El Gran Premio: A todo gas

Such a lovely movie! My nieces and nephews loved it, and now I'm officially the cool aunt for taking them to the premiere! They have never been to Europa Park, but you don't need to be a fan - the film stands on its own and tells a fun, heartwarming story that kids (and adults!) can enjoy. The idea of a race isn't new, okay, but it's still cute, and the development of the story, especially of the characters, shows that it has a lot to say. A really impressive debut - fun, sweet, and really well made. It seems like making kids happy is their mission, whether it's through rides or films.

Downside: I'll have to go back to the cinema a second time with a horde of little brats!

This movie was such a nice surprise!

In a time full of disappointing, lukewarm animated films, it was great to see my kids get excited about a story again. It manages to feel both modern and old-school at the same time.

For example, I loved how the mouse girl's role was inspiring, yet felt totally natural - the idea that a girl can achieve just as much as a boy is obvious and implicit (as it should be), without feeling forced or overhyped.

The animation is high-quality, which is great, but they also invested in a quality story, which is not a given. All in all, a really lovely family movie: lively, exciting, and the kind you'd happily rewatch on the couch on a family movie night!

"Edda" lives and works on her father's struggling fairground but has dreams of driving a Grand Prix car, however unlikely that may be. Meantime, with the challenge for the world title about to take place, the charismatic "Ed" is poised to win his fifth consecutive championship and cement his place in the history books. Determined to sneak a look at his car, "Edda" gets into his garage and decides to take it for a spin. He catches her but not before she has got behind the wheel and hit the streets of Paris - quite literally! With him now sporting a dislocated arm, "Edda" suggests that she don his helmet and pretend to be him for the forthcoming races. It's a risky wheeze, but it might just work - except, well there appears to be something nefarious afoot and when things begin to go slip, sliding away amidst a sea of green gunge it looks like "Edda" has her work cut out to thwart someone's devious plans and to keep "Ed" convinced that it isn't actually her who is threatening his chances. It's quite a basic, but still a quickly paced and enjoyable animation with loads of action very much in the "Wacky Races" vein with plenty of super-stunts, a little bit of menace and even a soupçon of romance as these red leather critters hurl themselves around the streets where there's even some room for action for a big red London bus. It's got the usual tones of inter-reliance and team spirit to keep it whizzing along and I quite enjoyed it.

My little monsters loved it. After the latest Disney flops, I finally saw them excited about a movie again, and I was pleasantly surprised, too. I thought it would be some kind of self-celebratory commercial for Europa Park disguised as a cartoon, but instead it's an independent story, and even though the theme park theme is present, it's nothing like you'd expect. I certainly wouldn't have thought I'd find that part so sweet and sentimental. The story is cute and funny, the characters adorable.

It's truly a nice, classic, family movie, but with modern sentiment and a remarkable graphics.

I really enjoyed it. The animation quality is really good, the story is well-written, and it has everything a child could possibly want: talking animals, excitement, and a car race. The characters are sympathetic, and there's a good balance between action and emotional moments. Even though the protagonists are Europa Park's mascots, the story isn't about the park, a choice I greatly respect. It's clear that it's created by people who have always been involved in family entertainment but considering it's their first movie in theaters, it's even more remarkable. I definitely recommend it!