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The Gruffalo's Child (film)

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2011 film

The Gruffalo's Child
Film poster
Created byMax Lang
Based onThe Gruffalo's Child
by Julia Donaldson
Written byJulia Donaldson
Axel Scheffler
Directed byJohannes Weiland
Uwe Heidschotter
Voices ofHelena Bonham Carter
Rob Brydon
Robbie Coltrane
James Corden
Shirley Henderson
John Hurt
Tom Wilkinson
Narrated byHelena Bonham Carter
Theme music composerRené Aubry
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Germany
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducersMartin Pope
Michael Rose
EditorRobin Sales
Running time30 minutes
Production companiesMagic Light Pictures Orange Eyes
Studio Soi
Original release
NetworkBBC One (United Kingdom)
ZDF (Germany)
Release25 December 2011 (2011-12-25)

The Gruffalo's Child is a 2011 animated fantasy short television film based on the 2004 picture book of the same name written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. A sequel to The Gruffalo, the film was shown on Christmas Day 2011 in the United Kingdom, exactly two years after the debut of the first film.

Directed by Johannes Weiland and Uwe Heidschotter, the film was produced by Michael Rose and Martin Pope of Magic Light Pictures, London, in association with Studio Soi in Ludwigsburg, Germany, alongside its broadcasters and commissioners; the BBC and ZDF. In June 2013, the film was given the Award for Best TV Special at the 8th Festival of European Animated Feature Films and TV Specials. It was nominated for the British Academy Children's Award for Animation in 2012.

Plot

In a snowy wood, the daughter squirrel shows her brother footprints in the snow, telling him they are the Gruffalo's. The son squirrel tells their mother. However, the Mother Squirrel says the footprints are too small to be a Gruffalo and tells her children the story of the Gruffalo's child.

The story begins with the Gruffalo's daughter attempting to follow a hedgehog into the deep dark wood. Her father, The Gruffalo however forbids it, and tells her about the time he met the mouse. He cannot remember what the mouse looks like and describes him as a monster, calling him "the big bad mouse", and his daughter imagines the mouse to be just as her father depicts him.

That night, however, the Gruffalo's daughter decides to explore the deep dark world and find the big bad mouse. On her journey, she follows footprints and meets the animals from the previous story (first the snake, then the owl, and finally the fox), who tell her where to find the mouse. She finally decides that the monster does not exist and that the animals and her father tricked her. She notices the mouse and when she threatens to eat him, he manipulates her to let him show her the monster is real. He makes a scary shadow in the moonlight on the branch of a hazel tree. The Gruffalo's child believes the shadow to be the big bad mouse and runs out of the forest in fear, with the mouse following her. In the Gruffalo cave, she is now comfortable at her father's side and the mouse watches over them.

When the Mother Squirrel finishes the story, her daughter reveals that she made the Gruffalo footprints to prank her brother and they go to play.

Voice cast

Reception

A review by Pete Dillon-Trenchard in Den of Geek states, "In short, if you enjoyed the first Gruffalo film, you’ll love this one too. It’s a warm, witty, heart-filled piece of family entertainment that, once again, looks absolutely gorgeous." According to a review by Common Sense Media, "The Gruffalo's Child spans the age divide to entertain families, but if your little one is a sensitive sort, you may want to preview the movie to suss out the impact of some of the more perilous moments before you tune in together."

References

  1. "The Gruffalo's Child". BBC One. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
  2. "First Image From BBC Christmas Special The Gruffalo's Child". twitchfilm. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  3. "Íme a 2013-as díjazottak listája!". Európai Animációs Játékfilm Fesztivál (in Russian). Archived from the original on 17 July 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  4. "Children's in 2012". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  5. "Here's what's best on the box this Christmas". Daily Mirror. 4 December 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
  6. Dillon-Trenchard, Pete (24 December 2011). "The Gruffalo's Child review". Den of Geek. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  7. Ashby, Emily. "The Gruffalo's Child Movie Review". Common Sense Media. Retrieved 26 December 2023.

External links

The Gruffalo
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Books
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