stick man

Stick Man

source: Stick Man

This is a delightful short film and it's nice to watch with the kids. Its visual storytelling is impressive and the music is quite moving. Highly rrecommend recommend.

My little niece and nephew wanted to watch this practically every day over Christmas, and I have watched it of my own accord since then. It's got beautiful animation (looks like stop motion but is actually CGI I think) and a lovely classical-style score. The voice acting is also very good. I particularly like Russell Tovey as the dog, and Martin Freeman as Stick Man does an excellent job of selling lines I thought were inane when I first read the book. It's very faithful to the book, with an animation style that's a close match for Axel Scheffler's pictures, and it includes all of Julia Donaldson's words with very few extras and minimal changes, mainly pronoun changes to allow lines to be spoken by characters instead of the narrator. This means the extra scenes, such as the prologue showing the stick family having fun at Christmas, unfold mainly without dialogue, which can be slightly jarring. It also means there are sometimes long gaps between pairs of rhyming lines, which makes the rhymes sound odd and unnecessary. These stylistic choices are the same as in all the other Julia Donaldson TV adaptations since The Gruffalo, and they're things you can get used to if you're prepared to let your busy grown-up mind slow down for a while. The story gets quite dark and worrisome at times. While Stick Man initially takes his tribulations with good humour - for example, helping the girl who threw him in the river by swimming ahead of the other Pooh-sticks - later on he's in real peril and clearly at the end of his endurance. Small children might miss the indications of the changing seasons that show just how long his journey takes, but older viewers won't. Also, to me, the idea of being swept out to sea, unable to control where the current takes you, is pretty scary. So is the thought of a partner or parent going out one morning and never coming home. Kudos to the filmmakers for taking the little twig guy's problems seriously while maintaining a light touch so that children aren't overwhelmed. It's the thoughtful details that keep me interested. The watchful cat that provides a bridge between two scenes in a montage. The charcoal drawing of the stick family, which fades into a shot of Stick Man lying in a grate, flanked by ordinary sticks. Stick Man recognising the boy who used him as a bat, and picking out a real cricket bat from Santa's sack. The look on his face when he realises the last three presents in the sack are wrapped in leaves. I have never been bored while watching Stick Man, and if my niece and nephew want to watch it again next time I visit, that's fine by me.

I've not read this book but recently watched this with my toddler. Knowing it comes from the same place as Room on the Broom, and most recently, Zog, I was surprised that it had quite a downbeat tone. Essentially the plot sees Stick Man getting into bad situations, each one taking him further from home and into greater danger. I was surprised on watching that it wasn't lighthearted, it wasn't funny but that it played quite dark. Okay it has the rhyming dialogue that these type of things have, and the animation was rounded and likeable, but the material had that tone to it, and there weren't any laughs to break it up. Reflecting back, it maybe played well for what it did, because it produced something based on danger and loss, but did it in this animated way that was easier to digest. I can imagine children being a bit saddened, before the magic of the end produces a happy ending, but they will not be overly frightened or threatened by it. My toddler understood the importance of Stick Man's family, and why his situation was bad, but she didn't get upset or bored by it - in this way I think the balance was good and the film's tone carried it off well. Not one of these films that I'll come back to loads, but an interesting change from the other BBC/Donaldson animations.

Delightful! An incredible voice cast. Endearing animation. A wonderful, adventurous tale to be revisited often by folks of all ages. I give this film an 8 (delightful) out of 10. {Animated Family Short}

My two and a half year old grandson absolutely loves this movie and watches it on a regular basis. It teaches some good lessons for youngsters and the characters make sense to young children. I find the gentle voices are just right and the story line progresses at a rate young children can easily follow. I have watched it several times and as yet I have not got bored with it as there is so much to point out to my grandson. With another one on the way. I think I shall be watching it for a few years yet!

I saw clips for this short animation that would be broadcast during Christmas, I could tell it was the same writers and producers of The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo's Child, so I was hoping for the same kind of fun. Basically Stick Man (Martin Freeman) is a living tree twig who lives with his Stick Lady Love (Sally Hawkins) and their children in the family tree. One day Stick Man goes out for a jog, and through a series of incidents gets pulled further away from his home. As a tree twig he is used as a stick for a dog to play fetch, by a child as a Pooh Stick for the river game, a twig for a swan building its nest, washed out to sea and landing on the beach to be used as a mast for a flag on a sand castle. Every incident he manages to escape, and repeats the phrase "I'm Stick Man, I'm Stick Man, I'M STICK MAN, that's me!", and it appears that he is gone for an entire year. In the end it is Santa Claus (Hugh Bonneville) who is his unexpected saviour, he helps him get back home to his family in time for Christmas, and he is content to stay with them, family is all he needs. Narrated by Jennifer Saunders, also starring Russell Tovey as Dog and Rob Brydon in various supporting roles. It's a simple story about a man who is a stick dragged away from his family, getting caught in sticky situations, and trying to find a way to get back to his family and stick with them, with fantastic stop-motion animation and well chosen voices it is a charming and likable animated fantasy for all ages. Good!

Nothing special to say about this movie except that it is one of those best cartoons or animations based on a book. Simple, magical, funny, sweet, inspirational. For example it inspired me to build some small device similar to branch and let river or even just a stream bring it to far far away. Something I always imagined as a kid. Also flying in air either in real vehicle or in from of toys like drones. Good for Christmas and New Year. Reminds me of some religious or spiritual teaching that even branches are alive.