The Gruffalo's Child

Based on the sequel book to The Gruffalo, this would be released exactly 2 years after the first short on BBC One on Christmas Day 2011. Unlike the last one with its Oscar nomination, this didn't really get much with awards, although it still won Best TV Special at the Festival of European Animated Feature Films and TV Specials in 2013. With all the original voice actors reprising their roles, can the Gruffalo bring as much fun a second time round, or is it a case of sequelitis? Let's take a look!

Story: like the first special, the story is pretty simple. This time round, the Gruffalo's daughter is curious about going into the forest to find the 'big bad mouse' despite her father's warnings. From then on, this follows the same structure as the first movie, only in reverse as the Gruffalo's child meets the villain animals from before and they all tell her how to find 'the big bad mouse'. After a few shenanigans, she concludes that it's not real until she meets him face to face and he uses his quick thinking yet again. It is pretty cute to see this structure be seen from a child's perspective and it takes a bit of a darker turn because of it. This isn't bad, it's just that I think it'll scare kids a bit more cos of some moments of tense atmosphere while the Gruffalo's child is alone. I will say that it does improve in a way with more scenes between the Gruffalo & his daughter fully explaining why he won't let her go out instead of abruptly starting with her in the forest. The same can be applied to the ending as it definitely doesn't feel as abrupt as before. If I had an issue, this is so much like the first story with the structure that I felt like I was watching the same movie all over again. It just felt like they could have done a bit more with the idea instead of. But for what it is, it's still pretty cute.

Animation: Like before, the animation is beautiful. Now looking at it again, I can understand that they weren't really supposed to be making the textures look realistic, but rather being more like stop motion figures, and it does work much better with the more cartoony character designs like the original book. They still look like their cute selves, even if the Gruffalo's child is a smaller version of her dad. Probably what's improved compared to before is the backgrounds because of the snowy atmosphere, with the detail on ice, icicles and snow looking beautiful. The darkness throughout also helps improve the lighting and in creating atmosphere instead of just being in daylight. The creative character animation is still intact, although it's arguably a bit better due to the snow leading to some creatively footprints and the viscosity can affect the way the characters move. It's clear that the animation has the same cute quirks as before, and it helps in its favour this time round.

Characters: When it comes to these characters, all I can really say is...it's just them. The Gruffalo's Child, (voiced by Shirley Henderson AKA Moaning Myrtle herself) is pretty cute with her innocence and bravery of going to the forest. The rest of the characters are their same selves, with the Gruffalo still being scared of the mouse from last time up to the point that he forbids his daughter from ever leaving his sight. Although he can be reduced to the overprotective father cliche for no real reason, he still isn't a bad character. The mouse doesn't appear as much as before, but he clearly still has his witty and cocky personality while still being likeable. The villains from before don't contribute as much as now, but their sly personalities remain intact on top of their creative ways of scaring the Gruffalo's child into going back to her father. The Squirrel mother is the same loving mother who tells her children the story. While the characters are their same old selves, the charm of the original voice actors all bring them to life again, fully bringing out their personalities once more.

The Gruffalo's Child may not be as good as its predecessor, but that doesn't mean it's bad. In fact, far from it. With a cute yet familiar story, gorgeous animation and the same likeable characters, it's still worth a watch. Fans of the original book will definitely still enjoy it and even if kids may find it a bit scary at first, I will say that it shouldn't scar them (of course it wouldn't, it's still aimed at young kids at the end of the day.)
Story:😊
Animation:😄
Characters:😊
Overall:😊