Movie Review: Monkeybone

'Monkeybone'' is too weird for words. But if you're willing to give yourself over to it, it's a fun weird.

The movie takes us on a rocket-powered roller-coaster ride through the nightmarish mind of a cartoonist who's trapped in his own bizarre imagination. Henry Selick, director of the special-effects epic "The Nightmare Before Christmas," has outdone himself in mustering another eye-popping collection of elaborate gimmickry: Models, puppets, computer animation, Claymation, stop-action photography -- if it's part of the special-effects tool kit, it's in there someplace.

This is a gimmick movie, and Selick knows it. He never belabors anything, getting in and out of each scene with a blitzkrieg mentality. And the movie itself is quick -- 87 minutes -- with Selick wisely calling it quits just as the effects start to wear thin.

Another huge plus is the presence of Brendan Fraser, an excellent actor ("Gods and Monsters") who's not afraid to make an idiot of himself ("George of the Jungle"). Backed by a strong supporting cast - Whoopi Goldberg, Bridget Fonda, David Foley and Chris Kattan -- his energetic, over-the-top performance keeps the special effects from taking over the show.

Fraser plays Stu Miley, the creator of a hit comic strip starring the rascally Monkeybone. The strip is being spun off into an animated TV series and a correlating collection of merchandise.

Stu should be ecstatic about that -- at least, that's what his smarmy business agent, Herb (Foley), keeps telling him. But Stu is appalled by the attempts to rip off Monkeybone fans with cheesy product tie ins. He wants to find a quiet corner where he can enjoy life with his girlfriend, Julie (Fonda).

ALL IN HIS MIND A car accident sends Stu into a coma, where his mind is sucked into a cartoon purgatory filled with the bizarre creatures he has envisioned. Primary among them is Monkeybone (voiced by John Turturro), who declares, "I'm tired of being a figment." He steals Stu's body and goes back to the real world. Much to Herb's delight, the Monkeybone version of Stu announces that he wants to waste no time in cashing in on the cartoon's success. Julie writes off the change in behavior to Stu's bump on the head.

Meanwhile, Stu has become trapped in his own mind. He's frantically trying to figure out how to stop Monkeybone. To get back to the real world, he'll have to borrow someone else's body (Kattan's) and outsmart Death (Goldberg).

Fraser's knack for physical comedy is in ample display. When Monkeybone takes over Stu's body, Fraser starts moving with a primate's loping, arm-swinging gait. He also does a nifty job of slipping little monkey sounds into his dialogue. It's all silly, of course -- delightfully silly.

MONKEYBONE Three out of four stars