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Certificate: 
Directors: Andrew Stanton & Lee Unkrich (co-director)
Release Date: 10 October 2003
Tagline: 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered by water. That’s a lot of space to find one fish.
Main Cast: (Voice)
Albert Brooks … Marlin
Ellen DeGeneres … Dory
Alexander Gould … Nemo
Finding Nemo is another masterpiece from Pixar. The animation is truly stunning, and the script is up to the usual high standard. There are plenty of real laugh out loud jokes that make this film enjoyable for all ages.
The casting is wonderful; Albert Brooks is brilliant as the constantly fretting and over protective parent, and it’s impossible to imagine anyone other than Ellen DeGeneres as Dory.
There’s not much more to be said really, other than watch it!
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Director: Brad Silberling
Release Date: 17 December 2004
Main Cast:
Jim Carrey … Count Olaf
Liam Aiken … Klaus Bordelaire
Emily Browning … Violet Bordelaire
Jude Law … Lemony Snicket (voice)
First of all, I know I said that I’d rather gouge out my own eyeballs than watch a Jim Carrey film, but I chose to watch this as it not a typical Jim Carrey vehicle (in fact, I’d go so far as to say that he should have third billing behind the two child leads), and also because Meryl Streep is in it.
I found this a disappointing film on several levels. Firstly, Count Olaf is an evil, murderous character, but Carrey hams it up so much that he comes across as more silly than sinister. At the start of the film, much is also made of how Violet is a brilliant inventor, and Klaus a voracious reader who can remember everything he’s ever read. These elements of the characters are sorely underused (although I have to confess that I have never read the books, so it may be that this is, in fact, as it should be).
Sadly, my attention was lost about a third of the way through, and I kept checking how much longer it had left to go, so that I could move on to something better.
A plus point though, are the children. Both Liam Aiken and Emily Browning are very good, and carry the film well.
As an adult who enjoys many chidren’s films, I found this strangely dull and tedious when it should have held my attention. I’m not even sure that the target audience will be enthralled by it.
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Director: Brian Henson
Release Date: 18 December 1992
Main Cast:
Michael Caine … Ebenezer Scrooge
And, of course, The Muppeteers!
This is my all time favourite Muppet film, and also my favourite version of Charles Dickens’ classic tale. The combination of the mean and bitter Scrooge and the madcap antics of the Muppets works perfectly. Gonzo and Rizzo are a perfect double act and provide some real laugh out loud humour. Michael Caine’s Scrooge is well balanced; a slightly lighter character than in the book but tinged with just enough meanness to make him dislikeable.
The Muppet characters fit Dickens’ characters so well, and it’s almost as if Mr Fezziwig was written with Fozzie Bear in mind; of course, he becomes Mr Fozziwig!
And then there’s the Cratchit family. Kermit plays Bob, and Miss Piggy plays Mrs Cratchit. The children are either pigs (the girls) or frogs (the boys). I love what they’ve done here; I’m not a fan of the sickly sweet Cratchits, but the Muppet Cratchits are perfect!
You can hardly describe A Christmas Carol as humorous, but Brian Henson has created a re-telling of the story that is both true to the book and incredibly funny.
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