The Gruffalo's Child

What a cast! Some amazing voice talent on show, but we don't get that much of them, unfortunately. The animation isn't quite top notch, but the story is wonderfully engaging, with rich characters. Definitely recommended for all ages and family members.

As a big animation fan, I loved The Gruffalo's Child. It is not quite as good as The Gruffalo, which I also loved, but of all the programmes airing over the Christmas break The Gruffalo's Child stood out as one of the treasures. The animation is true to the illustrations and looks superb with sophisticated backgrounds and colours that look simply beautiful. The rhyming dialogue is droll and sometimes amusing, delighting any child, adult or even family watching, and the story while simple is very charming and heart-warming, in short effective in its simplicity. I loved the cute(and never cloying) characters as well, and the voice cast was great especially from Shirley Henderson, who was very whimsical and moving as the Child. Overall, wonderful. 9/10 Bethany Cox

I'm a bit of a sucker for a snowy adventure so I actually enjoyed this every bit as much as I did the first film (2009). Clearly in the intervening years, "Gruffalo" has had some fun for now there is a child. An inquisitive little beastie who has been warned by her dad not to go into the woods unaccompanied for fear of encountering the mouse! In a bit of a reversal of the original story, this intrepid young explorer sets off in the middle of a frosty night on an adventure that introduces her to the fox, the hapless owl and to the clever snake. Her encounter, eventually, with the mouse? Well let's just say our big-eared little friend has lost none of it's vivid imagination! The animation is engaging and detailed, with the snow working well to provide a nice canvas for the lively and entertaining artwork. I'm not sure we need another of these, but this is still good fun for half an hour, and is an easy watch for children and grown-ups alike.

Essentially reversing the plot of the original Gruffalo short, this time the squirrel tells her children a tale about the Gruffalo's child going into the woods to seek out the fearsome mouse that her father uses as a warning not to wander off. As before each animal encountered points the child onwards to a new threat and as before the result is a cute and enjoyable little short film even if it never really excels in a great deal. It probably helped by enjoyment that I recorded this and watched it later on Christmas Day – and did so after watching the rather disappointing and heartless Doctor Who special. In stark contrast this film is simple, quite warming and very easy to watch with its rhyming dialogue and simple characters.

It perhaps lacks the Pixar sense of humour or a cynical edge to appeal to adults specifically but it is hard to dislike it for just how simple a tale it is. The animation is impressive but yet retains the feel of a children's book – I feel no shame in admitting that I was watching this in a dressing gown at the end of a day of wine and food and it felt oddly comforting to be sitting being told this wholesome and simple little tale. The dialogue works well in this effect with it repetition and rhyming nature while the voice cast from the first film mostly return. Most of them only have a few lines apart from Shirley Henderson, who plays her usual "odd Scottish waif" role really well as the child – she was a good bit of casting and brought a lot of character to the child. As before Corden mercifully underplays and does good as the mouse.

Overall The Gruffalo's Child is not really worthy of comparison to that other animated Christmas favourite of Wallace and Gromit, but it engagingly pleasing in its simplicity and good-natured telling. It is written for young children but yet the film felt warming and easy for me in my mid-30's; how it would stand up on a bright summer's day I don't know, but as a nice little family film it worked really well on Christmas Day.

Nice story about curiosity and survive. About childhood and search behind legend. And soul of legend. A naive story about basic things. In the skin of evening tale but seductive for animation, game of snow, remember of lost age and moral. For short dialogs and small ambitions. For old fashion flavor. And for memories about another meetings of heroes with the secrets or monsters. In fact, a kind of hot tea. With lemon, cookies and a sunny morning. Or a piece of chocolate or a milk cup. Or fly of a bird. After complicated projects of Disney or Pixar revolution, it is an oasis far from universal movies or box office star.And this is secret of its success. Courage to be only a story of a clever mouse and a Gruffalo in search of truth Nothing more.