Sammy Y El Pasaje Secreto

I sat down in 2022 to watch the 2010 animated movie "Sammy's Adventures" with my 11 year old son. Sure, I hadn't even heard about this animated movie prior to sitting down to watch it. But I have to say that the movie's cover was actually not all that bad.

And the storyline told in "Sammy's Adventures", as written by Ben Stassen and Domonic Paris, was actually rather good. Both my son and I were enjoying the movie from start to end. So it was a wholesome animated movie with something for the entire family.

Visually then I found "Sammy's Adventures" to be rather impressive. The entire movie was full of vibrant colors and nicely drawn images, with great textures and lots of character and spirit to everything. The characters were also nicely drawn and quite likeable.

Now what really impressed me about "Sammy's Adventures" was the voice cast. Wow. Just wow. It had the likes of Tim Curry, Ed Begley Jr., Stacy Keach, Pat Carroll, Anthony Anderson, Kathy Griffin, Melanie Griffith and Melanie Griffith on the list. So there are some great name and recognizable voices here.

"Sammy's Adventures" proved to be as impressive as it was enjoyable, and I was genuinely entertained by the movie. As such, my rating of the 2010 animated movie "Sammy's Adventures" lands on a six out of ten stars.

What is the most effective way to make a person feel guilty for being part of the human race? Try making him or her sit through a movie about a cute-looking, adorable-sounding baby sea turtle who struggles to survive against environmentally unfriendly human activity. Swimming through his adventures in the open ocean, Sammy has as much fun as an undertaker on his first day of work. As if contending against natural predators isn't bad enough, he has to dodge plastic litter, trawl fishing nets, illegal dump and oil spills, with only his fragile little shell on his back.

Though the praiseworthy green message behind the movie is no less deserving of being explored on the big screen, its delivery is all quite off-putting. For one thing, Sammy's Adventures is presented like a kids' picture book on sea turtles facts – too direct and simple with only a watered-down plot regarding a turtle's desire to see the world to hang onto. Think: this is how sea turtles look like and this is what they eat, this is where they go when they're swimming around in the ocean, this is what they have to go through to survive and this is what we as people, need to do to help them. In fact, at the end of the movie, after going through all of the terrible events of his life, Sammy literally tells us, almost word for word that 'humans should be more environmentally-conscious and that sea turtles need their help to survive, now, more than ever.'

Granted, the makers are probably trying to reach out to young audiences with its simple language and story – the target group of this type of genre, but it sounds just a tad too preachy for the rest of us. On a whole, it just lacks the charm and humour that both children and non- children alike, would look forward to in an animated cartoon. They do try to inject some light-heartedness with the funny sidekick character of Sammy's best friend as voiced by Anthony Anderson. If you think he sounds like that black computer hacker genius guy who was taken in by the secret service for looking at the thumbdrive with the secret information in it, then you are right – it is him.

To be fair, it's not by Disney Pixar, but the look of the movie is decently entertaining for anyone of any age. And, we have to most probably thank 3D technology for that. The various fast-motion travelling scenes are enjoyable to sit through because tricking your brain into thinking that your body is moving when it's actually not and having things popping up and flying into your face, is always fun.

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This is a beautiful animation with fun 3D sequences. It has a simple story with an ecological message but as the movie is aimed at kids that is actually a good thing. The story and message will not fly over the little ones' heads.

The characters are likable and the story's pace go on the right speed, not dragging itself or going too fast.

Good fun for kids and parents as well.

I've watched a dubbed version on Brazilian Portuguese so I can't speak for the original voice work, but this version I watched was very well done.

The English version features the voices of stars like Melanie Grifith and Tim Curry.

I highly recommend the 3D version as the movie has many sequences that will not be as entertaining and good looking on the 2D version.

To be honest, I wasn't expecting to enjoy it, let alone like it. Although I didn't hate Fly Me to the Moon(also directed by Ben Stassen) as much as others did, it did have a number of problems. In every way, A Turtle's Tale:Sammy's Adventure is a big improvement.

I won't say the film is perfect. The narrative is not as predictable or as saccharine as Fly Me to the Moon, in fact it is actually quite cute and appealing complete with a good message, but it does occasionally have its mundane and dull spots particularly with some scenes with the humans. The animation was in general amazing, but I did think some of the human character designs left a lot to be desired.

That said, when it comes to the 3D, this is one of those rare exceptions where I'd say the 3D version is a must-see. Because it is clear and sharp enough, and doesn't distract too much. And when it comes to the animation in general, a vast majority of it is amazing, with gorgeous colours and stunning underwater sequences. The soundtrack fits very well, the characters are very likable and endearing mostly, the writing is much funnier and smarter with the jokes not going as overboard as badly as they could have done(I'll drop a hint, no fainting female flies in sight!) and even the pace is snappier. The voice work is very good, with John Hurt the standout as older Sammy.

All in all, much better than expected. Beautiful to watch and much more appealing to a family audience than Stassen's previous effort. 8/10 Bethany Cox

It has beautiful scenery, vivid animation and voice-over. In general it keeps you engaged and is quite enjoyable. It is appropriate for kids and doesn't have any violence or bad influence. I prefer to watch simple, beautiful movies like this with my kids; rather than many other movies that are filled with desire, violence, and pornography. However, I think the theme is not clear. It is a mixture of love story, environmental concerns, and searching for your own dreams; but those themes don't come together to compliment each other. To me, the theme of the movie is the most important thing, that is the message you want to deliver. So I only gave it 6 out of 10.