Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1986) ** 1/2 (out of 4)This animated Australian version of the classic Robert Louis Stevenson novel starts off with Henry Jekyll being laid to rest. We then flash forward twenty-years to when a couple boys ask their grandmother about the legend of Jekyll and Hyde so she tells them the story.I've seen so many versions of this novel that it's not even funny. It's even harder trying to come up with an original or different way to tell the story so I give the producers of this thing a tip of the hat for making it appeal to children. For the most part this was a pretty good film and I think it will appeal to children more than the adults. Nothing here is overly scary and the animation is good for the era. The vocal performances were also quite good and I thought the filmmakers did a very good job with the look and attitude of Hyde. This certainly isn't a masterpiece but it's at least fun.

I have seen better adaptations of the famous story elsewhere(namely the 1931 Fredric March film), but this is not half bad at all. While not quite as good as Wind in the Willows, Peter Pan and Ivanhoe it is towards the better end of the spectrum for the Burbank Films Australia animations(much better than their versions of The Odyssey, The Three Musketeers, Prisoner of Zenda and 20000 Leagues Under the Sea anyhow). The animation does have some stiff character designs, but has some pleasing noir-ish elements that are very fitting in tone with the piece. The music is quite atmospheric, the writing injects bits of humour without it feeling out of place and the story is thrilling at least, even the additional characters don't take away from the scary parts and the ending was moving. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde are both well-realised and well-contrasted to one another, and the voice work is solid. Overall, not the best adaptation, but a very watchable one. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Burbank Films Australia lasted only 1982-88, but they made very decent animes. In spite of the name (Burbank CA was the first corporate site of Disney), their style was very different and certainly not sugar-sweet.When I first watched this, I was less than overwhelmed (maybe due to the affected German dub, but my DVD didn't have the original soundtrack, only German and French). Tonight I gave it a second chance, as double feature to Hunchback of Notre Dame by the same studio, and must admit I liked it much more.Jekyll & Hyde is of course a very dark story, and even in this version softened up by the addition of grandma and children, cat and mouse, it still is a somewhat horror movie. What surprises me most is that in Germany it is rated 0+ (fit to view without age limit). After all, one murder is shown in plain sight, several others reported, and it is book-ended on both sides with Mr. Hyde's burial...On second sight I liked it more. Compared to other animes made for children, this one (as well as Hunchback, the other Burbank production I've seen) does an earnest job at presenting a classic piece of literature. Maybe the German censors thought "well, just a cartoon with no sex", but I'd rather had it cleared for 6+ or 12+, to prevent nightmares in young minds. If you're even older, I can certainly recommend this one. Good music, good plot, very decent drawing.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a animated adaptation of the famous novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, elaborate in many film versions. This one is dedicated to children or teenage audience. It has an interesting framework: the scary story about Dr. Jekyll is narrated by a nanny to two young boys - before sleeping. The retro stylization is nice and thrilling plot is interpreted in an expressive way (probably this movie is not suitable for the youngest ones). The humor is attendant only in conception of Mr. Hyde who act more as malicious heavy than a impersonate evil. The voices are becomingly picked (especially Max Meldrum and David Nettheim). It is not the best alteration of Stevenson's work but it is nice and teenagers should like it.