Paramount Animation’s Rumble has the makings of an action-packed film for kids. Giant monsters wrestling seems like a slam dunk, but somehow Rumble lacks any spark. The cast certainly tries to make the material as fun as possible, but something in the way the film is structured holds it back from being anything but mediocre. In fact, its best quality is that it is only 90 minutes, which means that bored parents won’t have to give up access to the TV for too long.

The basic conceit in Rumble is that a young girl named Winnie (Geraldine Viswanathan) is trying to train a giant monster named Steve (voiced by Will Arnett) to be a pro monster wrestler. Steve is more interested in making a quick buck as a stooge in underground monster wrestling circuits, but Winnie sees some potential in him. He also happens to be the son of a very famous former monster wrestler who just so happens to be the same monster that her father trained – both of whom went missing years ago.

Contrivances abound in Rumble, to the point it feels almost like a paint-by-numbers narrative. Plot beats and character moments are telegraphed from a mile away and any sense of drama or conflict is almost completely missing. Yes, a kids movie doesn’t need to be some sophisticated drama but even for a basic animated feature released directly onto a streaming platform, Rumble is hard to recommend. For some reason, the film believes an obvious underdog story set in a sports context hasn't been done to death.

The voice cast does their best with the material but there isn’t any real substance to the story of Rumble. Will Arnett plays a character that feels like it was written specifically for him but without any room for him to make it his own. Steve feels like what someone else assumes Will Arnett playing a giant monster would sound like. Even Terry Crews, who plays the film’s pseudo-villain Tentacular is a razor-thin caricature of what people assume Terry Crews is like.

Giant kaiju battles do offer something unique when it comes to films like Pacific Rim or Godzilla, but Rumble never takes advantage of its concept. Rather, the film completely ignores the fact that these are giant beasts as tall as buildings; they move as real people do and it’s really odd to see on-screen.

One would think that since Rumble was co-produced by WWE Films that it would at least nail the wrestling but there isn’t a lot of excitement for kids to enjoy. At best, the designs of the monsters are cool and the animation itself is sharp, but the execution of the monster wrestling sequences – essentially the whole reason to watch Rumble – is subpar.

Rumble is the type of movie that typifies the stereotype of movies that go straight to streaming services. It’s a simple concept that never evolves to the level that kids or parents will find engaging. The cast does its best with what’s on the page, but even that is generic stuff. With the WWE involved, Rumble could have been something fun and unique but instead, it’s dull and forgettable.

Rumble is available now on Paramount Plus.

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