Good story, Not enough for a whole film

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

It's even better than the book. This is everything that 'Where the Wild Things Are' should have been, but wasn't. The animation style is interesting, and I just love the dialogue and voice acting. We have a four year old, and he just loves this film. At about a half-hour, it's not too long for kids that can't sit through an hour or longer movie without getting disinterested. The music is beautiful as well. Very memorable and peaceful.If you have a little one, I recommend this film - it's one of those 'kid' films that is just as fun for the parents to watch, thanks to all the little nuances put into it (like how every living thing except the mouse gets put through the food chain).

This short film based on the popular children's book was something I was really annoyed to miss when it was broadcast at Christmas, but when it was shown again I wasn't going to miss it again. Basically two Little Squirrels (Sam Lewis and Phoebe Givron-Taylor) are being told the story of a mouse's walk through the woods by Mother Squirrel (Helena Bonham Carter). A Mouse (James Corden) goes for a walk in the forest in order to get to the tree of acorns, and along the way he encounters predators who will want to eat him. He encounters a Fox (Tom Wilkinson), an Owl (John Hurt) and a Snake (Rob Brydon) who all invite him for a meal, the Mouse declines all of them as he knows they want to eat him. After declining he says to each enemy that he is meeting something called the Gruffalo (Robbie Coltrane), which he describes the hideous anatomy of, and he says its favourite food is based on his predator, to which they run away. The Mouse laughs to himself, knowing that there is no such thing as a Gruffalo, however he is shocked to see that the creature he has been inventing actually exists, and he wants to eat him. However the Mouse stops him, claiming that he is the scariest animal in the forest, and the Gruffalo thinking this is a joke agrees to follow him so he can prove it. The Mouse approaches each predator again, and they run away in terror seeing the big monster behind him, the Gruffalo assumes wrongly that they are running from the Mouse. After all this and the Gruffalo believes that he is indeed the scariest animal in the forest, the Mouse threatens to eat him, to which the large creature runs away, and the Mouse walks away nibbling an acorn he finds. The computer animation is really good for this simple and fun story, the younger audience will definitely have fun with the lovable Mouse, the hideous but likable Gruffalo, and the other characters as well, and the older audience will like the well known voices bringing them to life, is an easy to enjoy family fantasy. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Short Animated Film, and it was nominated the BAFTA for Best Short Animation. Very good!

'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

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!