Hildegarde

This reminded me of an Enid Blyton book - Famous 5 or Secret 7 where the mum's at work & the kids have the most amazing adventures during the day, getting back in time for mum to say "OK, bathtime everyone". Really cute movie, very enjoyable, lots of fun, great for kids and parents too.

This film reminded me of the sort of thing we'd see at Saturday Morning Kids club; independent 'ordinary' children, trying to solve their own problems and taking on the 'baddies'.

Its plot is built around a widow, her 3 children and a duck. Whilst mum is trying to hold down a job the children try to help. Enter a bird-poacher whose dream is to own a beach-bar. In order to finance his scheme, with his young side-kick, he catches and sells exotic birds. The duck is kidnapped for use in his decoy operation - a wildlife sideshow. All the children want is their duck back.

Richard E Grant plays the obnoxious Wolf, a scruffy bully, with a high opinion of his ability to impress the opposite sex and a low opinion about everything else.

Enough to say it's a good film that hits its target audience without leaving adults cringing (except at the state of REG's feet!). It's a shame that it could not have had a general cinema release. My children were rivetted and I was pleased that, for once, they weren't watching a cartoon.

Richard E Grant is excellent as the bad guy. Great acting from the kids and an excellent story and script. Recommended for younger kids. Adults will be moved by the story as well.

This isn't a big-production movie. It didn't hit the top of box office sales. It isn't glamorous. But it is a great film.

It is a great movie, not only because it is clean, without harsh or unnecessary violence, without sex, without swearing, and without other vice, but it also gives a good real-world portrayal of life. TV shows and movies almost always show families that are upper-middle-class. The family in this movie is much more realistic. They're not rich, they don't come from influential families, they aren't out-of-the-ordinary. That may sound like a bad thing, but it really is good, as it teaches viewers of all ages that money and prominence aren't everything.

The West Wing, for example, involves staffers of the White House. Government employees do not get paid much, and real White House Staffers have commented that in real life, they can't afford the expensive clothes as seen on the show. Hildegarde doesn't try to make such pretensions. The main character, a very-goodlooking Chris, is seen wearing a shirt that even has a hole.

The plot generally is about kids who venture out to get back their duck, and that of course isn't usual in normal people's lives, but it is still done realistically -- the kids aren't mutants with mighty morphin abilities or anything silly like that.

Yes, this is supposed to be a kids movie, but I'm 21, and I love it. I'm not a weird sort of 21-year-old. I do watch Family Guy and The Simpsons. I almost never see any PG or G movies. I'm not in the target demographic for this movie, but I like it anyway.

My Friend and I refused to watch anymore of this movie.This was For three major reasons.1> It had a bad story line.2> was very badly shot(with a lot of cruddy camera work).3> all the actors were TERRIBLE.Especially Wolf and little girl.But generally everyone over-acted.Hildegarde was a great letdown to me, but I guess alright for the kiddies as they will like the really bad baddies and the really good goodies.But from my point of view a very lazy film that I could of probably done if I tried.All in all-If you're into crummy movies that have a clichéd plot ( or if you may be a kid). . .than this one is for you!