Review of The Snail and the Whale

It's not unusual at all for BBC to release new animated short films for the holidays and the 2019 pick was "The Snail and the Whale" and this is definitely not a surprise as films based on the books by Julia Donaldson have been a thing for a while and not just for the young audiences, but even for prestigious awards bodies. The result is that two-time Oscar nominee Max Lang is also on board again as director for this one here and you can also see from the voice actors how prestigious these films are. And obviously they are going with established formulas again as the narrated rhymes as well as the inclusion of animals at the core of the tale are something you are going to find here as well. I liked it overall. I think maybe in terms of the story, this is not one of the best Donaldson adaptations, but even there we get some nice moments like how the snail manages to save the whale, but also how the whale thanks it the snail eventually when they go on a journey again and this time it is not one snail accompanying him, but a whole lot of snail sitting on the whale tail. Sorry I just had to. Of course, this is no biology/wildlife documentary, so don't wonder why the snails are not drowning when the whale dives down or how they can keep their position, but it's alright. The film does not have to teach children anything, it is supposed to entertain and that it does pretty well most of the time. I said the story did not impress me too much and this refers also to the element of coincidence like for example how the snail is almost eaten by the seagull, but the boy on the swing saves the snail without even knowing. Nonetheless, for each of these slightly weaker moments, we get at least one better moment and of course it is pretty dangerous for the snail to not be stomped on and die under a shoe. Where the film really delivers is the technical side though. With that I do not necessarily mean the animation, which is alright like pretty much everything else about these 25 minutes, but not as outstanding as the audible side. I think the music was really really good and so were the sound effects. Hollywood production can learn from this little movie for sure when it comes to audio design. The voice acting was pretty decent as well, maybe a bit much to give Sally Hawkins ana ward for voicing one of the title characters, but never mind. I like Sally and it is alright. She is definitely the most known cast member here although Game of Thrones fans will probably like Diana Rigg narrating the story as we hear her constantly really. She did a good job overall too and what can I say about her. I still think she is a definite contender for most desirabke Bond girl of all time (maybe right behind Jane Seymour) and I am glad she is still alive in her 80s now. Rob Brydon, who voices the other title character, is probably more known in the UK than here, even if I remember a film about swimmers hitting theaters not too long ago and he played the lead character there. He looks a lot like Steve Coogan, that much is safe. And the aforementioned Max Lang also voices a character here. He is pretty much an institution with these Donaldson adaptations and not only behind the camera it seems. If you can even say that for an animated movie, but you know what I mean. Finally, I want to say a few words about the selection of animals here. Of course, it is also very much about the rhyme, but there is also another smart parallel, namely the biggest and the slowest (not smallest) animal joining forces and becoming close friends that help each other. I quite like the selection here. This also would have wokred nicely without the rhyme. That's all then. This little film gets a thumbs-up from me, even if not a truly enthusiastic recommendation. It is worth seeing though for sure, maybe with your child on his/her birthday for example.