As a children's movie, this is pretty condescending for my taste. A 4- year old might enjoy it a few times, but I wouldn't encourage anyone to watch it. There are no adult situations or dialog which I found in any way offensive (though there are a few anthropomorphized stereotypes). I did find it unbelievable to the point of nausea. Real dangers and important topics are glossed over with a happy-shiny tub-toy make- believe theme.
There are a number of musical scenes which could be entertaining for some viewers. The voices are thankfully less nasal and squeaky during the singing portions.
The most realistic part of this movie was a seagull getting tangled up in some debris out in the ocean. The main characters are rubber toys which will not starve or apparently even sunburn while out at sea. There is not a lot of danger to hang any suspense upon here.
For any marginally informed adult watching this movie, the main concern beating upon your mind should be for the welfare of the various sea creatures featured in this movie. A whale swallows toxic debris and expels it harmlessly in a typical Disney fashion. Thankfully nothing intentionally eats any of the tub toys, which would be quite likely to occur in reality, as a very large and increasing number of sea creatures die each year from ingesting plastic. Animals cannot distinguish plastic from edible material and most omnivores will try to eat small pieces given time and opportunity.
The movie opens in a rubber toy factory, which is made to look like a happy, clean and fun place. There are several humans which encounter mortal peril in rather predictable fashion. Everything ends on a happy note and I suppose viewers are meant to wonder at the good fortune of Lucky Duck.
If this movie had any semblance of realism or the creators had one iota of respect and concern for the ocean they depict, it would have contained at least one scene of a fearful tub-toy listing the dire fates which await plastic in the ocean. This would have built suspense much better than a rubber turtle worrying about electric eels. The main characters would more likely have washed up on Midway Island or gotten caught up in the Pacific garbage patch.
For ignoring real issues while making up farcical ones, -1 star. For a hero that rallies his followers to accomplish absolutely nothing, -1 star. For using a humorous premise yet failing to capitalize on it with jokes and suspense, -1 star. That's down 3 stars from the 5 I usually grant any 2 hour distraction, and it offers nothing to raise it's score from there. There were no big laughs, no suspense, no believable plot, no educational elements, and one hackneyed lesson in risk-aversion between a boy and his father.
I think letting your child watch this a few times would probably lower their IQ. Put on some repeats of Schoolhouse Rock! instead.
