mickeycz

This program combines seasoned professional character actors with child actors who portray children. The mix of the two is done very well in that each episode Just let me say I've become a tremendous fan of Raquel Cassidy as Miss Hardbroom with her over the top badness. Bella Ramsey was Lyanna Mormont in GOT so she is also a very talented, very young actress. The children in the program remain children, thank God. The writing is not so cliched that I can recite dialogue along with the characters as happens pretty often in mediocre fare. Books were published well before Harry Potter and I suspect JK Rowling read them in her youth since some ideas could have been poached, even on the subconscious level. This is a bright spot for children's programming, the best of which adults simply gobble up! It's entertaining!

From the first moments of viewing it was obvious this film had a lot going for it. I enjoy cinematography, which can either be art, often capitalized, or not art. This film is Art. I also like to see the budget captured on film. This did it for me. The editing had a few things I could quibble with, but that is often too subjective, unless there are glaring errors we've all seen before, such as inadvertent inconsistencies from one cut to the next. The script was excellent. And as to the music? The use of Beethoven at opening and close with the movie motifs were just a fabulous homage to the movies from someone who must be a genuine admirer of the craft of film-making and the stories they can tell. The rest fit the scenarios well. Story telling was a theme of the film, switching back and forth from the various tales of the present, the past and the fantasy tale of the bandits. The actors were superb, and even though the adults all had to contend with the dreaded acting with an adorable child issue they carried it off. And the child was adorable and totally believable flitting about the hospital and being the new best friend of some of the characters. Innocence captured on film is not often seen, but there it was. Obviously this took years to make, so the youngster's scenes must have been shot early or she would have visibly matured. It was lavish and large and beautiful to watch and a nice story, well executed, with a travelogue included of every continent. Lovely acting, marvelous costuming, and hit on all my personal buttons in a positive way. I recommend this film to anyone.