Don Bluth made some wonderful films (Secret of NIMH, Land Before Time, An American Tail, just to name a few.) But as he went on with success, he suddenly tossed out some really STRANGE films. And I'm talking strange. These films are Rock-A-Doodle, Thumbelina, A Troll in Central Park, and Pebble and the Penguin.
So, Pebble and the Penguin is what we're looking over today. If it's apart of the "Strange" family, then we're gonna be in some trouble.
PatP is about a penguin named Hubie, who is in love with the penguin Marina. He wants to propose to her, but the evil penguin Drake wants Marina for his own. Hubie finds a beautiful stone that he can use to propose to Marina. But Drake almost kills him and Hubie sails away on an iceberg where he meets Rocko, a tough penguin who constantly tries to escape the S.S Misery. The two penguins manage to escape, form a friendship, endure some enemies here and there, and finally get back to Antartica to save Marina from marrying Drake. That's the plot, ladies and gentlemen.
What do I think of it? I was watching it the other day, and every twenty minutes or so, I would just stop the movie and change it to something else. I couldn't take it. I don't know what it really was at first, was it the voice acting? The annoying characters? The plot? I couldn't put my finger on it, but as I turned it on again, and after about fifteen minutes, I turned it off...I figured it out.
The MUSIC.
The first song is practically NEVER-ENDING, and you just keep asking yourself "Are they still SINGING?" The second song is boring, can't capture the rhythm of anything, and is even a bit obnoxious. The third song, sung by the penguins on the S.S Misery, is just disgusting...and I'm being nice when I call it disgusting. Really. Listen to the song and see how you react. It's badly sung to the point of wanting to rip your ears out. I think the only song I could tolerate was "Don't Make Me Laugh", sung by Drake...and well, I think I know why: because it's Tim Curry. And Tim Curry seems to steal the show often with song. It's because he's an AMAZING singer. I have to ask how he agreed to do this film, though...maybe to show us that he can take a bad movie and make it better with that song.
I also highly dislike the main character. I understand they're taking a clumsy guy and turning him strong, but seriously, this GUY is annoying! And he also lies, too. Every kid wants to look up to a liar, right? There are also a bazillion things never explained. For example, how on EARTH can Hubie suddenly see what Marina is doing with his pebble? Is it suddenly a crystal ball? It's never explained! If they said something like "Oh, this is a magic pebble that acts like a crystal ball." then I would leave this alone, but it just sort of...happens! There were FEW parts I enjoyed...like the part where Rocko is strangling Hubie.
Overall....a movie that is slightly below average, with terrible music (except Tim Curry's song!!), and many things NEVER EXPLAINED. I think kids will like it, but that's it. Kids. This film was made for kids, so they don't have to point out the big mistakes in this movie. If you're older than about seven, you won't like this film.
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