Director: Wip Vernooij, Morgan Francis.
Starring: Phillipa Alexander, Emma Tate, Steve Cleverley, Rajesh David.
Certificate: U.
Running Time: 81 minutes.
Synopsis: Join Katsuma, Poppet, Mr. Snoodle, and the other Moshi Monters in an action-packed, song-filled race against time! Together they must stop evil Dr. Strangeglove and his incompetent Glump sidekick Fishlips from pulverising the recently discovered Great Moshling Egg.
Going into MOSHI MONSTERS: THE MOVIE, the only thing I could tell you about these colourful little critters was that they were based on a toy line. With my four year-old child sadly having already seen everything suitable for her age range, punishment doesn’t come close for parents hoping this film will keep their children happy for a couple of hours before Santa’s arrival
The soulless, sugar-coated animation and musical numbers most definitely had her captivated as she danced down the aisles, but anyone above the age of eight and not into this world would find the plot surprisingly complex and headache-inducing. However, in between the tunes, she looked as bored and bemused I was, with squeaky voices, silly noises and characters difficult to comprehend in their identity or use quickly becoming annoying, cringeworthy and painful entertainment. MOSHI features none of the warmth or heart of a Disney-Pixar film, or even the usually inferior DreamWorks animation efforts. It does however boast oodles of hyperactivity only helping the 81 minutes pass a little more quickly.
After viewing, I still couldn’t tell you which character was which. The orange tiger/bunny and pink care bear creatures are the two leads if that helps? The former is a selfish movie star wannabe, while the latter is trying to guide it/him/her on the right path during their adventure to reclaim some sort of rare golden egg from Bond-like villain Dr. Strangeglove. They’re then bombarded on this adventure by a countless host of other friends. Again, there were so many it’s difficult to keep track of their crazy names; an Indian Elvis impersonator named Bobbi Singsong a standout if only for the awkward racial stereotype.
Given our love of the aforementioned Disney classics or Pixar masterpieces aimed at both adults and children, perhaps we’ve been spoiled in hoping for something mature for us grown-ups in every animated feature film. MOSHI MONSTERS: THE MOVIE is the first time in a long time I’ve felt I don’t belong in the same cinema as my little one, while it was – and always is – a joy seeing her happily bobbing along to specific scenes. Unless you’re an absolute die hard fan and invest a healthy amount of time in the knowledge of this simplistically vibrant world, you’ll feel dumber come the conclusion to the world of our own.
MOSHI MONSTERS: THE MOVIE is out in UK cinemas now.
