| Gulliver's Travels | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Simon Moore (script) Jonathan Swift (original) |
| Directed by | Charles Sturridge |
| Starring | Ted Danson Mary Steenburgen James Fox Omar Sharif Peter O'Toole John Gielgud |
| Composer(s) | Trevor Jones |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Robert Halmi Sr. Brian Henson |
| Producer(s) | Duncan Kenworthy |
| Location(s) | England Portugal |
| Running time | 186 minutes |
Gulliver's Travels is a TV miniseries based on Jonathan Swift's novel of the same name, produced by Jim Henson Productions and Hallmark Entertainment. This miniseries is notable for being one of the very few adaptations of Swift's novel to feature all four voyages. The miniseries aired in the UK on channel 4, and in USA on NBC in February 1996. The miniseries stars Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, Peter O'Toole, John Gielgud, Omar Sharif, Shashi Kapoor, Warwick Davis, Kristin Scott Thomas, Kate Maberly, Tom Sturridge and Nicholas Lyndhurst. It was shot in England and Portugal.
In this version, Dr. Gulliver has returned to his family from a long absence. The action shifts back and forth between flashbacks of his travels and the present where he is telling the story of his travel and has been committed to an insane asylum. While the miniseries remains faithful to the novel, the ending has been changed slightly for a more upbeat interpretation of Gulliver's travel.
The series won 5 Emmy Awards including in the Best Miniseries category.
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Production
It took years to find the financial backing for the miniseries. The project required a good deal of Special Effects work. Jim Henson's Creature Shop created several CGI wasps and some prosthetic make-up for the Yahoos of Gulliver's fourth voyage. Producer Duncan Kenworthy said that, "It [Gulliver's Travels] was something I'd been developing while Jim was still alive. [...] We wanted to do the whole book, and that was what interested Jim."[1]
Reception
The miniseries was generally well received by critics. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly wrote that, "Everything about this production is surprising, from its choice of Gulliver -- Cheers' Ted Danson in an excellent wig -- to its startling fidelity to Jonathan Swift's 1726 novel," and called it a, "...big, gaudy, funny production that feels free to give full reign to Swift's blithe vulgarity."[2]
References
- ^ Bacon, Matt (1997). No Strings Attached: The Inside Story of Jim Henson's Creature Shop. Macmillan. pp. 150–151. ISBN 0-02-862008-9.
- ^ Tucker, Ken (1996-02-02). "A Man for all Sizes". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,291218,00.html. Retrieved 2008-06-25.
External links
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