Borserie it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

Donald Seymour This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Hellmant 'THE GRUFFALO': Three Stars (Out of Five) The longest of the Oscar animated short films this year, this one is a thirty minute adaptation of a children's book (of the same name) written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. The film was adapted by Donaldson, Jakob Schuh and Max Lang. It was directed by Schuh and Lang as well. It features the voice talents of Helena Bonham Carter, James Corden, Tom Wilkinson, John Hurt, Robbie Coltrane and others. It tells the story of a mouse (Corden) who outwits a fox (Wilkinson), an owl (Hurt) and a snake (Roby Brydon), who are ready to eat him, by making up a more frightening creature called a 'gruffalo' to scare them with. He then is forced to outwit the very creature he thought he invented (Coltrane) upon running into it. The story is told by a mother squirrel (Carter) to her children. It originally aired on UK television in December of 2009 (which makes me wonder how it was still eligible for an Oscar nomination but I guess the same rules don't apply for short films as features). The film itself is charming and pleasant but certainly nothing groundbreaking or memorable. The animation is pretty basic and the story is routine kid's fare. It is a pleasant half hour cartoon that should please most children though, just not anything I'd expect to be up for an Oscar nomination.Watch our review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBqNUf10kuk

ichocolat The only gripe I have about this film is that this animation is too short, as I had so much time watching it! The animation is superb, and every minute detail is taken into consideration. Certainly it involves a team of dedicated people, who do not do things just for the sake of doing it.It is nominated for BAFTA awards, and it is very surprising that the film didn't get any awards for its astounding job.I like the way the narrator makes the story to rhyme. And even though it is repetitive, it does not bother me.A good full marks for this great short animation!

fantasyescapist This came on BBC1 on Christmas Day, and like Wallace and Gromit before it, I recorded it so it could be watched later. I've finally got around to watching it, and I was pleasantly surprised.With a solid voice cast voicing the animals, the rhyming dialogue is sweet and never annoying.The story of the mouse, as told by a mother squirrel to her two babies is episodic but suitably so. The jokes were funny and it was even somewhat dark in places where it needed to be.The animation is probably not as polished as Lost and Found(2008) but has it's own caricatured, simplistic charm and is aesthetically faithful to the book(haven't read it, but have seen the cover).Overall, an entertaining and amusing short about deception and survival done in a colourful and light way. I enjoyed it along with The First Snow of Winter, also based on a picture book, that has a similar tone, also featuring a 'big, bad' wolf. Good for young kids and the young at heart.

bob the moo Having narrowly avoided a predator herself, a mother squirrel calms the nerves of her two young children by telling them a story of a plucky young mouse who travels deep into the woods in search of food only to find predators at every turn ready to trick him into becoming their next meal.While the satellite channels have pretty much taken away the "big movie premiere" as an event on BBC at Christmas time, the BBC still have their usual weapons by their sides to ensure that people looking for easy festive distraction know they can come to them. As a result we do get several episodes of Eastenders but it does also mean special films of existing shows (such as Dr Who etc) which sometimes can be quite good, but also animated programmes. The usual big winner that everyone thinks of is of course Wallace & Gromit, but this year there was none of them but there was this charming little film sitting comfortably just before the end of David Tenant on Doctor Who.Based on the very successful children's book (which I've not read), the rhyming dialogue of the mouse's speech appears to have made it as has the look and feel of the film since the animation is very close to what I have seen of the book. In terms of substance it is very simple but effective – you know where it is going but it has an easy delight to it that one cannot help enjoying. I'm not sure if it is from the book or not but I felt that the narrative device of having us be told the mouse's story via another story teller (and being able to see her audience while also be the audience ourselves) really did work to make it a bit more engaging. The cast is fairly packed with famous voices as well (and not just for UK viewers, which is normally how it works). Although I personally am yet to see what everyone likes about him, Corden does a good job as the mouse – despite the feeling that the BBC were putting him in everything (this was his first of three appearances at Christmas). He is quite restrained in his delivery, which suits the mouse and the clever little rhyming style of his speech. Carter's narrator is balanced and responsible, with Brydon, Hurt and Wilkinson doing good work in small bits as the predators. Coltrane is the only one that really makes an impression though, since his voice is quite distinctive and he plays up the gruff aspect of it. In terms of the stars, they are all good without being so good that it explains their involvement, but I suppose it helps the film and also represented an easy time commitment from them.What really made it for me though was the animation. The film looks great but it does it in a way that never feels showy or like it is being done for the sake of it. In terms of bringing it to the screen it somehow manages to be impressive and detailed but yet also keep the rounded colourful nature that one would expect with a children's animated book. To me, the animation did more than the star names in terms of creating the characters and while the casting is a coup that catches the eye, the animators deserve a lot of credit as well.Overall, a charming little delight – nothing to blow you away or having you rolling like Wallace & Gromit perhaps, but a simple enjoyable story told in a very effective and enjoyable way.