FRED Watch Quickie Film Review: The Gruffalo (2009)
NO SUCH THING?
I’m a Fulya Kantarmaci and welcome to FRED Watch, where we review everything from the mainstream to the obscure. Today’s film is the animated short The Gruffalo…
Magic Light Pictures / Studio Soi
Based on Julia Donaldson’s children’s book, The Gruffalo is a short animated made-for-television film about a mouse who goes into the woods in search of food. On his way, he crosses paths with a fox, an owl, and a snake. All three think the little brown mouse would be good to eat. To their surprise, the mouse has a great imagination and tells them about a monster he makes up just to escape their clutches.
“Don’t they know, there’s no such thing as a Gruffalo!”
The Gruffalo is quite the adorable animation and very different to most other animated films that I have watched in my time. The visual style is unique and resembles claymation. The CGI used to create it works really well and it has a lovely aesthetic.
I enjoyed the innocence of the story and is definitely aimed at a younger audience around the five- to eight-year-old range. Although, I must say, there are a couple of moments that might seem a little scary for the kids but nothing they can’t handle.
Helena Bonham Carter does a wonderful job narrating as the mother squirrel with a calmness in her voice. James Cordon, for the first time according to me, doesn’t actually sound like himself when voicing the mouse. I was kind of relieved, actually! It made the story more interesting and I was engaged the whole way through.
Parents, if you need a short break from the little ones, chuck on The Gruffalo, it will give you twenty-seven minutes of uninterrupted quietness (at least I hope so). And remember, there’s no such thing as a Gruffalo! 3 / 5
Starring: Helena Bonham Carter, Rob Brydon, Robbie Coltrane, James Corden, John Hurt, Tom Wilkinson.
Directors: Max Lang, Jakob Schuh | Writers: Julia Donaldson, Axel Scheffler (based on The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson) | Producers: Martin Pope, Michael Rose | Music: René Aubry | Cinematotgraphers: Ulli Hadding, Hubert Märkl | Editor: Robin Sales
Let us know what you thought of this film in the comments!
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