T3I: Secret of Terror Castle - A better sequel

Not many movie series can boast of sequel that's better than the original. But this is one of them. The second movie in The 3 Investigators series, is certainly better than the first one. If you are a hard-core fan of the T3I, or if you have read the book The Secret of the Terror Castle, then please don't expect the same story from the movie. The book was one of my favourites and I was quite disappointed to know the kind of liberties the movie makers have taken to almost completely change the original story... Though it was to be expected, considering the first movie which was completely different from the original book (except for the title, the central characters and a few little details here and there). The same can be said about this movie.

And yet, the movie has a charm of its own. The direction is ok again, but better than the first part. The story, though quite different from the original book, is better too. More complex than the first movie's story, it also boasts more puzzles, thrills, humour and action.

Lets look at the central theme of the movie. The Terror Castle itself. From the day I read the book, I have always been fascinated about the Terror Castle. Time and again, I have tried to imagine how it would look like. The Terror Castle portrayed in the movie does not necessarily match the one in my imagination. But it certainly is worth appreciating. The setting, design and portrayal of an old abandoned castle full of mysterious devices and an unsettling brooding atmosphere has been done quite nicely. The story about who built the terror castle and why is entirely different from the original one. And though it is not as good as the original (may be that's my personal prejudice), it certainly is complex, plausible (within fictional limits) and quite interesting.

As for the central characters, the three kid artist portraying the Three Investigators have played their part pretty well, as in the previous movie. Jupiter Jones is smarter than before. We get to know some more about his personal life in the movie (which as far as I remember, has not been explored much in the books). Pete and Bob both add a nice touch of humour. Apart from these famous trio, we get to meet some other characters famous in the original book series. For instance, we get to meet Uncle Titus Jones and Aunt Mathilda (but only for a minute or two). And we get to see the great Rolls Royce, and its chauffeur, the famous Worthington, whose short role has been well-portrayed in the movie. And we also get to meet some other characters, like the eccentric sheriff, an equally eccentric girl who falls for Bob, and the spectre of Steven Terrill, the century old creator of the Terror Castle.

Rational explanations of almost supernatural mysteries and almost impossible puzzles has always been a hallmark of the original T3I series. The movie-makers have tried to keep this in mind as Jupiter his pals try to figure out some almost seemingly inexplicable events and occurrences in the story. There are some obviously glaring holes in the story. But one can always ignore them as the story hurtles along with a steady pace.

The T3I have been known to be tech-savvy for their time. But time and technology has changed a lot. And the arsenal of tricks up the sleeves of these new 3 investigators looks like some stolen props from the Spy-Kids movie. But the movie-makers have tried to keep the use of these hi-tech devices to a minimum, and rely on the cranial abilities of Jupe in order to solve the major puzzles in the story.

If you are a die-hard fan of the T3I, and can still manage to forgive the movie-makers for not being faithful to the original story, then this movie is worth watching at least once. Certainly a welcome addition to the Kids Movies genre...

My Ratings: 3

T3I: Skeleton Island - Finally some one made a T3I movie

At first there were the fairies and the giants, magicians and evil witches, magic and myth that made up the major mass of kid stories for ages. Then they became a bit more sensible when mystery and adventure were used to make these stories entertaining. But this era of relatively rational kid stories did not last long. The kid story genre was thrust into the Dark Ages as once more the crutches of magic and fantasy were used to entertain kids, instead of real-life down to earth adventures. But before the rise of this Dark Age, there were the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Famous Five... and the Three Investigators...

As a kid, I stumbled upon T3I while reading a Hardy Boys book. At the back was a full list of titles. Mystery of the Terror Castle, Haunted Mirror, Moaning Caves, Talking Skull. The titles captured my imagination. Soon I had my first T3I book in my hands and I was hooked. For the longest time, I trawled the net in search of any TV serial, any movie, animated or otherwise, about the T3I. After reading the books, staring at the covers and the illustrations for long wistful moments, I was eager to see the terror castle, the haunted mirror, the Jones Salvage yard, the T3I headquarters. But alas! No one seemed to be interested in making a TV series or a movie on such an awesome series. Sad...

And then, a few days back, I stumbled upon this movie. The Three Investigators - Secret of Skeleton Island. Someone had finally made a movie out of one of the T3I books! I had to watch it! And I did.

The story is nice. It has its usual set of ups and downs. Suspense and Puzzles. Humour and action. But as far as I remember, it is not faithful to the actual story in the book. There are quite a few differences. But that does not make it in any way boring or uninteresting.
The cinematography is quite nice. The shots of some of the natural beauty of South Africa are quite breath-taking. So much so, that it looks more like an advertisement for SA Tourism rather than a T3I movie.

The direction is OK - your standard one for Kids movies. But some of the sets and props are quite nice. The Jones Salvage Yard and the T3I headquarters are quite nicely and imaginatively portrayed in the movie.

The actors have acted well. Especially the kids playing the three investigators kind of fit their roles quite well. Jupiter's acting was good, and so was Pete's. Bob's was a bit over-done, but it was charming in its own way.

Frankly speaking, I was a bit disappointed. Being a die-hard hard-core fan of T3I, I find it disappointing that the movie-makers took the liberty to change the actual story to such an extent. Agreed, it was targeted at South African audience. Yet, for me it was disappointing. Moreover, I have always thought, that the T3I would make a great animated TV series. It they would stick to the original story-line, it would make a great series. So the portrayal of T3I as a real-life movie was a bit disappointing to me, personally.

And yet, the try was worth it. Our generation of kids enjoyed the T3I books so much. And I wish that the kids nowadays, who are so enamored to Harry Potter and similar new-age stuff, should be introduced to the T3I universe. And I hope that this movie (and its companion "Secret of Terror Castle" - which I plan to watch soon) would prove an ideal platform for doing just that.

My Ratings: 2.5