L'ultimo dei Moicani

This is an Australian production - generally available at the $1.00 bin at Stop & Shop. Worth every penny, and more so.

IT makes a good effort to tell the story without overly romanticizing it, but there are some questionable, even amusing errors that run through it.

Natty Bumpo is dressed like a Tennessee frontiersman, complete with southern drawl and coonskin cap. Now figures like Bumpo are the model for later romantic characters of popular literature, but goes a bit too far. Also, a young George Washington is placed in Fort William Henry as Munro's aide, which a bit of a hike from the areas where he actually served.

Cooper mangled much of the history and ethnography, so it would be stingy to begrudge the Aussies for fooling around, so I give it a 7.

I have enjoyed a lot of Burbank Film Australia's animations. The Last of the Mohicans is not among the best or worst of the studio but does its job well for the target audience. I do think the character designs could have been less crude at times and I didn't care much for Natty Bumpo's appearance or voice, it seemed like a cliché to me. However, if you just ignore the fact that history is literally thrown out of the window here, then it is entertaining fun. The backgrounds are smooth and colourful on the whole, while the music is rousing. The writing is witty with some wisdom and poignancy as well, and the story does well in maintaining interest in such a short running time without feeling rushed. The characterisations are mostly interesting, while the voice work is on the most part solid.

All in all, a fun entry from Burbank's resume, could have been better but does well with what it has. 8/10 Bethany Cox