Troll Bridge

I'm a massive Terry Pratchett fan, and adaptations of his work have been pretty hit or miss. Given that this was crowd-funded 'fanart' I expected some corners to be cut for expense and expediency.

Not So.

This is a labor of love, and the love shines out of every scene.

Cohen leaps off the page into the gorgeous scenery and cinematography. His horse, as in the short-story, is the perfect companion the the ancient barbarian/hero.

Now, the Trolls, who live under the titular bridge. The voices and acting are enchanting. The looks, while not what I picture while reading the trolls of Discworld, are reminiscent of the 1986 David Bowie film 'Labyrinth' creatures. Others have said they're reminded of video game characters or cartoons. I say, Yes? So? It all works! I especially liked the changing eyes. Watch for them.

I will watch this many times!

Pratchett's humor and humanity are showcased beautifully here. Job well done!

An Adventurous ageing Warrior considers how the world has changed and how he might survive. His heart has softened but his cunning remains sharp as ever. A stunning adaptation of Terry Pratchett's short story.

This was a labour of love and it shows. Even the horse gave it's best, the mouth movements were not cgi. A faithful adaptation of the short story.

Full disclosure, I am a small backer of this effort and a huge Terry Pratchett fan. It is a clearly a labour of love and for the most part works. Moving even a short story to screen is not for the faint of heart, when you are dealing with Sir Terry's works, doubly so. So much of the joy of his books is in subtle observations and turns of phrase, almost impossible to translate to film. The makers of this possess the most important ingredient, they "get" Sir Terry. The characters were true to the source material, Cohen was exactly as I would have imagined and brilliantly played. The complete and utter lack of respect for the troll by his wife is a universal theme. The main characters both convey the attitude of "why do I keep getting out bed every morning when nobody seems to care anymore" perfectly. Yet they do, and at the end the "three names" gives Cohen a purpose again and left me thinking, I want to see that. Three people are about to have a very bad day.

There are some negatives, but in the context of budget they are not, the CGI is not a Hollywood big budget, but the budget wasn't Hollywood. If you had handed these guys the tools and team available to Peter Jackson would it have looked even better? Yes, but would the story have been better-no.

When it ended, I was disappointed, but only in that I wanted more. I sincerely hope this allows the team to access more funding and more projects.

This is what a Discworld adaptation should be like. Too bad The Watch doesn't have a production team with these standards.