Tarka the Otter

Tarka the Otter is a perhaps dark and bleak film, but I also think it is a poignant one too. And above all in my opinion, it is wonderful. Tarka the Otter is a beautifully filmed movie, the cinematography is lovely and the scenery is gorgeous, and it is appropriately scored too with some very pretty and haunting themes. The narration is both droll and literate and the story is touching. Tarka is adorable and Peter Ustinov is absolutely brilliant in this film with his distinctive voice serving him well. Oh and the ending has me bawling, even after countless times of seeing the film. The film may be a little overlong perhaps, but it is a wonderful movie all the same and well worth catching. 9/10 Bethany Cox

This movie follows the life-story of an otter. There is no animation, a minimum of human characters, hardly any dialogue and no silly anthropomorphizing of animals or any embarrassing animal stunts. The film is based around the impeccable footage of animals interacting with one another and their environment, and the rich narration by Peter Ustinov of a genuinely meaningful tale of an animal.

Another reviewer has mentioned that this film should not be shown to children as certain sad/cruel aspects of the story would be upsetting for them. I can't disagree more. This video-tape was watched and re-watched by my siblings and I through our early childhood and we loved it. There are moments of joy and hilarity mixed with poignant and tragic occurrences, BUT nothing that a child can't handle. Certainly nothing worse then Bambi's mother getting shot, Simba's Dad being killed in a stampede or Nemo's mother and siblings being eaten by another carnivorous fish! This movie is a classic, and certainly a genuine feat of film-making. One of the best uses of Peter Ustinov's glorious wit and rumbling voice I have ever seen on film.

I watched this as a 5-6 year old. I also loved "Animals are Beautiful People," "The Glacier Fox," "Three Warriors," "Watership Down," "Black Beauty," and "Hambone and Hillie." I find "Tarka" is similar to the new Meerkat Manor on AP. It is based on real-life behaviors and issues in daily life. Tarka and other movies in my list also dealt with animal cruelty and poaching/ hunting practices. And I agree with the person who mentioned Bambi and the Lion King's graphic content. Sure, it's animated, but I have had to explain "why did such and such happen" when I've watched "nemo" and "the lion king" with my students who knew nothing of animal life. I learned a helluva lot more about animals and respect for life watching Tarka and other wildlife films, including the Wonderful World of Disney doc's the Disney channel used to show late at night, than many adults know now. Sure, it was sad and heart-wrenching in places, but I never needed a course in anger management or counseling. My only questions to my parents were in regards to the humans and why did the people do the things they did.

This film is a classic, beautifully made and yes its upsetting. I sat with my 4 year old little girl and explained it to her, and she was in wonderment at it and although a little upset - she enjoyed it. She learnt more from this film than she will ever do if even if she watched 100 Disney fantasies. I'm fed up with parents wanting to shield their children from every tiny little thing that might cause them upset. As a child I baled by eyes out at the cruelty to black beauty it didn't do me any harm - it taught be humanity and compassion!!!!!!These days children's films fail to challenge children - its all fantasy - I think this is more worrying.

A rather odd family orientated film, it is narrated by Peter Ustinov in an awkward documentary-like fashion, with terms that may be too complex for younger viewers, although the story is a bit simple for any older viewers. There is some good scenic photography and a few clever close-ups on animals, plus the accompanying music is quite nice, but the film suffers from a lack of proper characters and dialogue, which causes me to wonder whether the film would have been better told in some form of animation with talking animals. The story could have also done with some humorous touches, but as flawed as it may well be, it still a highly unique film, and it does have a fairly good technical side.