James Bobin is a gifted director of musical comedy, especially when the performers keep a straight face. We value his warmth and his feel for a song, though his patience with slight material can outlast ours.
Fi1m perspective
Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement become funnier when they sing, without having to abandon their deadpan delivery. In Flight of the Conchords (2007), their faltering progress as New Zealand musicians in New York matters less than their dependence on each other. We laughed most at the songs, where that solemn manner makes the musical comedy funnier still. Bobin understands how much these performers can do without being hurried, and the programme is good company when he gives them something worth taking their time over.
The series also exposes the limit of that patience. Casey Brown’s editing is most persuasive when the comedy breaks into song; away from the music, the slight plots can leave McKenzie and Clement with too little to do. Bobin, McKenzie and Clement are among the writers, and they sometimes allow a small comic idea to occupy more of the half-hour than it earns. A firmer cut between numbers would not make the programme any less kind to its characters.
Bobin began as a writer and director on The 11 O’Clock Show (1998) and Da Ali G Show (2000–2004), before co-creating Flight of the Conchords with its two leads. His feature debut, The Muppets (2011), was a sensible move into family comedy. Songs and puppetry suit a director who favours practical techniques and knows how to make music feel like a natural part of the story. His fondness for humour that refers to other entertainment also works well when it remains generous rather than knowing at the characters’ expense.
Muppets Most Wanted (2014), which he also wrote, continued the musical comedy, before Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016) moved towards larger-scale visual effects. That emphasis is a less obvious fit for his preference for practical techniques and puppetry where possible. He followed it with the live-action family adventure Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019). For a first encounter, we would choose Flight of the Conchords, with a little patience for the stretches between songs.
Biography
James Bobin is a British director, writer and producer. He worked as a director and writer on The 11 O'Clock Show and Da Ali G Show, and helped create the characters of Ali G, Borat and Brüno. In 2003–2004 he directed and co-wrote all twelve episodes of Ali G in da USAiii for HBO.
With Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement he co-created, wrote and directed the HBO series Flight of the Conchords (2007–2009). He later directed the feature films The Muppets (2011), Muppets Most Wanted (2014), Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016) and Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019), as well as episodes of series including Enlightened (2011), The Mysterious Benedict Society (2021) and Percy Jackson and the Olympians (2023–). He has received Emmy nominations for his work on Da Ali G Show and Flight of the Conchords.
