It might only be a children´s movie, but it still boasts great production values, including a very lyrical score. What I found to be especially captivating is that the script does not treat the viewer as somebody who is either dumb, naive, or strangely cynical, as is sadly often the case with children´s movies or books nowadays.
The humor and the underlying themes behind the characters conflicts and witty verbal exchanges were often very serious and sensible. The strong tendency towards a quirky, somewhat absurd sense of humour is certainly not for everybody, but since John Cleese is in it, I guess potential viewers would know to expect that.
I took away one star because the speed is very very fast. The story, including an epic conflict between to races, is told in a breakneck tempo, and new characters and settings including their background stories are sometimes introduced in every new place the protagonists travel to, and they travel a lot! On the other hand, this means there is never a dull moment, as also the costumes and scenery (and the performers) are always a pleasure to watch. This still makes the script loose depth. Either this was actually meant to be a longer film, maybe even split in two parts, or the filmmakers decided on giving the movie the feeling of a very very fast ride, where only the beginning and the end is told in a slower tempo.
Anyway, if you like highly entertaining and funny high fantasy tales with a strong sophisticated and off-beat flavor, you shouldn´t miss it!
The humor and the underlying themes behind the characters conflicts and witty verbal exchanges were often very serious and sensible. The strong tendency towards a quirky, somewhat absurd sense of humour is certainly not for everybody, but since John Cleese is in it, I guess potential viewers would know to expect that.
I took away one star because the speed is very very fast. The story, including an epic conflict between to races, is told in a breakneck tempo, and new characters and settings including their background stories are sometimes introduced in every new place the protagonists travel to, and they travel a lot! On the other hand, this means there is never a dull moment, as also the costumes and scenery (and the performers) are always a pleasure to watch. This still makes the script loose depth. Either this was actually meant to be a longer film, maybe even split in two parts, or the filmmakers decided on giving the movie the feeling of a very very fast ride, where only the beginning and the end is told in a slower tempo.
Anyway, if you like highly entertaining and funny high fantasy tales with a strong sophisticated and off-beat flavor, you shouldn´t miss it!