Le Petit Gruffalo

What a cast! Some amazing voice talent on show, but we don't get that much of them, unfortunately. The animation isn't quite top notch, but the story is wonderfully engaging, with rich characters. Definitely recommended for all ages and family members.

I have been going to the theater on a pilgrimage for quite a few years now each January-February to see the annual showings of the Best Animated and Best Live Action Shorts. I am lucky enough to live in one of the few places in the country that shows it each year. And, along with the nominated films, they usually show several commended films--animated films which didn't make the final cut but which are well worth seeing.

The final commended film shown in this viewing was "The Gruffalo's Child". I must admit that I don't understand the Gruffalo films. They are slickly made but the films never really excited me and seem purely of interest to small kids. HOWEVER, when I went to Europe (where the stories originated), I went in quite a few bookstores and saw HUGE displays of the books. Clearly, the kids in Europe love those Gruffalos!! I may sound very selfish in saying this, but although this film was nice, I wish they hadn't picked it since I'd already seen "The Gruffalo" during a similar screening last year (or was it the year before?) and it was by far the longest of the shorts shown this year. So, this means other wonderful films made by smaller film makers didn't get to be seen because they showed this one. Surely, the Gruffalo folks appreciated the exposure but also didn't NEED it nearly as much as the struggling artists whose work COULD have been shown. And, at almost a half hour, two or three other shorts could have been shown instead. Just my two cents worth. A good film but a familiar one as well.

Essentially reversing the plot of the original Gruffalo short, this time the squirrel tells her children a tale about the Gruffalo's child going into the woods to seek out the fearsome mouse that her father uses as a warning not to wander off. As before each animal encountered points the child onwards to a new threat and as before the result is a cute and enjoyable little short film even if it never really excels in a great deal. It probably helped by enjoyment that I recorded this and watched it later on Christmas Day – and did so after watching the rather disappointing and heartless Doctor Who special. In stark contrast this film is simple, quite warming and very easy to watch with its rhyming dialogue and simple characters.

It perhaps lacks the Pixar sense of humour or a cynical edge to appeal to adults specifically but it is hard to dislike it for just how simple a tale it is. The animation is impressive but yet retains the feel of a children's book – I feel no shame in admitting that I was watching this in a dressing gown at the end of a day of wine and food and it felt oddly comforting to be sitting being told this wholesome and simple little tale. The dialogue works well in this effect with it repetition and rhyming nature while the voice cast from the first film mostly return. Most of them only have a few lines apart from Shirley Henderson, who plays her usual "odd Scottish waif" role really well as the child – she was a good bit of casting and brought a lot of character to the child. As before Corden mercifully underplays and does good as the mouse.

Overall The Gruffalo's Child is not really worthy of comparison to that other animated Christmas favourite of Wallace and Gromit, but it engagingly pleasing in its simplicity and good-natured telling. It is written for young children but yet the film felt warming and easy for me in my mid-30's; how it would stand up on a bright summer's day I don't know, but as a nice little family film it worked really well on Christmas Day.

Nice story about curiosity and survive. About childhood and search behind legend. And soul of legend. A naive story about basic things. In the skin of evening tale but seductive for animation, game of snow, remember of lost age and moral. For short dialogs and small ambitions. For old fashion flavor. And for memories about another meetings of heroes with the secrets or monsters. In fact, a kind of hot tea. With lemon, cookies and a sunny morning. Or a piece of chocolate or a milk cup. Or fly of a bird. After complicated projects of Disney or Pixar revolution, it is an oasis far from universal movies or box office star.And this is secret of its success. Courage to be only a story of a clever mouse and a Gruffalo in search of truth Nothing more.

As a big animation fan, I loved The Gruffalo's Child. It is not quite as good as The Gruffalo, which I also loved, but of all the programmes airing over the Christmas break The Gruffalo's Child stood out as one of the treasures. The animation is true to the illustrations and looks superb with sophisticated backgrounds and colours that look simply beautiful. The rhyming dialogue is droll and sometimes amusing, delighting any child, adult or even family watching, and the story while simple is very charming and heart-warming, in short effective in its simplicity. I loved the cute(and never cloying) characters as well, and the voice cast was great especially from Shirley Henderson, who was very whimsical and moving as the Child. Overall, wonderful. 9/10 Bethany Cox