Aaron Carter
as Teen
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Bill Cosby
as Himself
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Earl Billings
as Mr. Mudfoot (Voice)
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Catero Colbert
as Lead Teen (Voice)
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Ben Diskin
as Teen #2 (Voice)
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Rick Overton
as Coach Gillespi
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Jeff Harlan
as Dad
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Annie Abbott
as Mrs. Forchick
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Raven Symone
as Danielle
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Keri Lynn Pratt
as Heather
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Jeremy Suarez
as Russell
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Josh Uhler
as Teen #3 (Voice)
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Bill Ratner
as Announcer (Voice)
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Jeanne Chinn
as Woman #1
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Derek J. Watkins
as Salesman
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Alyssa Shafer
as Little Girl
- J. Mack Slaughter
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Damon Elliot
as DJ
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Jeff Leaf
as Basketball Player
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Cody Fleetwood
as Kid
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Jenifer Kinglsey
as Woman #2
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Dylan Cash
as Emmitt
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Charles Duckworth
as Teen #1 (Voice)
- Omari Grandberry
