A Turtle's Tale: Sammy's Adventures

I only watched in 2-D (the cinema was only showing it that way). It was mostly filled with the target audience (kids), but even as an adult you can enjoy the movie. There is of course an underlying message "hidden" in the movie, bit it never is too heavy. So there is no danger of the movie being too preachy (something another movie did and therefor failed in my opinion, to be a better movie).

You have to have a soft spot for animals (even if animated) of course to like this. Or you just take your kids/nephews to see it and you won't be disappointed. The animation and voice work are decent enough (don't expect Pixar quality), too.

If "Sammy's Adventures" seems rather predictable and dull, it is probably because Belgian director Ben Stassen seems so carried away by its anti-pollution and environmental messages that he misses out on the plot and the action. However, the visuals in this underwater opus are top-notch (especially in 3D) and way better than Stassen's last effort "Fly Me To The Moon".

I also like the way Stassen tells the story from a turtle's eye view - which will go a long way in educating children on undersea life and protecting those creatures and our ecology. The movie is about a green sea turtle who is hatched in 1959 and spends the next 50 years travelling the world while it is being changed by relentless whale and shark fishing, pollution and global warming. Hours after being hatched, Sammy (voice of Yuri Lowenthal) finds and loses the love of his life, a pretty hatchling called Shelly (Isabelle Fuhrman of Orphan fame).

On the epic journey across the oceans that all turtles must accomplish before returning to the beach where they were born, Sammy dodges every danger in the hope of meeting Shelly again. On the way, he also has encounters with humans, both good and bad, as well as toothy sharks and piranhas.

It is easy to root for Sammy and his pals not only because they are cute but also because they are sporting and gutsy. With its story spanning over 50 years, Stassen marks the milestone periods with human events (like the hippies of the Sixties and the Greenpeace protests) and with classic songs on the soundtrack. Of course, the Beatles are represented with their hit, 'Across The Universe' (what else?).

On the downside, character development seems to be at a minimum for some - and the 3D thrills (read action and stunts) are nowhere as impressive as those of "Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole". Indeed, from the numerous death-defying scraps that Sammy escapes from, we wonder how he can have such an 'enchanted' life indeed if not for far-fetched plotting. Nevertheless, it is an entertaining sea-world documentary for the kids. - LIM CHANG MOH (limchangmoh.blogspot.com)

This is a beautiful animation with fun 3D sequences. It has a simple story with an ecological message but as the movie is aimed at kids that is actually a good thing. The story and message will not fly over the little ones' heads.

The characters are likable and the story's pace go on the right speed, not dragging itself or going too fast.

Good fun for kids and parents as well.

I've watched a dubbed version on Brazilian Portuguese so I can't speak for the original voice work, but this version I watched was very well done.

The English version features the voices of stars like Melanie Grifith and Tim Curry.

I highly recommend the 3D version as the movie has many sequences that will not be as entertaining and good looking on the 2D version.

It has beautiful scenery, vivid animation and voice-over. In general it keeps you engaged and is quite enjoyable. It is appropriate for kids and doesn't have any violence or bad influence. I prefer to watch simple, beautiful movies like this with my kids; rather than many other movies that are filled with desire, violence, and pornography. However, I think the theme is not clear. It is a mixture of love story, environmental concerns, and searching for your own dreams; but those themes don't come together to compliment each other. To me, the theme of the movie is the most important thing, that is the message you want to deliver. So I only gave it 6 out of 10.

My 5 year old wanted to watch this movie. She spent much of the movie crying. Most kids movies have some type of obstacle for the main character to overcome and then they come out on top. Sammy encounters more obstacles than most. The majority of this movie is just one sad, scary thing happening after another (difficult for some children to deal with). I thought the graphics were great even though I didn't watch the 3D version. I think the movie was okay, but it dragged quite a bit. It's not one of those movies that my child will want to watch again and again and again. If you're looking for a completely light and happy children's movie to watch you may want to look elsewhere.