Great (Isambard Kingdom Brunel)

Absolutely wonderful short animated mini-musical about the life, career and works of the redoubtable British engineer and inventor, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Unforgettable songs (I saw it years ago and can still sing nearly all of them!--ranging from 50's style rock to wistful ballads to up-tempo show-tunes; none of which, sadly, are given actual titles in the credits), delightful (and bawdy!) comedy, combined with thorough and loving research for a memorable portrait of one of the Industrial Revolution's most remarkable figures. It deserves particular applause for appropriate use of rotoscoped footage to depict the inaugural day of the Great Western Railway--for a minute I almost wondered if they'd somehow found real film of the event, the effect is that convincing. That this film continues to be unavailable is simply a crime.

IMPORTANT NOTE to anyone reading the review (posted 2005) by Judy Renee Pope: I sadly report that Judy passed away in 2007. Please, do not email her asking for a copy of Great; no one is reading her email anymore except me, and I do not know where her copy of the film is. I much regret this, as it seems to have been one of the very few copies anywhere, but I can't help with your requests. Sorry.

I guess in the UK Isambard Kingdom Brunel must be a well-known man, but here in the United States no one has heard of the man. Heck, I was a history teacher and never heard of the guy, so I was surprised and happy to see GREAT--as it opened my eyes to the engineering accomplishments of this Victorian man.

The film is an animated short using a variety of mediums. Some of the animation looks a lot like Terry Gilliam's animations from "Monty Python's Flying Circus" but some is more traditional animation. This combination makes for a striking film and the music and style really make the whole thing stand out and grab your attention.

GREAT starts off with a discussion of the Industrial Revolution in the UK and its ascendancy to the world-class power in the 19th century. The inventions and thinkers that came about during this time in Britain are discussed in general and there is no mention of Mr. Brunel until well into the film. In the mean time, such luminaries as Darwin, Dickens and other great thinkers of the era are briefly highlighted. I like how very briefly, the film makers also dropped the name "Jack the Ripper" into this august mix! Overall, a very interesting film due to its bold and manic style. Be forewarned, however, that the film is very edgy--with some boobs and such thrown in for extra-edginess! Not surprisingly, this film won the Oscar for Best Animated Short.

Bob Godfrey's free-wheeling, imaginative and irreverent look at the life and achievements of Isambard Kingdom Brunel benefits from eye-catching animation, upbeat songs, memorable set-pieces and an overall mood of infectious good humour. Although it's been years since I last saw it, several lines stick in my mind, including "Queen Victoria came to look, she said I'm tickled pink", a list of all the things Brunel didn't invent (including heroin, and, because this is a Bob Godfrey cartoon, a live-in bra!), a song about the diminutive inventor's taste in tall hats and a pre-punk rock and roller doing a very gritty song about the great man! At his best, Godfrey was capable of genius, and GREAT is proof of that. A DVD release is long overdue.

One of my favourite animations of all time "Great" combines humorous drawing and plot while actually telling you something about the life & works of Brunel.

It has many different styles of animation and uses archive photographs, comic drawings and live action. It has humour with a little innuendo but also poignancy in what his inventions actually cost Brunel in terms of his health.

The songs are hilarious, and very catchy. After seeing this film you can never look at Queen Victoria without smiling ever again. A well deserved Oscar.

I saw this by accident on TV over 20 years ago and could never find it again. Catchy and witty. Such a shame it's not commercially available ( there was a thread by history teachers desperately trying to lay their hands on a copy!). As previously stated, a Pythonesque animation of the life and works of the Great Victorian inventor. With some memorable songs (you might hate them, but be unable to get them out of your head, though)

I did find it on YouTube, but please note that the previous link given no longer works. It is currently on at http://youtu.be/whJvNNdQlTI or you can search Great: Isambard Kingdom Brunel; which worked as at Sept 30 2011; but could disappear any time . Catch it while you can!