Horrid Henry the movie

Horrid Henry the movie is a new  feature film directed by Nick More and shot in 3D. Theo Stevenson takes the title role, with big names such as Anjelica Huston and Richard E Grant as back-up. The film is rated U. It is based on the character of Horrid Henry, but doesn't adapt any storylines from the books, but uses the characters.

Horrid Henry is a troublemaking kid who hates his school, the infuriating girl next door, Moody Margaret (Played by Scarlett Stitt) and his goody goody little brother Peter. However he is soon forced into an alliance with both of those children as he and his purple hand gang face impossible TV shows, evil headmasters and a great challange, as they fight to save the school they always hated!

I am a fan of the HH stories as you already know. This was a mixed bag in truth. The bad: The 3D was totally pointless. I saw it in 2D but most of the time it won't have been used. There was CGI was about 3 times (maybe more) in this film. It looked beyond horrible.Truly terrible effects. Dick and Dom were a mistake. A big one. The cast was good, but they were very creepy and weird. I felt that some of the things in the books weren't captured in all their glory. Francesca Simon writes brilliantly, as Tony Ross' illustrations are very funny. However, the important parts of the books were mostly absent. I've never liked the character of Perfect Peter as he is such a tell tale but his telling tales is almost entirely absent. As is Henry's frequent transformations into animals. Both of the above only occur during 1 scene, when Henry transforms into a very fake looking dinosaur. Mum and Dad, who are also characters I dislike, barely appear, so their relationship with Henry isn't really shown.

The humour and script in this movie weren't very good. The humour was more disgusting than funny. One bit was so disgusting I clamped my hand over my mouth in horror. Adults may not enjoy this as it does somewhat lack appeal for that age group.

The good: It was fun, lively, energetic and the songs were catchy. The movie was light and directed with good visual style from Nick More. Acting was pretty good, With Anjelica Huston and Richard E Grant delivering the goods and Theo Stevenson, Scarlett Stitt and Ross Marron doing very well. HH the movie is great for youngsters. I had a smile on my face through the entire movie.

Verdict: It's weak script and lack of appeal to adults won't make this something that everyone can sit through, but it is an colourful and fun family movie that has enough charm to make children smile.
Rating: 6