A Turtle's Tale: Sammy's Adventures (2011)

I only watched in 2-D (the cinema was only showing it that way). It was mostly filled with the target audience (kids), but even as an adult you can enjoy the movie. There is of course an underlying message "hidden" in the movie, bit it never is too heavy. So there is no danger of the movie being too preachy (something another movie did and therefor failed in my opinion, to be a better movie).You have to have a soft spot for animals (even if animated) of course to like this. Or you just take your kids/nephews to see it and you won't be disappointed. The animation and voice work are decent enough (don't expect Pixar quality), too.

To be honest, I wasn't expecting to enjoy it, let alone like it. Although I didn't hate Fly Me to the Moon(also directed by Ben Stassen) as much as others did, it did have a number of problems. In every way, A Turtle's Tale:Sammy's Adventure is a big improvement.I won't say the film is perfect. The narrative is not as predictable or as saccharine as Fly Me to the Moon, in fact it is actually quite cute and appealing complete with a good message, but it does occasionally have its mundane and dull spots particularly with some scenes with the humans. The animation was in general amazing, but I did think some of the human character designs left a lot to be desired.That said, when it comes to the 3D, this is one of those rare exceptions where I'd say the 3D version is a must-see. Because it is clear and sharp enough, and doesn't distract too much. And when it comes to the animation in general, a vast majority of it is amazing, with gorgeous colours and stunning underwater sequences. The soundtrack fits very well, the characters are very likable and endearing mostly, the writing is much funnier and smarter with the jokes not going as overboard as badly as they could have done(I'll drop a hint, no fainting female flies in sight!) and even the pace is snappier. The voice work is very good, with John Hurt the standout as older Sammy.All in all, much better than expected. Beautiful to watch and much more appealing to a family audience than Stassen's previous effort. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Perfect film for its target audience. It seems to me that the other reviewers did not see this film with the intended audience. 4 to 8 year old kids love it. It's a simple story but the 5 kids I took to see this film for a birthday party loved it (in Paris, last Summer) and so did the other 150 or so film goers in the theater. The characters are adorable. Much better turtles and underwater environments than in the dated "Finding Nemo". The message about the environment was great too. Not patronizing, just the right amount. I wonder how they can do it, at a fraction of the cost of the US budgets for animation. But best of all: the 3D. By far the best use of the technology I have seen so far. Not even Avatar comes close. This alone is worth the price of admission. I have seen several 3D films since and they seem to be getting from bad to worse.

If "Sammy's Adventures" seems rather predictable and dull, it is probably because Belgian director Ben Stassen seems so carried away by its anti-pollution and environmental messages that he misses out on the plot and the action. However, the visuals in this underwater opus are top-notch (especially in 3D) and way better than Stassen's last effort "Fly Me To The Moon".I also like the way Stassen tells the story from a turtle's eye view - which will go a long way in educating children on undersea life and protecting those creatures and our ecology. The movie is about a green sea turtle who is hatched in 1959 and spends the next 50 years travelling the world while it is being changed by relentless whale and shark fishing, pollution and global warming. Hours after being hatched, Sammy (voice of Yuri Lowenthal) finds and loses the love of his life, a pretty hatchling called Shelly (Isabelle Fuhrman of Orphan fame).On the epic journey across the oceans that all turtles must accomplish before returning to the beach where they were born, Sammy dodges every danger in the hope of meeting Shelly again. On the way, he also has encounters with humans, both good and bad, as well as toothy sharks and piranhas.It is easy to root for Sammy and his pals not only because they are cute but also because they are sporting and gutsy. With its story spanning over 50 years, Stassen marks the milestone periods with human events (like the hippies of the Sixties and the Greenpeace protests) and with classic songs on the soundtrack. Of course, the Beatles are represented with their hit, 'Across The Universe' (what else?).On the downside, character development seems to be at a minimum for some - and the 3D thrills (read action and stunts) are nowhere as impressive as those of "Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole". Indeed, from the numerous death-defying scraps that Sammy escapes from, we wonder how he can have such an 'enchanted' life indeed if not for far-fetched plotting. Nevertheless, it is an entertaining sea-world documentary for the kids. - LIM CHANG MOH (limchangmoh.blogspot.com)