Truly a film for everyone

Rating: 9/10 (27 June 2016)

When it comes to being a parent, part of the deal is to watch kids' films. Sometimes this can be a painful experience - let's just say that my kids and I differ radically in our assessment of Alvin and the $*&^£!*ing Chipmunks. On other occasions, however, the experience can be joyful. I went into this film with low expectations, and unexpectedly had a ball. I honestly found it laugh-out-loud funny, and so did my kids. Moreover, we often laughed at the same scene for different reasons. My kids have never seen the Godfather, for instance, and neither have they (yet) had to deal with a government department whose speed of service would be improved by replacing everyone with sloths - but there were elements in these scenes which worked for them as well as the bits that worked for me. It is very difficult to produce a film that really is for everybody, but this is one of the very best.
To be sure, the "moral lesson" is clichéd and obvious, many of the characters were simple stereotypes, and the plot twists were more than a little predictable. Such things matter little to kids, however; and I can live with them when things are handled with zest and panache. The action is fast-paced, the acting first-class, the animation state-of-the-art - and the sight-gags are both brilliant, and scattered in such profusion that you probably don't have time to catch them all on one viewing. All in all a wonderful film.