3/4  Review - Around the World in Eighty Days (1956)
Phileas Fogg (David Niven) was probably the most precise man in England when it came to time. He was so precise, in fact, that he made a wager that he could travel around the world in a mere eighty days. Seeing that he had a generous profi... (read full)

1.5/4  Around the World in 80 Days Quick Review
I was really looking forward to this movie. Ending at 167 minutes or so, it is way to long to keep any child awake. It is not a family movie. Their is nothing here that keeps me awake - especially after all these years. Badly dated.

4/5 Four Stars for Fun!
  by Chad Taylor (El Cajon, CA United States)
Too the nay-sayer who said Disney bad, I say "Pooh"! I've seen the Niven and Brosnan versions both incredibly dull. I mean how many times can you tell the same story and have it be interesting? Well this version with Chan and Coogan was terrific! It's really a vehicle for Chan's abilities, but this version injected humour, action, fighting, an interesting sub-plot of a stolen jade buddha and stars with more than quck cameos (Arnold as Turkish Hapi was hysterical). Whoever thinks this wasn't funny had their eyes closed while watching it. For some good clean fun check this movie out!

2/5 Chan Good, Disney Bad
  by Michael W. Perry (Author of Untangling Tolkien, Seattle, WA)
The good news about this film is that it stars the always hilarious Jackie Chan and is quite funny. The bad news is that it was done by Disney.

Disney has alway treated its sources arrogantly and callously, acting as if could `do better' than a writer beloved by generations of kids. J. R. R. Tolkien noticed that in the 1930s, and shuddered at the thought that his tales might get their treatment. More recently, Disney abused Prince Caspian, by Tolkien's friend C. S. Lewis, remaking it into something they thought would do better with kids, resulting in mediocre performance at the box office and an agreement between them and Walden Media, that Disney would play no role in subsequent Narnia films. Good riddance.

In this case, Disney's victim is Jules Verne and his 1873 classic, Around the World in Eighty Days. The original is so heavily altered for the worst, that almost the only parallel to the original is the fact that both involve someone circling the world of the late 1800s in 80 days. Disney should have had enough integrity not to steal Verne's title and prestige for their own tale.

Even the essence has been altered by the too-clever-by-half twits at Disney. Verne loved science and pioneered science fiction as new form of literature. Almost all the scientists in this Disney perversion are corrupt, blundering or stupid. That and a plot that isn't good for children, reflecting too much of what passes for `values' in Hollywood, makes this a film parents might want to take a pass on.

--Michael W. Perry, Stories for Girls: Lovingly Adapted for Twenty-First Century Children

5/5 Around the World Jackie Chan Style
  by K. A. Alphs (USA)
I remember watching the original "Around the World in 80 Days" on television with my father in the 1970's. Dad and I both agreed the movie was a "yawner" and we were both asleep before it finished. While doing a library search for the Jules Verne book to tie in with the "Galloping the Globe" theme for school I was delighted when I discovered the Walden Media/Walt Disney version of the film.
The movie is based on the Jules Verne classic but with engaging twists and turns in the stories plot to keep you interested in the story. For this version Fogg's valet is none other than Passport 2 aka Jackie Chan. Chan brings his signature martial arts, stunt man antics and wacky humor to the storyline. Steve Coogan, a British actor widely known for his BBC comedy series "I'm Alan Partridge" replaces David Niven in the role of Phileas Fogg, brillant mechanical engineer, inventor and scientist.
The movie includes a cast of brillant character and comic actors, Robb Schneider of SNL fame, John Cleese of Fawlty Towers fame, and veteran actors Ian McNeice and Jim Brodbent. This movie is a world wind adventure for the entire family!

5/5 Great family fun with Jackie Chan
  by Adam Bigham (Michigan, USA)
This is a funny, family movie with martial arts, a pretty blue-eyed French woman, and many hilarious encounters. At times there are flowing scenery shots that are lightly animated, a way of forwarding through time in the movie. Something I did not like and thought was stupid was the animated chicken, which appears in an alternate beginning option on the DVD and appears later in the movie, I think when they're crossing the Atlantic towards England. However, the acting, direction, and signature Jackie Chan stunts all make up for any minor problems with the movie. The DVD also includes a few deleted scenes, and a good widescreen presentation.

1/5 Waiting to Laugh
  by Cherilyn G. Webber (Noth Vernon, IN)
Jackie's martial arts antics remain admirable, but you can enjoy those and still laugh in his "Shanghi" movies. He's fun to watch, but he also falls prey to so many movies that just aren't funny-and this is one of them. The dialog stinks, the jokes fall way short, and the slap stick bites, to put it mildly. In this manner, it does strongly resemble the original, but when the movie itself is so bad, star cameos cannot save it. Do not waste your money or your time. What a waste, for an otherwise lovable guy.