The City That Cried Wolf

Photo/Oliver Jevremov

Even though the acting isn't nearly animated enough and the directing belabors sight gags over substance, The City That Cried Wolf will have you simultaneously groaning and laughing thanks to Brooks Reeve's hysterical puns. Whereas Jasper Fforde works the plot into a coherent strand, Reeve tweaks the story (whether it fits Jack B. Nimble's investigation of Mayor Dumpty's murder or not) to pack in anything that might get a laugh. His best moments are perversions of the classics: Little Bo Peep is a dancer at the Hey Diddle Diddle (best known for its "hickory dickory daiquiris"), and for a price, you can sample Miss Muffet's toffets. A pity the rest of the show isn't as clever.

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