VHS : The Pebble And The Penguin [1996]

Rating: - This is one of the best animated films that I've ever seen.
I began to watch this film without expecting much. Admittedly, it does not feature the best animation, but that is not the most important feature in an animated film. It's not the 'Lion King' or 'Dinasaur', but I don't think that it was meant to be. The story is about a love triangle between a good-guy penguin named Hubie, his sweetheart Marina and the egotistical and pompous Drake - this penguin is willing to stoop or bully his way to any level to marry Marina, who is not very interested in him. Hubie must beat the clock to find the most precious pebble and make it back in time, braving all kinds of weather and challenging situations in order to wed Marina. This love-triangle theme of the film was not too 'grown-up', was handled well, and is suitable for children of all ages.

The film is both sad (without being too over-the-top) and funny. The dialogue between the characters is both original and hilarious, and the film in general is very wacky, as were some of the songs. Drake's over-the-top rendition of "Don't make me laugh" had me splitting my sides. James Belushi's characterization of Rocko was perfectly fitted to his natural humour and temperament, and Tim Curry did a great job of Drake. This film is the perfect example of not expecting much from a film, but getting everything. If you like a lot of fun, you will probably love this film.

---

Rating: - Dire
Nowadays audiences have been spoilt by the exquisite animation of 'The Lion King' or 'Toy Story', so this incredibly poorly made film will come as quite a culture shock. Produced only 5 years ago, it looks like it has been dug up from the Ark, long before the sophisticated artwork of Disney or the luxury of CGI.

The film is an Irish-Welsh-Hungarian-Turkish co-production. And it shows. The storyline is fractured and unclear, many dance numbers building up to nothing, with a meandering narrative that goes nowhere very slowly. The different groups of animators seem totally unaware of each other's style, and the film varies dramatically in picture quality, even within individual scenes.

The animation is at times appalling. Endless scenes with just two characters talking against a neutral background dominate the film, and the few impressive moments are quickly extinguished by moments of excruciating amateurishness the next. The voices are not particularly impressive either.

That said, my two children enjoyed it very much (bar the long, totally inappropriate 'musical' title sequence) and in its own primitive way I suppose it just about passes an hour and a quarter. But there is a lot better out there - an awful lot.