Fat Albert

Fat Albert (2004) — watch online on iFILM this live-action family comedy from director Joel Zwick. Kenan Thompson plays Fat Albert, the lead character of Bill Cosby's beloved animated series from the 1970s, who steps out of the television set and into the real world along with his friends Rudy, Mushmouth, Old Weird Harold and Dumb Donald.

The gang lands in modern-day Philadelphia with no idea how anything works — cell phones, traffic, school hallways. Albert befriends a shy girl named Doris and sets about helping her fit in, which is exactly the kind of thing he does in the cartoon. Then he falls for her older sister, Lauri, and that is a problem the animated rulebook has no answer for. Bill Cosby appears as himself to help sort things out.

The film is exactly what it looks like: an affectionate, uncomplicated tribute to a cartoon that shaped American kids' television for two decades. No hidden edge, no satirical commentary for parents — just a warm, good-natured story about friendship that works fine as a film to watch with younger kids. Stream Fat Albert (2004) online on iFILM.