Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels has captivated audiences for centuries, initially through literature and later through various screen adaptations. Many remember their first encounter with Lemuel Gulliver’s fantastical voyages, perhaps through the charming 1939 animated movie, a milestone from Fleischer Studios, Disney’s early competitor. This cartoon, focusing on Lilliput and Brobdingnag, served as an early introduction for many to Swift’s world. However, the true depth of Gulliver’s Travels, a biting satire penned by a clergyman, often remained hidden from younger viewers, its critical commentary softened for children’s consumption.
Over the years, numerous adaptations have attempted to bring Swift’s masterpiece to life. Among the more noteworthy stage productions was Sean Kenny’s imaginative and intellectually stimulating Mermaid Theatre version. This production, sadly overshadowed by Kenny’s untimely death, bravely encompassed all four voyages of Gulliver, introducing audiences to Laputa, Glubbdubdrib, the Houyhnhnms, and the Yahoos, alongside the more familiar Lilliput. Kenny’s Gulliver Travels, featuring Mike d’Abo, offered a richer, more complete experience of Swift’s satirical world than many film versions.
Regrettably, Rob Letterman’s 2010 film, Gulliver’s Travels, starring Jack Black, falls far short of capturing this essence. This 3-D rendition reimagines Lemuel Gulliver, not as an 18th-century ship’s surgeon, but as a 21st-century mailroom clerk at the New York Herald. Jack Black portrays Gulliver as a somewhat directionless and unambitious character, stuck in the mailroom for a decade. Driven by a sudden urge to impress, this Gulliver fabricates travel articles, plagiarizing from Time Out magazine, which surprisingly lands him an assignment to the Bermuda Triangle. Predictably, he is shipwrecked and finds himself in Lilliput, here portrayed as a Ruritanian kingdom ruled by King Theodore (Billy Connolly) and Queen Isabelle (Catherine Tate).
In this Lilliput, Gulliver, for the first time, experiences being larger than life. However, the narrative largely deviates from Swift’s satirical intent. The film offers a fleeting visit to Brobdingnag, populated by a single giant child, and includes a battle sequence borrowing heavily from action movie tropes like Robocop and Iron Man. The film culminates in Gulliver imparting the wisdom of rock’n’roll to the Lilliputians. Humor is sparse and often misses the mark, exemplified by a weak joke about a new mailroom employee born in 1990. Ultimately, the Gulliver’s Travels movie 2010 starring Jack Black, while visually engaging in 3D, sacrifices the sharp satire and intellectual depth of Swift’s original work for shallow humor and predictable plotlines, failing to stand as a worthy adaptation.
