Monsieur Bout-de-Bois

Stick Man is an endearing adaptation of Julia Donaldson's children's book featuring the voices of Martin Freeman, Sally Hawkins and Hugh Bonneville. It remains faithful to the rhyming text.

Stick Man lives in the family tree with his family. Stick lady and stick kids or should they be twigs?

However while he is out for a jog he gets snatched by a dog and there begins a series of events leading him to be taken further away from home and seemingly no chance of finding his way back to the family tree as the seasons come and go. Luckily for Stick Man there is a festive tinged ending in sight for him.

Stick man takes a lot of knocks in this heart-warming CGI cartoon adaptation but he is a kindly soul but at a loss as to why people do not see him as a person but just as a stick.

As a slightly cynical parent it is easy to be dismissive of these types of Christmas day special cartoons but I found this to be charming.

My two and a half year old grandson absolutely loves this movie and watches it on a regular basis. It teaches some good lessons for youngsters and the characters make sense to young children. I find the gentle voices are just right and the story line progresses at a rate young children can easily follow. I have watched it several times and as yet I have not got bored with it as there is so much to point out to my grandson. With another one on the way. I think I shall be watching it for a few years yet!

I've not read this book but recently watched this with my toddler. Knowing it comes from the same place as Room on the Broom, and most recently, Zog, I was surprised that it had quite a downbeat tone. Essentially the plot sees Stick Man getting into bad situations, each one taking him further from home and into greater danger. I was surprised on watching that it wasn't lighthearted, it wasn't funny but that it played quite dark. Okay it has the rhyming dialogue that these type of things have, and the animation was rounded and likeable, but the material had that tone to it, and there weren't any laughs to break it up.

Reflecting back, it maybe played well for what it did, because it produced something based on danger and loss, but did it in this animated way that was easier to digest. I can imagine children being a bit saddened, before the magic of the end produces a happy ending, but they will not be overly frightened or threatened by it. My toddler understood the importance of Stick Man's family, and why his situation was bad, but she didn't get upset or bored by it - in this way I think the balance was good and the film's tone carried it off well. Not one of these films that I'll come back to loads, but an interesting change from the other BBC/Donaldson animations.

A fun little toon that made me feel happy, just like it should for a 44 year old haha, I'm still a kid at heart and most kids will probably love it.

This is a delightful short film and it's nice to watch with the kids. Its visual storytelling is impressive and the music is quite moving. Highly rrecommend recommend.