The Princess and the Goblin (1991)

I've always enjoyed this movie. I first saw it when I was little and it was one of my favorite animated movies as a kid. I had it on VCR and just watched it on and on. I'm Icelandic so I saw the movie in Icelandic growing up. Some years ago I tried to watch it in English but I didn't enjoy it. But, that's just me. It's just become a habit seeing it so often in Icelandic. Now that I've watched it again in Icelandic, I still enjoy it but I have noticed that the animation isn't really that perfect. It could be much better but it doesn't really bother me.I really like the storyline, it's very good. In my opinion this is a very enjoyable movie for kids.

I only first saw this movie a few months ago, and I've got to say it really is a mixed bag. I've not yet finished the book in which this movie is based on so I'll judge this movie on it's own. First I must talk about the animation. The animation starts off pretty good, not Disney quality but it's passable. However it's one of those animated movie, you know the one where the quality seems to get worse as the movie goes on. Those kind of movies really bother me. I know animated films are painstakingly hard to make but I just feel this approach is lazy. But a good story is a good way to cover some flaws, and how is that? The story is actually good, it's well paced, it ties up the loose end and it managed to do so with an 80 minute running time. Not to mention this is the story that really helped influence Tolkien and C.S. Lewis to right The Hobbit and Narnia. So props to that. With that said a good story can't be saved unless it has good characters to carry it through and this is were it gets mixed. First things first, the Goblins. Everyone knows goblins are the most devious creatures of all fantasy, how are they portrayed in the movie? How do I put this nicely.... THEIR ANNOYING!!!!!!!! Seriously goblins are versatile, open to many possibilities but this movie decided to go to lowest denominator. The supporting characters are not very good either, the guards, the nanny etc. are very annoying. Fortunately to the movie's credit the two leads Princess Irene and Curdie are actually likable. They share a cute chemistry and you do want to route for them. In conclusion The Princess and Goblin is lukewarm, A good well paced story with two likable leads, but annoying supporting characters and inconsistent animation. So in the end I'm glad I saw it, but I won't be rushing to see it anytime soon.

The Princess and the Goblin has absolutely terrible animation. Terrible as in The Legend of Zelda Saturday morning cartoon terrible. Which is too bad, because otherwise it's really a nice movie. The story is magical and exciting. The characters are likable. The English dub is surprisingly well-acted, with competent performances from even the most minor of characters. The background painting is beautiful. The music is appropriate and pretty. It's well-directed, with the grandmother scenes likely to trigger little thrills of awe in even older and more-cynical viewers. If the animation had been vaguely above sub-par, this might have been a great movie. Unfortunately, it isn't.

I was struck by the amateurish animation, like the rough work in the CTW version of "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" but with better backgrounds and with even worse sound. I can forgive weak visuals when the story is strong, but this feature falls short there too. It's a mishmash of poorly developed characters and poorly motivated action set pieces. The Great Great Grandmother character is tossed into the mix for some magical glamor, but only adds to the humor and confusion with her "I'll always be there for you, except when I'm not" speech. The violence is also a little rougher than I'm used to, including a bloodstain from a character's wound, a goblin dog shown in shadow being kicked in the head until senseless, and a strange moment where a nursemaid is licked, repeatedly and lasciviously, on her clothed belly and chest by an attacking goblin. The voice acting is good (not surprising considering the cast) but it's not enough to save this movie.