The Gruffalo (2009)

The Gruffalo is a 2009 short computer-animated television film based on the 1999 picture book written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. Directed by Jakob Schuh and Max Lang, the film was produced by Michael Rose and Martin Pope of Magic Light Pictures in London and Orange Eyes Limited, in association with the award-winning Studio Soi in Ludwigsburg, Germany, who developed and created the film. The film's voice cast includes Helena Bonham Carter, Rob Brydon, Robbie Coltrane, James Corden, John Hurt and Tom Wilkinson.
The Gruffalo was released on DVD in the United Kingdom and Ireland on March 22, 2010 by E1 Entertainment, and in the United States on August 16, 2011 by NCircle Entertainment. A sequel, The Gruffalo's Child, was released in 2011.
== Images ==
File:The Gruffalo 2009 UK DVD cover V1.png|UK/Ireland DVD cover (2010, front)
File:The Gruffalo 2009 UK DVD cover V2.png|UK/Ireland DVD cover (2010, spine)
File:The Gruffalo 2009 UK DVD cover V3.png|UK/Ireland DVD cover (2010, back)
File:The Gruffalo 2009 UK DVD disc label.jpeg|UK/Ireland DVD disc label
File:The Gruffalo 2009 US DVD cover.jpeg|US DVD cover
File:The Gruffalo 2009 UK DVD cover V4.jpeg|UK/Ireland DVD cover (2019, front)
File:The Gruffalo 2009 UK DVD cover V5.png|UK/Ireland DVD cover (2019, spine)
File:The Gruffalo 2009 UK DVD cover V6.png|UK/Ireland DVD cover (2019, back)
== Storyline ==
=== Plot ===
Hungry for some ripe, scrumptious hazelnuts, a crafty little mouse with a big appetite takes a stroll through the wild, dense forest. But, there, deep in the heart of the green realm, formidable adversaries lurk in the shadows, and before long, the poor, defenceless little mouse crosses paths with a villainous fox, an ominous owl, and a stealthy snake. Of course, all of them cannot wait to gobble him up. Can the brave little mouse put his vibrant imagination to good use to persuade them not to eat him?
=== Genres ===
* Animation
* Family
* Fantasy
* Short
=== Home Media Rating ===
* G (Ireland)
* U (UK)
== Details ==
=== Countries of origin ===
* United Kingdom
* Germany
=== Category Number ===
* E1E10698 (UK / Ireland) (DVD, 2010)
* U0724220SP01 (UK / Ireland) (DVD, 2019)
=== Home Media Release Dates ===
* March 22, 2010 (UK) (DVD)
* March 22, 2010 (Ireland) (DVD)
* August 16, 2011 (US) (DVD)
* February 11, 2019 (UK) (DVD re-release)
* February 11, 2019 (Ireland) (DVD re-release)
== Company Credits ==
=== Production Companies ===
* BBC Worldwide
* BBC One
* Nickelodeon
* Nick Jr.
* PBS
* PBS Kids
* PBS Kids Sprout
* Magic Light Pictures
* Orange Eyes Limited
* Studio Soi
* Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF)
=== Distributors ===
* E1 Entertainment (2010) (UK) (DVD)
* E1 Entertainment (2010) (Ireland) (DVD)
* NCircle Entertainment (2011) (US) (DVD)
* Entertainment One (2019) (UK) (DVD) (through 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment)
* Entertainment One (2019) (Ireland) (DVD) (through 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment)
* 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2019) (UK) (DVD) (through)
* 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2019) (Ireland) (DVD) (through)
== Technical Specs ==
=== Aspect Ratio ===
* 16:9
== Trivia ==
* This is the first animated short film to be produced by Magic Light Pictures, who would later go on to create animated short films based on other popular books, mainly those by Julia Donaldson, such as The Gruffalo's Child (2011), Room on the Broom (2012), Stick Man (2015), The Highway Rat (2017), Zog (2018), The Snail and the Whale (2019), Zog and the Flying Doctors (2020), and Superworm (2021).
*This short film was released in 2009, which is ten years after the original book that this film was based on was published, The Gruffalo, which was first published in 1999.
== Connections ==
=== Followed by ===
* The Gruffalo's Child (2011)
Category:Films
Category:Home Media Releases
Category:DVD Releases
Category:US Home Media Releases
Category:US DVD Releases
Category:UK Home Media Releases
Category:UK DVD Releases
Category:Irish Home Media Releases
Category:Irish DVD Releases
Category:20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Releases