Perri

This was gripping. Always wanted to watch a film about a squirrel. Can finally tick that one off! Disney's "true life fantasy" was quite effective in its portrayal of the life of Perri and her lover, Porro. After all, who doesn't create their own stories and narratives when watching wildlife documentaries?

It has a bit of everything:

• Squirrel romance and dodgy 'home' renos
• Beaver chewing down a tree with a squirrel in it
• Raccoons and skunks brawling
• A skunk joining a raccoon family by mistake
• The cosiest squirrel den ever
• A psychedelic dream sequence
• A magpie poking a squirrel on the ass
• Raccoons fishing
• "The face of death"

It definitely showcases the cycle of life and was a bit sad in parts. There's certainly a lot of bad things out to get you in life and Perri doesn't shy away from it. It also features a wildfire sequence sure to trigger fellow Australians after we lost 1 billion animals to our bushfire crisis earlier in 2020.

Ultimately, I really liked this and found myself smiling and laughing throughout. Go Perri!

Perri is a beautiful movie. It features wonderfully developed characters and some excellent cinematography. What makes Perris stand out above the newer Disney movies is that all of the animals are real. No animation here! Instead we get an intimate look into the life of a cute little squirrel. Who knew squirrels got into so much trouble?!?

There are a lot of very interesting nature shots in this movie, some quite beautiful. It is not an animated movie, like Bambi, and does not approach the truly remarkable beauty of that movie. But there's a lot to enjoy here, if you ignore the one musical number about couples, which is not at the level of the rest of the movie.

I would say that this might not be appropriate for small children, but then, as I still remember almost 60 years later, seeing Bambi was very frightening for little children as well. There are a LOT of scenes of animals hunting other animals, and sometimes they catch them. There is no focus on limbs being ripped off corpses or anything gruesome like that, of course, but you do see wildcats carrying off rabbits, etc. If you feel this would unduly upset your child, you might want to have a talk about nature's ways before letting your child see it.

I honestly was about to turn this one off when I looked over and my cat was SUPER into it. And who am I to argue with his expertise?

Half-documentary/half-fantasy on the life cycle of a female squirrel named Perri, surviving the seasons in the forest, even falling in love! This superb family film was initially to be part of Walt Disney's continuing True-Life Adventures series, yet is (arguably) improved upon with the additions of plot, comedic effects, and a beautiful squirrel-dream sequence. The photography is superb, the bemused narration enjoyable, and (as always) Disney underscores the rote stretches with blissful music. Perhaps a bit lengthy for some viewers, but bright children should really enjoy it. Quite entertaining! *** from ****