I was very nervous about this, as My Family and Other Animals was one of my favourite books from my childhood. But this adaptation is pretty good and very faithful to the book Matthew Goode and Imelda Staunton in particular are really good as Larry and Mother. While Mother is played as a little more like the rest of her family (quirky) rather than the slightly more laid back version in the book, I think it works very well. Omid Djalili's Spiro was a little too 'normal,' but still pretty good. The only really annoying thing about the film was the soundtrack. It was very intrusive and loud, and didn't fit the tone of the film at all. After looking through the other reviews it seems people either absolutely love it, or really hate it. It certainly is very prominent in the film; sometimes dialogue is barely able to be heard.

I was surprised to learn that 'My Family and Other Animals' was a TV movie. I wonder why it wasn't made into a feature film. It didn't have that made for television feel at all. I liked it so much that I thought I had to say something about it. Based on Gerald Durrell's autobiography, Sheree Folkson's film tells the humorous and moving tale of an eccentric family that moves to Greece after being fed up of the terrible English weather. The four siblings, Larry, Leslie, Margot and Gerald couldn't have been any more different. Larry is an aspiring writer, Leslie hunts for pleasure, Margot is enjoys all the attention she gets from men and Gerald is a passionate explorer of nature and a lover of animals. There's a lot of chaos in the movie but it is all done in good humour. Imelda Staunton, Matthew Goode, Russell Tovey, Tamzin Merchant and Eugene Simon perform wonderfully as they really do feel like a family. Omid Djalili provides some hilarious comic relief and Chris Langham is very likable. With exotic looks and loads of humour, energy and adventure 'My Family and Other Animals' was a joy to watch.

I caught this movie on PBS at four in the morning and was hooked for the next two hours. It's a funny, original story beautifully shot (one assumes on location in Greece). The focus of the film is on the youngest member of an eccentric British family and his absorbing interest in nature, but the rest of his clan all have their own unique quirks. It's a little bit like James Herriot by way of ALICE IN WONDERLAND. But what impressed me most of all was the assured direction. It jumps from character to character and incident to incident, all vastly amusing, without ever becoming boring or wasting a frame. It makes me want to hunt down the TV series or go read the books. By all means catch this if you ever have a chance.

If you like the gentle English approach to a story such as seen in Upstairs Downstairs and All Creatures Great and Small, this film is for you. It features the young life of Gerald Durrel, a famed British naturalist, and his eccentric family while they lived on Crete in pre WW2 days. Young Gerald fills the house with animals, a brother likes to shoot while another brother feels his whole family is crazy including his younger sister who chases older men. Many oddball friends grace the storyline and a well composed comedic music score adds to the pleasure of this production. The acting is superb throughout with the young actor playing Durrel being perfect for the role. Maybe some 'Hollywood' producers might learn from this tale you do not always need exploding objects to ensure a good film.