Christmas Viewing - The Gruffalo's Child

After the 2009 BAFTA and Oscar nominated adaption of the popular children's book "The Gruffalo", by London based studio Magic Light Pictures and German studio Studio Soi, this years adaption of "The Gruffalo's Child" was top of my holiday viewing list. I've always admired Axel Scheffler's illustrations that bring author Julia Donaldson's woodland adventures to life, and the art direction on the film adaption really does do justice to the source material. Both the characters and environments have been crafted with the same rustic, yet refined aesthetic of the original illustrations, beautifully supported by soft, yet confident lighting. Any screen shot is easily just as pleasing to look at as the pages of the original book.


Faithfully crafted sets and characters, beautifully lit and rendered make for a wonderfully appealing treat for the eyes. The animators did an excellent job at bringing the varying cast of characters to life, with Subtle, yet believable performances throughout. All to often I find many an independent short, commissioned for a prime time slot like Christmas day for BBC One to be overacted, but not so in this case. The star performance of course comes from the Gruffalo's child herself, a brave little up and coming adventurer, with just the right childish nuances make for an adorable show.


Constantly curious, the inquisitive Gruffalo's Child leads the audience on a magical, night time, woodland adventure. This isn't a glossy, pristine, blockbuster style production, like most over cg productions, it has a down to earth, hand crafted feel. The animation itself also feels very hand made, and almost has a stop motion feel to it. It may not be the biggest, flashiest, production, but by no means has any less care or attention gone into it. If anything, to me feels a lot more approachable, almost homely, familiar even, a generally more well rounded production than many a recent cg theatre release in my opinion. That's what "The Gruffalo's Child" has to be one of my favourite productions. Definitely my favourite of the year.


Familiar, lovingly crafted, and downright entertaining. The Gruffalo's Child is a winner with me!