Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness

IN A NUTSHELL: This colorful animation is based on a comic book series by Chris Grine. The story is about a brave young animal explorer who teams up with two trusty friends to find a powerful artifact before his greedy uncle can get his paws on it. Eager to fit in and feel loved in spite of his differences, he is obsessed with adventuring in spite of his clumsiness. The film is directed by Ben Stassen and Benjamin Mousquet. The screenplay was written by David Collard.

I have 4 sons. One of them was obsessed with hamsters so, of course, we had plenty of hamsters over the years. He would have really enjoyed this movie when he was a little kid.

THINGS I LIKED: The animation is delightfully detailed and colorful. And the textures of things like wood and water are so impressive.

The voice talents include Jordan Tartakow (Chickenhare), Joe Ochman (Abe), Danny Fehsenfeld (Lapin), Mark Irons (Piggies), and Donte Paris.

The design of Abe the turtle, the royal servant, is totally adorable. I loved the entertaining touch of his constantly-changing hats. I had pet turtles for 25 years, so I guess I'm a little biased, but Abe had most of the funny lines too.

Inspired heavily by Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, there are many scenes that are almost duplicated with a respectful nod to the classic. At one point, the turtle servant quips, "Darn tropes!" ha ha Adults will recognize some of the music inspired by other movies too. The Easter eggs come from movies like Moana, Angry Bird, Lion King, and even Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back!

Plenty of humor, both spoken and visual.

The animation design of the pig soldiers was ridiculously cute and original.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE: Not all of the voices seemed to match the characters.

A lot of the humor is geared towards adults. Many of the jokes, references, and vocabulary will go way over the heads of young kids.

I was hoping the hamsters were going to be cuter and more epic.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Bullying Animated violence in a bar scene and other locations Characters in perilous situations It's a kid's movie so, yeah, there is farting (from a skunk) No profanity. Instead, we hear words like "darn".

This movie is family-friendly for all ages.

THEMES: Self-identity and finding out what makes you special Confidence in one's self Courage Family Friendship Working together Using one's unique talents.

The movie in English is fine and quite funny but don't watch the German version. Keep out of it skunk"ö becomes I don't give a sh** in German. Any many other inappropriate lines in this movie. No idea who supervised this. Watch original version only and your kids will enjoy it.

Chickenhare is a neat animated adventure film. In it, after failing a test to get into the Royal Adventurers Society, Chickenhare, the adopted son of Peter, the king of Featherbeard, who is a cross between a chicken and a hare (hence why he has the legs of a chicken and feathers on his head) sets out with his servant, Abe, to find the Hamster of Darkness to prove himself. However, his evil uncle, Lapin, has escaped prison and seeks the hamster to overthrow Peter and become king.

This is a neat movie for kids seven and up. I say that because it does have some crude humor (mainly the character of Meg, who is a skunk), and some dark moments, but it is an entertaining film. Despite being a basic story where the main hero, who is considered an outcast, goes to prove himself, fighting an evil villain, the voice acting is great, and the story is good. My only complaints are some of the jokes are hit-or-miss and the film is on the short side.

The movie never takes itself too serious on its premise, and it knows its not a pixar or ghibli film, but it brings an adventure packed story with stellar animation that keeps you engaged from start to end.

The characters are lovable the acting is phenomenal and the story is very solid.

It does rely on many of the ussual tropes and while I DESPISE fart jokes , in this case they managed to bring it in at a level I can withstand and even take as vital part of one of the characters back stories and an essential part of their character.

Overall this is not going to move you like Disney or Pixar but it is an extremely fun adventure story that will leave you wanting for more.

Heres to hoping for Chicken Hare II.

The animation is very well done, it's funny, the characters are charming and the plot is very interesting. It's a fun movie for the whole family to watch.