In “Fing!,” Jeffrey Walker’s whimsical thing of wonder, Mr. and Mrs. Christopher and Maureen Meek (Blake Harrison and Mia Wasikowska) couldn’t have been more aptly christened with that quirky last name. Two geeky, modest and exceedingly mild-mannered librarians, they meet under the nose of their mean employer and fall for each other promptly. What follows is the pleasant life of harmony and books that they build together throughout a Pixar’s “Up”-style montage, with little, screaming Myrtle joining their loving home soon enough. Except, Myrtle rapidly proves to be anything but, well, meek…
Co-written by Kevin Cecil and best-selling children’s book author David Walliams (the original creator of “Fing!,” who has faced recent harassment allegations), the story follows Myrtle (the terrific Iona Bell) as she continues to grow into the most disagreeable child. In fact, she’s like Dudley Dursley of the “Harry Potter” books in some ways, always bossing her parents around for more, and throwing an ear-splitting and window-shattering tantrum when she doesn’t get what she wants. Genuinely terrified of their daughter, the Meeks usually manage to find a way to grant her wishes to keep her calm, in what should be an urgent “how not to raise a child” lesson.
While a lot of fantastical aspects of “Fing!” make it feel like a timeless children’s classic like a Roald Dahl tale, this parental angle feels acutely and refreshingly modern. In that, the Meeks seem to nurture Myrtle in a kind of 21st century, kid-centric parenting style when misbehaving isn’t necessarily addressed and children’s demands take center stage even when they are unreasonable. For a while, “Fing!” teases that it might engage with this often-memed query critically, but then drops it prematurely when Fing, a brown, single-eyed fur ball the size of a giant stuffy, enters the picture.
At first, Fing is just a thing that the lonely Myrtle demands as a present (the similarly accented sounds of fing and thing is a running joke in the film). This ask sends Mr. Meek on a long, arduous journey, leaving Maureen and Myrtle to their own devices. Miraculously, Mr. Meek manages to procure the beast, grabbing the envious attention of The Viscount (Taika Waititi as an irresistibly cuckoo villain), a ruthless and wealthy animal expert looking to advance his clout amongst other nature specialists with his own wildlife park. But even his lifelong governess Nanny (Penelope Wilton) would turn against him during his hot-tempered and greedy pursuit of exploiting the innocent Fing for personal gain. And no one could really stop him other than Myrtle and her new pal Tyler (Sidhant Anand), a gentle and caring neighbor whom Myrtle starts building a friendship with, despite Myrtle’s rude dismissal of him in the beginning.
The escapades of Fing, Myrtle, and Tyler quickly take an adventurous Spielbergian turn, where Fing doesn’t necessary demand to phone home, but craves the life that he belongs to instead of the one Myrtle can give him. Sporting a similar hair color and volatile temperament, the two quickly develop a connection not dissimilar to that of E.T. and Elliot, becoming inseparable in a near-spiritual way. Augmenting their kinship is the grit and grain of the world around them that production designer Matthew Putland dresses up with layers of gorgeously fantastical details (a little Wes Anderson, and a little “The Secret Garden”) with one foot firmly planted in the real world of dusty book shelves and cozy suburban homes. While the film looks needlessly dark at times, the feelings it inspires remain bright and feather-light. In Amelia Gebler’s picture-book costumes, the entire cast commit to this colorful universe of lovably weird touches.
If there is one overarching issue in “Fing!,” it is that Myrtle’s character arc, through which she goes from a certified spoiled brat to a responsible and reasonable kid, doesn’t entirely feel convincing. If all that Myrtle ever needed was a friend and companion who accepted her for who she was, wouldn’t her behavioral transformation have happened much sooner thanks to her angelic parents who never once reprimanded her rotten personality? But even when this question lingers in the background, “Fing!” is a spirited pleasure to experience, especially when it dials up its “E.T.” references around wholesome kids with unadulterated priorities vs. unsympathetic grown-ups who don’t understand them. It’s a tale to root for at any age.
English (US) ·