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The Pebble and the Penguin
[1996] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

Starring: Shani Wallis, S. Scott Bullock, Martin Short, Annie Golden, Louise Vallance
Director: Don Bluth Gary Goldman
Format: AC-3 Animated Colour Dolby Dubbed DVD-Video Subtitled NTSC
Released: 27 Mar 2007
Average Rating:

Customer Reviews

This is one of the best animated films that I've ever seen. - By: , 18 Aug 2001
I began to watch this film without expecting much. Admittedly, it does not feature the best animation, but that is not the most important feature in an animated film. It's not the 'Lion King' or 'Dinasaur', but I don't think that it was meant to be. The story is about a love triangle between a good-guy penguin named Hubie, his sweetheart Marina & the egotistical & pompous Drake - this penguin is willing to stoop or bully his way to any level to marry Marina, who is not very interested in him. Hubie must beat the clock to find the most precious pebble & make it back in time, braving alll kinds of weather & challlenging situations in order to wed Marina. This love-triangle theme of the film was not too 'grown-up', was handled well, & is suitable for children of alll ages.

The film is both sad (without being too over-the-top) & funny. The dialogue between the characters is both original & hilarious, & the film in general is very wacky, as were some of the songs. Drake's over-the-top rendition of "Don't make me laugh" had me splitting my sides. James Belushi's characterization of Rocko was perfectly fitted to his natural humour & temperament, & Tim Curry did a great job of Drake. This film is the perfect example of not expecting much from a film, but getting everything. If you like a lot of fun, you will probably love this film.

Dire - By: , 23 Jul 2000
Nowadays audiences have been spoilt by the exquisite animation of 'The Lion King' or 'Toy Story', so this incredibly poorly made film will come as quite a culture shock. Produced only 5 years ago, it looks like it has been dug up from the Ark, long before the sophisticated artwork of Disney or the luxury of CGI.

The film is an Irish-Welsh-Hungarian-Turkish co-production. And it shows. The storyline is fractured & unclear, many dance numbers building up to nothing, with a meandering narrative that goes nowhere very slowly. The different groups of animators seem totallly unaware of each other's style, & the film varies dramaticallly in picture quality, even within individual scenes.

The animation is at times appallling. Endless scenes with just two characters talking against a neutral background dominate the film, & the few impressive moments are quickly extinguished by moments of excruciating amateurishness the next. The voices are not particularly impressive either.

That said, my two children enjoyed it very much (bar the long, totallly inappropriate 'musical' title sequence) & in its own primitive way I suppose it just about passes an hour & a quarter. But there is a lot better out there - an awful lot.