Les aventuriers du timbre perdu

I always enjoy watching this movie again and again, although I'm in my thirties: To my mind, "Tommy Tricker" always manages to bring back to me nice memories of my youth (what might be true for other adults as well). I even recall the first time I watched it: it was the Summer of 1991 (probably the first time "Tommy Tricker" was aired on an Italian television, but I may be wrong). I remember I felt that every character was so sympathetic and easy to agree with, that I immediately loved the movie. In fact, at that age (more or less 15), I was a little awkward in the same way as Ralph was, and I would have liked to have been more self-confident like Tommy (incidentally, Lucas Evans and Anthony Rogers act great, with just minor flaws, which - in my opinion – contribute to render the movie even more realistic). Moreover, I must admit it's always a pleasure to hear different English accents (mainly Canadian and Australian) as is possible in this movie: being a non-native speaker of English I always appreciate it when I can "feel" these differences, which are easy to catch, since, in this case, the linguistic level is not that difficult. To sum up: congratulations to the director and... too bad that the young actors didn't go on acting (at least, to the best of my knowledge).

I just watched this movie for the first time in seven years. I found the o.g. VHS my mom taped when it first came out, and it had me laughing the whole way through the movie. dragons, kangaroos, boomerangs, stamps, postcards, and a aborigine playing a didgeree-doo. The guys in the stamp shop were awesome. Tell them to tell her to them nothing. It sucks that I can't find a newer copy of it where I am at. But I'll have to say it is the best movie I have seen in a long time. My cat Hitler gives the movie four paws up cause he sat through with me and watched it the whole time. Anyone up for some sardine sandwiches. How about a ride on the back of a horse, or a dragon, or behind a kangaroo.

My review was written in May 1988 after a Cannes Film Festival Market screening.

"Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveller" is a delightful children's fantasy which tackles the unusual screen topic of stamp collecting. The seventh entry in producer Rock Demers' "Tales for All" film series will entertain and edify smallfry and have some interest for older philatelists as well.

Writer-director Michael Rubbo has peppered the feature with concise and accurate descriptions of stamp terminology as well as collecting methods and interests. This educational material is interwoven painlessly with the fictional story.

Tommy Tricker (nicely essayed by Anthony Rogers) is a young prankster who finagles a rare stamp variety worth several hundred dollars from his friend Ralph, taken from Ralph's dad's collection. Ralph (Lucas Evans) and his sister Nancy (Jill Stanley) try to get it back from the local stamp store where Tommy sold it, but end up with a 1928 collection instead.

Inside the 1928 album they find a little boy's letter and magical rhymes to be chanted that will reduce the sende to miniature size, in order to travel around the world on the stamps on letters. A rare collection is said to await the sender at an address in Australia.

Ralph undertakes the mission and has colorful and atmospheric adventures shot on location in China and Sydney. Pic carefully demonstrates the romance of philately by using fantasy to concretely depict the sublimated travel to faraway lands.

The kids are cute and tech credits first-rate. Rubbo stages a novel and amusing foot chase in a mall midway through the film and keeps the action moving. Animated effects and rotoscoping for the process of miniaturization and return to normal size are nicely done.

This was THE movie of my youth, yet none of my childhood friends have heard of it, let alone seen it. I suppose this Canadian production was released straight to video in Australia though, so probably no wonder.

The story revolves around Ralph, an avid stamp collector, and his sister Nancy, who stumble across a mysterious collection that reveals a secret method of traveling across the world on a stamp. Yes, that's right. The traveller repeats a certain chant then shrinks to a hundredth of his or her size, then literally falls into the stamp.

Ralph decides to journey to Australia in hopes of uncovering a missing stamp collection for his dad, but after a series of misadventures, is misdirected to China by the local prankster, Tommy Tricker, who wants to find the expensive collection himself. The rest of the movie relates Ralph's stay in China, and the confrontation between he and Tommy in Australia.

This is a really enjoyable film. I know it's meant for elderly children, but I think anyone below 24 would be pleasantly surprised.

Tommy Tricker reminds a bit of a more abrasive Joey Jeremiah from Degrassi High!

This family adventure movie, produced in Canada, was released when I was two years old, before any of my earliest memories (I think). I obviously didn't see it when it was brand new, but remember seeing a lot of it several times in the 90's. However, I don't recall ever watching it right to the end in my childhood, as I could never remember how it ended. At 23 years old, I've finally gotten around to seeing "Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveller", the whole film, from start to finish, after not seeing any part of it for maybe around fifteen years. This probably wouldn't have happened if I hadn't remembered it from my childhood. I thought much of the movie was reasonable, thanks to the humour, but eventually, it got a little tiring.

Ralph James and his con artist friend, Tommy Tricker, are both elementary school kids who collect stamps. Tommy likes to use stamps as a way to swindle his peers, and even does this at school, until Albert, the leader of the stamp club, stops him. Unfortunately, when Tommy comes over to Ralph's house one day, Ralph becomes another one of his victims. Tommy tricks him into trading one of his dad's rare stamps, and Ralph doesn't realize he's been tricked until the young schemer is on his way, and it's too late! Ralph knows he will be in trouble when his dad finds out, and his sister, Nancy, decides to help him try and get it back or find a replacement. After failed attempts, the siblings discover how to magically shrink and travel inside a stamp, and Ralph decides to do just that, in a search to find Charles Merriweather, a stamp traveler who has been missing for 75 years!

This movie is not billed as a comedy, but I probably wouldn't be able to give it an above average rating if it weren't for the times I laughed. I think many people would agree that the film clearly has more for kids than adults, with a storyline that could easily bore adults. I can't forget such comedic highlights as the way Albert tells Tommy to stop swindling other students with stamps, Ralph locking himself up while his dad tries to get him to come out, and the chase through the mall (featuring an early appearance from Rufus Wainwright, years before his music career took off). I did not care much for Tommy as a character, with some of the things he does, such as the prank he pulls on Albert early in the film. Mind you, even that character can be funny at times. Unfortunately, in the end, the humour is not consistent enough to carry the film, and to me, the film seemed a little overlong. If it were shorter, I might be able to rate it 7/10, instead of 6, but as it is, I can't say I highly recommend it for adults.