Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de)
"Second Star to the Left" is a British animated short film from 2001, so this one had its 15th anniversary last year, but they really went the retro path here in terms of the animation, which means this one looks a lot older than it is, maybe as if it is from the 1980s even. The people who made this "behind the camera" may be fairly prolific filmmakers, but the names won't ring any bell. The names of the voice cast, however, possibly will because these are three big name actors from the UK, most of all Hugh Laurie of course. For everybody else, you can check the cast and crew list. Anyway, this is the story of three little rodent animals and their stressful and dangerous, but also important journey to see Santa Claus. The main antagonist here is a cat, obviously a hungry one looking at how thin she is. But yeah, it is a Christmas special, so nobody gets eaten. Took me a while to really get into this, but when I finally did, I enjoyed it. The landscape animation and sceneries all look very nice. The character animation I am a bit more critical on. The hamster is fine, so are the humans, the cat and guinea-pig I can get used to, the rabbit however I am really struggling with. The voice acting was quite good and same goes for the music towards the end. The story as a whole is fine too, but not as great as I had hoped. Maybe I just wanted it to be awesome as guinea-pigs are the greatest creatures ever and severely underrepresented in film and here we finally got one. But still, it was a decent watch, especially in the second half. I give it a thumbs-up and say it's worth including in your list for what to watch during the upcoming Christmas season.
Dr-Richard-Kimble
I am 22 years old but this magical movie will still have me feeling like a nipper who gasps at the thought of Christmas wishes.I will imagine myself on some Christmas adventure trying to save the day. If you have a chance to watch this film you will be a better person for it. The characters in this film are so enjoyable that my Christmas wish would be to turn into a courageous Ginni pig.Enjoy Christmas the way you remembered it as a child with movie that moves you10 out 0f 10 for this Christmas Cracker
crazy_child_of_the_south
This has been shown the past few christmases and is the most adorable little programme.I am 14 but still enjoy it so much.It is an enjoyable bit of Christmas TV pudding! When you watch it you can imagine the snow falling around you outside and a warm log fire blazing.The characters are adorable from the home loving guinea pig, Duke to Archie the rabbit who longs for adventure. You love them all. The pigeons are also great (you'll understand when you watch it)This is a great Christmas show for the young and young at heart. I highly recommend this!:)
