Osmosis Jones is a 2001 live-action/animated comedy film directed by Tom Sito and Piet Kroon for the animated segments and the Farrelly brothers for the live-action segments. Unusual in this genre, the live-action characters never meet the animated characters.
The film is set in a fictionalized version of the human body, where micro-organisms or any being based in organisms, are anthropomorphic. It centers on Frank Detorre (Bill Murray), a slovenly zookeeper. Osmosis Jones (Chris Rock), is a white blood cell who teams up with Drix (David Hyde Pierce), a cold pill, to thwart Thrax (Laurence Fishburne), a deadly virus, who plans to kill Frank within a matter of hours, which would also kill the other characters living within him.
The film was released on August 10, 2001 in North America, on November 2, 2001 in the United Kingdom and on August 1, 2002 in Australia.[2] Having been a box office bomb, it earned over $14 million worldwide, with its budget being $75 million. It met with mixed reviews and received three nominations.
Despite the lack of accolades, the film sold well in home media. It spawned a Saturday morning cartoon television show, Ozzy & Drix, which aired on Kids WB from 2002 to 2004, albeit being completely animated and more emphasis on Osmosis and Drix's partnership in a different body. Limited merchandise was created due to the film's financial failure.
Frank Detorre (Bill Murray) is a widowed slovenly zookeeper at the Sucat Memorial Zoo in Rhode Island. Much to the frustration of his young daughter, Shane (Elena Franklin), he eats compulsively unhealthily and has no regard for germs or disease. While trying to eat a hard-boiled egg with mayonnaise and salt, it is stolen from him by a chimpanzee. He gets it back, but not before it falls into the filth of the chimp's habitat. When Shane is disgusted by him about to eat it, he uses the "ten second rule" as a justification for the unsanitary act.
Inside Frank's body, Osmosis "Ozzy" Jones (Chris Rock), an agent of the FPD, is a funny, adventure-seeking white blood cell. He is a rebel cop, frequently disobeying authority to do what he thinks is right. He grew up poor on the "South Side" of Frank and is often mocked by his fellow cops due to his rebellious nature. He has been relocated to the mouth to fight against germs entering the body via ingestion after he induced Frank to vomit all over Shane's teacher, Mrs. Boyd, which was considered a false alarm because he had been the only one to suspect an incoming pathological threat. After several newcomer germs, believed to be gingivitis, hijack a "squad car" there, Osmosis and his senior partner, who is piloting their helicopter, are pulled into the lungs by a massive yawn while in pursuit. After the germs evade capture and pass into "Immunity's" jurisdiction, Osmosis disobeys direct orders and continues the pursuit on foot. The germs escape and Osmosis accidentally triggers a major cramp in Frank's leg.
Meanwhile, Mayor Phlegmming is preparing for re-election, campaigning with the promise of more junk food. His reckless policies are largely responsible for Frank's deteriorating health; but his re-election hopes are complicated by the arrival of Thrax, a deadly virus that came with the hard-boiled egg. In an attempt to cover up the severity of the situation, Phlegmming "tells" Frank to take a cold-suppressant pill. The pill, nicknamed Drix (short for Drixobenzometapetramine and his brand name Drixenol), arrives in the body and covers Frank's infected throat with a disinfectant to soothe the irritation. Osmosis is assigned as Drix's partner, much to his chagrin.
Eventually, they reveal Thrax's plot to masquerade as the common cold while at the same time plotting to overheat Frank's body, killing him from the inside. He wants to become the nastiest new virus, attempting to kill each new victim faster than the previous. His plan for Frank is death within 48 hours, breaking all previous medical records. Osmosis and Drix confront him in The Zit, where Osmosis launches a grenade of medication at him and his cronies, popping the skin blemish, killing nearly all of his men, and seemingly ending his siege. Meanwhile, Phlegmming refuses to believe that Thrax is a virus that could kill the entire City of Frank as it would cause a panic if the cells were to hear about it (in addition to him not getting relected). When Osmosis argues that it would make the cells think more about what's going on in Frank's body instead of the trip to Buffalo, Phlegmming fires Osmosis. Drix stands up for Osmosis, but Phlegmming tells Drix to leave the body since his abilties are temporary and therefore, he wouldn't be able to prove that Frank was in mortal danger.
Thrax, meanwhile, is revealed to have survived the explosion and, after killing off his remaining henchman, decides to launch a lone assault on Frank's hypothalamus gland (the portion of the brain that controls temperature) by disabling its self-regulative capabilities. Arriving there, he uses his virus infecting finger to destroy the protoplasmic barrier around it, and retrieve a DNA bead. Soon after, Leah Estrogen, the mayor's less-oblivious secretary and Osmosis's love interest, discovers his work and alerts security. He manages to evade them; taking Leah hostage, he escapes from the brain to the mouth. Meanwhile, the temperature continues to rise, causing chaos to break out all over the City of Frank.
Frank is taken to the hospital under the influence of Thrax's attack. Osmosis and Drix rescue Leah and confront him, who leaves Frank's mouth after causing confusion using pollen bombs. Osmosis is launched out after him by Drix. They fight for the DNA chain on one of Shane's eyes and end up in her false eyelashes, which she was wearing atop her natural ones. During the fight, Thrax threatens to break his own record by killing off Shane, but Osmosis causes him to get stuck on the false eyelash and escapes onto Shane's eye while Thrax falls into a vessel of alcohol below, where he dissolves.
During this time, the situation becomes even more dangerous when the temperature hits 108 degrees, causing Frank to go into cardiac arrest. Just as doctors give up, he is revived when Osmosis returns to him via one of Shane's tears with the chain that holds Frank's missing hypothalamus chromosome. He is reinstated into the "Immunity Force" with full privileges, he and Drix are declared heroes with the Chief of Police (Joel Silver) giving him his old job back, and Leah tells him that she loves him. Drix is allowed to stay in Frank's body, and continues on as Osmosis's partner (Osmosis plans to get Drix a lawyer in order to extend Drix's time in the body).
Frank, having survived Thrax's attack, has begun to improve his diet and personal hygiene. Meanwhile, Phlegmming has lost his position as mayor and now has a new job, cleaning the bowels as a janitor. He accidentally ejects himself from the body via the rectum by touching a button that is marked "DO NOT TOUCH!" which triggers flatulence.
- Live actors
- Frank Detorre (Downtown Frank/The City of Frank) (Bill Murray) is a 40-year-old widower who works as a zookeeper. He is prone to eating junk food, behaves laconically, and disregards his health. It's inside his body that the animated part of the film takes place.
- Shane Detorre (Elena Franklin) is Frank’s 10-year-old daughter. Due to her father’s shortcomings, his health is very important to her. She has become somewhat depressed after her mother’s death, and as a result her grades and relationships with other people are suffering.
- Mrs. Boyd (Molly Shannon) is Shane’s science and P.E. teacher. Having had her reputation and those of her three children ruined after her embarrassment by Frank, she has a 200-yard restraining order against him to prevent any further embarrassment.
- Bob Detorre (Chris Elliott) is Frank’s brother and coworker, who got him his job at the zoo.
File:Osmosis jones.jpg
Promotional image of
Osmosis Jones, featuring the main animated characters. From left to right: Drixenol "Drix" Koldreliff
a, Tom Colonic, Chief of Police, Osmosis "Ozzy" Jones, Leah Estrogen, Mayor Phlegmming and Thrax
b.
- Voice actors
- Osmosis "Ozzy" Jones (voice of Chris Rock) A funky, urban, over-zealous white blood cell (specifically a natural killer cell) with little respect for authority. Since he was discredited, he was suspended for unnecessary force and placed in out-of-the-way patrols. Therefore he seizes any opportunity to be able to make a difference. He is able to combine his eyes into one, to ooze under doors, and to contort his body.
- Thrax (voice of Laurence Fishburne) A tall, extremely virulent, and unusually powerful pathogenic agent. He claims loudly, “Ebola is a case of dandruff compared to me!”, and has killed numerous people before arriving in Frank. He carries a chain consisting of numerous chromosomes removed from other victims' hypothalamus as a trophy. His left index finger is a long claw, which can melt the cellular equivalent of steel, consume cells and other viruses in flames, and alter the properties of other cells. It is never specified what kind of disease he causes. His name is a play on the bacteria anthrax. He is the human form of the Scarlet Virus.
- Drix (voice of David Hyde Pierce) is a cold pill; he is red and yellow, boxy, and robotic. His right arm is a cannon used to shoot an assorted variety of medication, including one that freezes any target. He is a follower of written rules and compensates for his doubts of himself by acting haughtily. He is intelligent and clever, but has no sense of humor. Straight-laced and by-the-book, he disagrees with Osmosis’ methods, but respects him for continuing to fight illness. He is his best friend.
- Leah Estrogen (voice of Brandy Norwood) is Mayor Phlegmming’s secretary, greatly relied upon by him for her skills. She is one of few inhabitants of Frank who realize the flaws of the current administration, and one of the few willing to believe Osmosis’ claims of a large-scale infection. She is his love interest.
- Mayor Phlegmming (voice of William Shatner) is the short, overweight, and self-centered mayor of the "City of Frank". He is constantly preoccupied with everything but his job, except when it concerns planning his re-election. His name is a pun on the word phlegm
- Tom Colonic (voice of Ron Howard) is Mayor Phlegmming’s opponent in the election. He is a tall, thin cell and supports a healthier Frank. His mannerisms and personality resemble John F. Kennedy's.
- The Chief of Police (voice of Joel Silver though uncredited) is an extremely large, somewhat gelatinous cell with a short temper. He is evidently used to (though frustrated by) Osmosis’ adventures.
^a Koldreliff is revealed to be Drix's surname, which is a satirical homophone of "cold relief", which is his primary function, being a cold pill, in the spin-off television program, Ozzy & Drix.
^b Possibly a prototype design of Thrax as he has red skin and purple hair in the film.
Osmosis Jones went through development hell during production. The animated sequences, directed by Tom Sito and Piet Kroon, went into production as planned, but acquiring both a director and a star actor for the live-action sequences took a considerable amount of time, until Bill Murray was cast as the main character of Frank, and Peter and Bobby Farrelly stepped in to direct the live-action sequences. As part of their contract, the Farrelly brothers are credited as the primary directors of the film, although they did no supervision of the animated portions of the film.
Upon its original release, the film lost a considerable amount of money, and was the second-to-last production for Warner Bros.' feature traditional animation department (following The Iron Giant, and followed by Looney Tunes: Back in Action, which both also lost money upon their original releases). Osmosis Jones opened at #7 in its first opening weekend at the U.S. box office, accumulating $5,271,248 on its opening week. The film soon grossed over $14,026,418.
Osmosis Jones received mixed reviews from film critics.[3] Based on 108 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, 55% of critics gave the film positive reviews, with an average rating of 5.5/10.[4] At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film has received an average score of 57 based on 28 reviews.[3] The animated parts of Osmosis Jones are praised for its plot and fast pace, in contrast with the criticized live action segments, with Rotten Tomatoes consensus of the film being, "The animated portion of Osmosis is zippy and fun, but the live-action portion is lethargic.". Robert Koehler of Variety praised the film for its animated and live-action segments intervening, claiming it to be "the most extensive interplay of live action and animation since Who Framed Roger Rabbit?".[5]
Roger Ebert gave the film 3 stars out of 4.
The use of toilet humor in Osmosis Jones, as done in most films directed by the Farrelly brothers, was widely criticized. As such, Lisa Alspector of Chicago Reader described the film as a "cathartically disgusting adventure movie."[6] Maitland McDonagh of TV Guide praised the film's animation and its glimpse of intelligence although did criticize the humor as being "so distasteful".[7] Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly felt that the film had a diverse premise as it "oscillates between streaky black comedy and sanitary instruction.", where the scatological themes are again pointed out. Jonathan Foreman of New York Post claimed Osmosis Jones to have generic plotting, saying that "It's no funnier than your average grade-school biology lesson and less pedagogically useful than your typical Farrelly brothers comedy."
Chris Hewitt of Miami Times described Chris Rock's, Brandy Norwood's and Laurence Fishburne's voice work as Osmosis, Leah and Thrax respectively as "classy" although considered the film to be politically correct as all three of these actors are African-American. Michael Sragow of Baltimore Sun praised David Hyde Pierce's performance as Drix, claiming him to be "hilarious" and a "a take-charge dose of medicine."
- In the original script and in early cuts of the film, a scene was featured when Osmosis and Drix go to the Gonad's Gym. It involved them talking to the "exercising" sperm cells. The scene was cut in order to stay family friendly. The Gonad's Gym logo does appear on Drix's suitcase during a scene in the police station locker room.
- In an earlier "cut" of the film, Osmosis and Drix visit an amusement park behind Frank's eye, called "See World". A sign advertising the latter can still be seen near Frank's stomach, which functions as the "arrivals" terminal of an airport.
- The DVD release contains three extended (and half-animated) scenes, all of which appear in cut-down form in the final edit:
- Osmosis and Drix visit the eyes, while Drix complains that he has to visit the nose and the throat. Osmosis gets doughnuts and calls the information desk on his 'cell' phone while at the eyes.
- Frank picks his nose during the dam-bursting sequence, and Osmosis saves Drix from ending up on Frank's fingertip. In the end, they are inhaled into the sinuses.
- The race to catch Thrax on his way to the uvula is extended; we see him leap from his car and glide away. After Osmosis takes the wrong turn, he takes a "shortcut" to there by way of the esophagus, riding a massive, acidic belch up the throat (a reference to the 1991 classic Thelma & Louise). He says "What the hell is a uvula?" It was later edited from hell to heck.
- A draft of the script reveals that Osmosis, as a young boy, went to a family reunion. At that time Frank went to the doctor to have some blood removed, possibly in a blood drive. The needle drew out all of Osmosis' relatives, apparently leaving him all alone. This would have add to his "loneliness" in the film. The ending has Frank getting a blood transfusion to save his life, with his own prior blood. Thus Osmosis' relatives would have returned, in a parody of the abductees returning in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. This was detailed in the film's commentary.
- Another scene that was deleted so as to cut time was one where it showed how Phlegmming got kicked out of the office. In the final cut it's assumed that he was impeached or that he simply lost his run for re-election but in a deleted scene he realizes all of his mistakes and willingly resigns thus putting Tom Colonic in office. This explains how he lost office at the film's end. This was supposed to connect with a scene when he sees the city going up in flames and sheds a tear upon realizing all that he has done has caused Frank's near-destruction (this scene being left in the final cut).
There was very little merchandising for the film. Trendmasters planned on releasing a toy line of the characters from it (including but not limited to action figures, "flingable snot" and the like). However, they claimed they would only do so if the film exceeded $65 million at the box office. Unfortunately, it failed to do so and the toys were never released. One of a few products released was a video game based on the series Ozzy & Drix. Hats, posters, soundtracks, and press kits for it can be found on eBay.
A soundtrack containing hip hop and R&B music was released on August 7, 2001 by Atlantic Records. The soundtrack failed to make it to the Billboard charts, but Trick Daddy's single "Take It to da House" managed to make it to 88 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
Osmosis Jones was rated PG-13 in 2000, but in 2001 the film was re-rated PG for "bodily humor."
![Nappy Roots - Here We Go Again [Osmosis Jones Soundtrack]](http://web.archive.org./web/20130329083029im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/28o3OT-Ax-w/default.jpg)
