Now, I'm not really a fan of kid's films, but there are some ones I like. This is more a kids and adults film too, real family orientated. Watching this little beauty, I reflected on my days when I was twelve. Poor little bucktoothed Orville, is going through that difficult preteen stage. It doesn't help, when you're singled out either. Orville (Navin) is a cutish nerd, whose studies are being neglected, where he's totally preoccupied with building model planes. He daydreams during classes, has no friends, and suffers at the hands of an slightly older bully, something else, I similarly identify with at that age. The bully here is a rotund guy called Spider, who has his little posse, do his dirty work. An old ex squadron pilot, Harry (Poole) probably famous once, but seeing his other 3 mates in similar garb, through a couple of imaginary scenes, could tell us otherwise, well, he forms a friendship with Orville. He encourages Harry to finally revamp an old tiger moth plane, he gave up on, where it's been left in the shed too long. Orville's biggest dream finally comes true, when he becomes airborne. That's inspiration. Tale Of A Tiger is an inspiring movie. Young, old, in between, will all like it. The kids are real, this is how young kids act, and the young actors give naturalistic, not over the top or even acted performances. Poole is fun as The Old frumpy ex squadron pilot, while Navin is just excellent as Orville. It has a hot addition, Caz Lederman, as Orville's mother, where I somehow feel, she was wasted in this. I remember having a huge crush on her, when I was twelve, during her Holiday Island days. Not much screen time is shed by her, here. Though slightly bland, the obscurely known TOTT is an Oz kid's pic, not to be missed, and should certainly be watched. Some beautiful scores, and some nice streets of inner city, Balmain.
