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Dudley Do-Right |
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Dudley was born to be a Royal
Canadian Mountie. Snidely was born to be evil
and make Dudley's life miserable. Nell was
born to be fought over by Dudley and Snidely.
So the announcer tells us as the film opens
on these three children playing together.
Twenty years later, each fulfills their destiny.
Dudley truly is Mr. Do-Right, a loyal—if
not exactly brilliant, or coordinated, Canadian
Mountie. Snidely leads a large band of
ruffians, and Nell wins both their hearts. When
Snidely concocts a devious plan to seed the
town's surrounding hills with gold, thus
drawing hordes of prospectors, Dudley has to
save the day, but how he will do it, not even he
knows! When his faithful horse is chased
away by Snidely, he's left with only his wits,
which he hasn't very many of. It's only after a
very drunk prospector takes him under his
wing and teaches him to be "tough" that he
rides—literally—to victory. Oh yeah, he gets the
girl. Oops, that gave away the ending…
Positive Elements: The lines
between good and evil, white and black are
drawn clearly in the sand. Dudley can't bring
himself to break the law even if it means he'll
lose his fight against the bad guys. He may be
a bit of an klutz, but his heart's in the right
place. Goodness is rewarded here, not crime.
The sentiment may be a bit simplistic, and at
times not even true, but when the film ends
with the announcer intoning, "Good things
happen to good people, and bad things
happen to bad people," this reviewer couldn't
help silently applauding.
Spiritual Content: Snidely tells
Dudley tales of vampires lurking in the woods
to scare him away from his investigating.
Sexual Content: A couple of innocent
kisses is as far as this film goes.
Violent Content: Cartoonish violence
scattered throughout. Unlike
Inspector Gadget however, most of it
isn't played strictly for laughs. It's hardly
realistic, but it's not excessive. Still, some of it
is a bit rough. Snidely ties up the owner
of the town's bank on the railroad tracks and
forces him to sign over the bank's deed as the
train approaches. One "war" scene pits
machine guns against rock throwing. Two
small tank-like armored vehicles fire at the
defenseless "good guys." A motorcycle chase
features several flashy jumps and crashes.
Even Dudley himself rides into the bad guy's
camp spraying gunfire all around him. He then
proceeds to carve his initials in a wall with the
bullets.
Crude or Profane Language: Twice
the term "screwed" is used in a non-sexual
manner. Once a character exclaims, "Oh God."
"Heck" and "freaking" are also used once
each. That's it.
Drug and Alcohol Content: The
prospector gets falling-down drunk.
Other Negative Content: A reporter
uses a Mexican racial slur to describe the
horde of Americans flooding over the border to
look for gold.
Summary: Dudley Do-Right
offers a noble hero that everyone can root
for and a classic bad guy that everyone can
boo. It harks back to the "good ol' days" of
children's shows where everything was
always less complicated than real life. Sure,
Snidely tries to blame his evil nature on his
genes, but it's clear that he's reaching for
excuses. Nobody buys it. Parents should note
however, that the style of the film will excite 5-
to 10-year-olds, not teens.
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