Die Abenteuer der Familie Stachelbeere

This is a great film for kids and parents alike. It teaches valuable lessons in a fun, action packed setting. THe people who make these movies and shows about the Thornberrys obviously love nature, and it shows in the quality of the films/shows, and hopefully translates into the viewing audience. THis is not some mindless cartton, but a great example of how education about our natural world can be fun and entertaining.

The current rating for this film on this website is four and a half out of ten. This is SO not true. I mean, sure, the grown-ups aren't as sympathetic as they could be and some scenes could be better off deleted, but I mean COME ON. It isn't THAT BAD!

This underrated film is about a girl named Eliza Thornberry who can talk to animals! Her family go to Africa and Eliza meets an old cheetah cub friend called Tally, along with his brothers and sisters. While they are playing, Tally is caught by a poacher! :( Eliza MUST save him! Then Eliza realises that she is going to a boarding school in London...

I recommend this lovely film for fans of the TV series, people who love animals and people who just want to sit down and watch a pleasant, exciting cartoon film! Guaranteed to enjoy! :)

As we all know, Eliza was blessed with the gift of talking to animals when she freed an injured animal who turned out to be a shaman. On safari with her family, she goes out to play with her lion friends when poachers pounce and steal one of the cubs. Eliza is determined to get her friend back but first has to escape from the English boarding school that her Grandmother has insisted she attend to make her more ladylike.

In my defence it is my inability to sleep on airplanes during the day that led me to watch this film – not just my desire to see a cartoon. I am vaguely aware of the series but have never cared enough to actually ever watch an episode – nor will I ever be likely to! However, as a way of passing 90 minutes, I was happy to have it and quite surprised to find that, although not aimed at adults, I was not put to sleep by it. The plot is very simple but has enough going on to keep the interest and keep the screen busy. It is rarely funny but it is quite amusing all the way through. It is simple stuff but I did enjoy it.

The animation is not that impressive but it is professional and colourful and I never felt that corners had been cut – it all looked big and fun. The cast and characters are good – hardly difficult or complex but still good enough to do the job. The main family are funny enough with their mix of accents (love that monkey!) from Curry, Chabert, Kane etc and the support cast is good with enjoyable little roles for Woodard, Redgrave, Tomei and Everett- who takes to the role with a bit of relish and his tongue in his cheek.

Overall, hardly a great film but one that I'm sure many parents will have to watch due to their kids watching the series. As such it is actually OK. The plot is simple but not simplistic or dull, the film is busy with a good amusing tone and the whole thing works well throughout. Young children will enjoy it and, while there is not much for adults in the way that Pixar delivers the goods, parents will not be bored senseless by it and may, if they are in the mood find it enjoyable if childish.

The underlying theme in this movie is about family. You have the two parent engrossed in their work, an older sister who is incredibly self-involved, a disapproving grandmother, and a little sister who is left to her own devices to amuse herself. But even though everyone is so different, they come together to do what is best for their family. Okay, so little Eliza's ability to speak with animals helps out a lot.

I enjoy the TV show, and I thought that the movie was a perfect extension of that. This movie is great for kids, and has talented talents like Tim Curry, Lyn Redgrave, and Flea (okay so that is an odd one to add to the mix) to appease the adults. But the story itself is one that is beautifully written, and told. It was worth the money to see it in the theater.

We took my two daughters to this film and had a delightful time. I was worried about seeing it since I am not a big fan of the television show, but the voice acting was superb and the soundtrack was incredible. After the film, we immediately needed to pick up a copy of the soundtrack if only to get the Paul Simon song. Since this Christmas didn't have too much for families with very young kids, we were extremely happy we saw this film. Our girls (3 and 1.5) adored it and their folks had fun too!