Ginger Meggs

I saw a lot of this movie being made, in fact I met Ginger Meggs and other characters whilst the movie was being made. I have friends and relatives in the movie also, which makes the movie a personal favorite.

Set in and around the township's of Mittagong and Bowral in the Southern Highlands of NSW, this is a true Aussie film, filmed in one of the most picturesque parts of Australia. It holds a special place in my heart, just like another movie that is also filmed in Robertson in the Highlands, Babe. I guess it takes me back to simpler days, where children were easily entertained and having fun with friends mean't riding push bikes and making mud pies :)

I have been trying to find a copy of this movie for years, but have had no luck! If anyone is lucky enough to find this movie please let me know. :)

Loved this movie growing up. Knew a couple of the actors as kids, whilst growing up in the. 80s in Sydney The memories / nostalgia and sets are great.

Producers did a great job making a 1930s Sydney Suburb of Hornsby (where Ginger grew up) . Bowral still looks the same. The bridge where Ginger pulls up the cart is still there , the lake setting in Mittagong etc etc. The school still looks the same, (other than the fencing ) . The use of vintage cars pony carts etc is great and the extras are dressed in detailed perfect tine period clothing

That corner / ice cream bar construction set was well made , should have been kept - it looked that great.

The child acting is poor , and comes over as they are reading a book with no full stops. Minimal emotion But the script isn't the best , some lines don't make sense relating to the movie .

Coogan - Daniel Cumerford is the best child actor , with Mini the worse Meggs / Paul Daniel has minimal charisma

RIP - Daniel Cumerford.

Most just loved the amazing look of this Aussie eccentric: John Seale (OSCAR for The English Patient) shot it in what was then a very surreal visual style... wild revue acting with a great cast of character actors also made it a lot of fun and it did very well in Oz according to box office figures...the young actors did their best competing with a very stylish set and some Big Top scenes that tended to overwhelm the whole shebang at times. Many of the actors went on to star in other things (John Wood has become a legend in the TV series Blue Heelers, which make the whole movie a rather historic time capsule.

But above all, the sheer high spirited energy and great look of the art direction and cinematography as well as a totally over the top rock(?) soundtrack -when you'd think a mouth organ would have done the job- make this a real and underestimated keeper. But GM never got a DVD release...why?

Anyone who grew up reading the antics of Ginger Meggs in their morning newspaper will no doubt be intrigued to see his adventures transferred to the big screen. Ginger Meggs, like Fatty Finn, is an Australian institution. This movie is not likely to become one though. To be sure, it looks good. The film makers have gone to a lot of trouble to get the look of the movie correct. There is a cast that includes cameos by some great Aussie acting stalwarts too. That's not to say the acting is good in this. Some is, most isn't. Unfortunately, that's all that can be said in this movie's favour. Sadly, the producers have gone for buffoonery rather than any real attempt at humour here. The plot is a bit of a mess and there is an absolutely horrendous soundtrack of completely forgettable and tedious songs that don't fit in with the film's aesthetic or time period at all. (The actual era this is set in isn't mentioned, however it is mentioned in one scene that Princess Elizabeth is heir to the throne, so we know it is set sometime between 1926 and 1952). This movie's worst downfall, however, is that it is pretty dull. My kids, who didn't grow up reading Ginger Meggs, lost interest about half way through. I stayed with it out of loyalty to the character and in the interest of nostalgia, but I was pretty pleased when it came to a conclusion. Five stars for effort.

Having worked as a projectionist during an L.A. Film Market way back around 1982 (LA- the Tiffany on Sunset Strip), I had the thrill of showing this bit of Aussie weirdness one day. Yeah, there's quite not-so-subtle cultural differences, but who can tell what. Must've been something I ate, like mushrooms or some forbidden fruit, 'cause this oddity left me befuddled but amused by the intense (and I do mean intense) beyondo color palette employed. Quirky and surreal, this baby never made it onto the American market. Someone out there has to have seen this one, too, please tell me, anyone.... Strange but not terribly fascinating. Had the same experience with a 3-D wonder called "Rottweiller," which has somehow slipped under the radar and been on TV. If "Ginger" shows anywhere, watch this truly bizarre kids film unfold in all of its pre-Pee-Wee near Fellini-esque glory.