The Magic Pudding
Release Date: 14th December 2000 - Australia
Production Companies
Australian Broadcasting Corporation (produced with the assistance of)
Icon Entertainment International
New South Wales Film & Television Office (developed with the assistance of)
Premium Movie Partnership (produced with the assistance of)
RTV Family Entertainment AG (produced with the assistance of)
Genre: Animation/Family
Rating: G
Budget: A$12,000,000 (estimated)
Box Office Gross: A$1,001,000 (Australia)
Plot Summary
Bunyip Bluegum is a
splendid young koala on a
parents when he comes
across a magic pudding named Albert and meets a loud sailor, Bill Barnacle, and his penguin mate, Sam Sawnoff. Together, they form the Noble Society of Pudding Owners, as they constantly thwart the attempts of the Pudding Thieves.
Voice Cast
Sam Neill - Sam Sawnoff
Geoffrey Rush - Bunyip Bluegum
John Cleese - Albert the Magic Pudding
Dave Gibson - Uncle Wattleberry/Possum/Additional Voices
John Laws - Rumpus Bumpus
Greg Carroll - Watkin Wombat
Peter Gwynne - Benjamin Brandysnap
Michael Veitch - Bandicoot
Robyn Moore - Henrietta Hedgehog/Additional Voices
Jack Thompson - Buncle
Mary Coustas - Ginger
Sandy Gore - Frog on the Log
Toni Collette - Meg Bluegum
Martin Vaughan - Parrot
Gerry Connolly - Dobson Dorking
Lee Perry - Additional Voices
Marg Downey - Additional Voices
Crew
Story Development/Director - Karl Zwicky
Based on the Story "The Magic Pudding" - Norman Lindsay
Story Development - Morris Gleitzman
Screenplay - Harry Cripps,
Greg Haddrick and Simon Hopkinson
Executive Producers - Paddy Conroy
and Carmel & John Travers
Executive Producers: Icon - Bruce Davey,
Ralph Kemp and Mel Gibson (Uncredited)
Producer - Gerry Travers
Production Designer/Background
Style Development/Drawn Background
Artist/Digital Background Supervisor/Artist -
Helen Steele
Production Designer/Background Style
Development/Key Color Stylist/Digital
Background Artist - Kelly Wallwork
Character Designer/Storyboard/
Timing Artist/Animation Director -
Robbert Smit
Character Designer/Storyboard Artist/
Key Layout Design - Daniel Foley
Character Designer/Storyboard/Layout Artist -
David Wilkinson
Character Designer/Layout Artist - Jo-Anne Boag
Storyboard/Layout Artists - Stephen Doric
and Joe Wylie
Storyboard/Layout Artist/Mouth Breakdown -
Astrid Nordheim
Layout Director/Animation Supervisor -
Margaret Parkes
Editor - Richard Hindley
Sound/Re-Recording Mixer - Phil Judd
Re-Recording Mixer - Peter Purcell
Music/Original Songs/Keyboards/
Programming - Chris Harriott
Original Songs - Dennis Watkins
Conductor/Orchestrator - Christopher Gordon
Concert Master - Phillip Hartl
Review
As a young kid, I was unfamiliar with the children's classic, The Magic Pudding, having never read it, but having seen the animated movie only once a long time ago. I have good memories of it and can't wait to see the film again. While it had decent production values, a tremendous voice cast, and terrific animation, the character designs remained true to the book illustrations. Unfortunately, the plot is unfaithful to the original story Norman Lindsay wrote. It lacks the wit and the surrealistic charm that make it so great. Perhaps the filmmakers got the recipe wrong and substituted their interpretation for the original storyline.
The songs don't highly advance the plot and are unmemorable and instantly forgettable. Perhaps they were trying to follow in Disney's footsteps, but by the time the film premiered, they were unaware that the Disney formula had ended with the advent of computer animation, thanks to Toy Story. On the bright side, the racist overtones in Norman Lindsay's story are gone to make it more politically correct.
There are some good things about this film, especially the voices with actors like John Cleese, who is fitting as Albert, the irascible magic pudding, and Geoffrey Rush, who is appropriately sincere as the plucky young koala Bunyip. The rest of the cast, including Hugo Weaving, Sam Neill, and Jack Thompson, is also good, to be honest. I never knew Toni Collette could sing, and she is heard briefly as Bunyip's missing mum.
THE MAGIC PUDDING is an average but watchable film. Young children unfamiliar with the book will likely enjoy this movie. Those who have read the classic Australian book will be disappointed by this film, as its story differs significantly from the original.
Star rating: (5/10) Average
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