This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

This is one of the worst films I have ever seen, let alone adaptations of the stupendous novel that was my childhood favorite.First off, her name is pronounced (Eye-reen), not (Eye-reen-ee). Maybe it's just me, but everyone I know pronounces it Irene.Second, this animation is horrendous. Absolutely awful.Third, that song is lame. A song generated for the Disney Princesses written by a six-year-old girl wouldn't be as cheesy.Fourth, the scene at the end where Curdie beats up the Goblin Queen was literally the worst scene for children in an animated film. Ever.Fifth, the characters are portrayed horribly. Irene doesn't run away from her nurse, and is eight. The nurse, Lootie, is not a fat idiot. Curdie is twelve years old, yes, but he's also not an idiot who runs off to look for trouble. The Goblin King is not annoying, the Goblin Queen is not... that, and the prince is not a psychotic killer- in fact, in the book, the Prince was barely in there and seemed rather innocent.Sixth, there is no cat. That cat was annoying. The Goblin Cat was, too, but me and my sister came up with the name "Doofenscourge" (after Doofenshmirtz in Phineas and Ferb and Scourge from the book series Warriors), so now he's just a joke.Seventh, the original book was a classic masterpiece that was the favorite of JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis. NOT a randomized, made-for-children film created just to get a buck off that parent across the street.Eighth, while I admit that the Great-Grandmother was cool, she was like, "Someday you'll find magic of your own and you won't need me anymore!" Uhh... where to begin? How about, a) Irene has no magic whatsoever (at least in the book) and never will, and b) THE GREAT GRANDMOTHER WAS SUPPOSED TO REPRESENT THE Christian GOD, AND THE Christian GOD SAYS THAT WE WILL ALWAYS NEED HIM BECAUSE WE ARE SINNERS AND HE WILL TAKE CARE OF US IF WE JUST LET HIM. OKAY?! Gosh, this movie made me resort to all caps. While I have more arguments, I should probably go lie down. Just, stay away from this awful movie.

The Princess and the Goblin has absolutely terrible animation. Terrible as in The Legend of Zelda Saturday morning cartoon terrible. Which is too bad, because otherwise it's really a nice movie. The story is magical and exciting. The characters are likable. The English dub is surprisingly well-acted, with competent performances from even the most minor of characters. The background painting is beautiful. The music is appropriate and pretty. It's well-directed, with the grandmother scenes likely to trigger little thrills of awe in even older and more-cynical viewers. If the animation had been vaguely above sub-par, this might have been a great movie. Unfortunately, it isn't.

I love books,and I love animation, so considering how much I love the book by George MacDonald I wanted to give this movie a try. And you know what, I like this movie a lot. While the book is definitely better, this is quite a charming film. It is too short however, somehow I would've expected it to be 10 minutes longer, and the grandmother wasn't as well explained as she is in the book. Speaking of the grandmother though, I loved not only how beautiful and wise she was but also how Claire Bloom voiced her. I know how a lot of people have complained about the animation being crude and lazy, and I would like to say that I actually liked it. There are some lovely colourful backgrounds and I loved how King Papa, Irene and Grandmother were animated. Also, the goblins who do steal the show with their hatred of poetry and jealousy of humans, are MEANT to be ugly. I liked the music too, the score was beautiful and the song had a really upbeat and medieval feel to it and was sung surprisingly well. The story is easy to follow and is suitably simple, and the voice acting is excellent. Especially Rik Mayall as Froglip, who is quite sexy for a goblin, and Joss Ackland in a wonderfully dignified vocal performance as King Papa. Princess Irene is really cute too, and Sally Ann Marsh voiced her with real innocence and vulnerability and Peter Murray is appealing as Curdie. Also the little kitten Turnip is adorable. In conclusion, this is a good, charming movie. 8/10 Bethany Cox

I loved this movie when I was a child. It was just so fantastical and lovely, and the main song just sticks in your head for days upon days. When I watched this movie recently (as in 10 years later), I saw how fine the animation was designed to be, and how well it was done in some areas. It's old, and the animation dosen't really compare to the computer graphics we have today, but it's CLASSIC. And although someof the actions are exaggerated in the movie, it's like opening my Hans Christian Anderson book, and seeing stories come to life.So if you're a lover of fairy tales, or enjoy telling stories, this movie was MADE for you.