This movie rocks. It's a very little known gem that is also heavily underrated. However, apparently most of those who know it cherish it and recognize its worth. This movie is really cute, charming, delightful and even educational.I wonder if the simple fact that its title is 'Napoleon' partially contributes to its lack of popularity. Those who never heard or saw it or don't know what is it about might easily confound it with some film about the french emperor Napoleon Bonaparte.There are a few minor flaws. Such is the case of the innocent- looking cat that has become vicious and insane and still follows Napoleon until the very last second of the movie. I know that in the movie the cat is bad, but I dislike the fact they make a vicious monster out of an innocent house cat. They're not like that, they're wonderful pets. But aside these slight minuses, the movie is wonderful.«Meet a pup with a nose for adventure» is its tagline. Indeed, that's what it is about. Napoleon is that puppy and he's the cutest thing! He's adorable and irresistible yet behind his angelical looks he has a strong character and the spirit of a true adventurer. And he even eventually becomes a bloomin' hero thanks to his hunger for adventure and bravery. His real name is actually Muffin' but he hates it when they call him that.However, Napoleon doesn't live all these adventures alone. He meets various sorts of animals, including his adventure companion Birdo (a funny bird that resembles a lovebird or a parrot). It's funny that Birdo is always saying that he won't follow Napoleon this time and how stubborn he thinks Napoleon is, but in the end he always goes with him because, deep down, he's got a conscience and he cares about him.This is one of those movies that can be watched over and over and never lose its magic. Besides, the fact that it is foreign (in this case Australian) makes it feel even more special. Cinematography is very rich thanks to the gorgeous settings and landscapes of nature and wonderful angles of sight of Sydney viewed through high heights.The score is brilliant. It has relaxing instrumental music, the endearing song "How Far I'll Fly" and the touching goodbye song by Birdo and Napoleon.Title in Portugal: 'Um Cãozinho Chamado Napoleão'.

Napoleon as a movie tends to be filled with joy, music and cute animals. Even with the flaws of the storyline the movie still is able to be enjoyable if you set aside all your critiques and just watch it as a movie. The characters and the lame humour actually made me laugh but it is actually the characters who make this movie.Without Birdo, Napoleon and all the other characters in this movie you would not have a movie and I give Kudos to all the voice actors for their amazing portrayal. I particularly enjoyed Birdo and the Koala but that's not to say that the others were bad. Even the cat was pretty well done.A nice cheerful movie, if a little old.

I can't add to the comments. It's a wonderful movie.However, if you are one of the unfortunates that picked up the NTSC redubbed copy in the states, you are only getting half the movie.The original Aussie accents, background noises and animal sounds are much nicer in the un-dubbed version.

This is a charming saga of a young puppy called Muffin who longs for adventure as his wild dog alter ego Napoleon. After he escapes from the Sydney suburbs in a hot air balloon conveniently provided by a children's party, we follow Napoleon into the stunning Australian outback where he has many adventures. Napoleon makes friends along the way including Birdo (a galah) who becomes his guide, as well as encountering enemies such as a demented cat who regards all other mammals as mice to be killed. This is a very useful educational film and morality tale with the journey into the `Red Center' of Australia being a metaphor for Napoleon's exploration into himself. Unless we follow our dreams and examine ourselves we might never know what we are capable of. Napoleon overcomes his fear of water to swim and gains maturity through performing a heroic rescue. Eventually he finds he has been brave and wild all along and can return home a more fulfilled pup.This was the first Australian live animal movie, where any humans shown are purely secondary, and it makes full use of its country's unique menagerie of creatures. In fact I was reminded of the Walt Disney wild life films of my childhood, though unfortunately this feature lacked the same marketing power. It is good to see the live action of the animals without the animatronics of Babe, and the director (Mario Andreacchio) cleverly makes use of the 64 puppies needed in the making of the film to match the appropriate expressions. The human voices mainly accord well with their animal counterparts, with some wonderful and famous ones, including Joan Rivers and Barry Humphries' Dame Edna Everage. Anne Louise Lambert (Picnic at Hanging Rock), especially, displays the versatility of her silken voice as a very peeved spider whose web is destroyed by Napoleon; as well as a tremulous earless wallaby terrified of domestic animals; and as an anxious desert mouse. There is some wit in the tale that shows the makers had in mind who else would be watching this film along with its target younger audience, and the songs are pleasant if not exactly memorable.The perceived scary moments for the very young ones, such as Napoleon's encounters with the deranged cat, may be unfounded as my 2½ year old son watched this with interest without being terrified, but then he has a natural love of animals. Although the dogs struggling in the flood did concern him, a train crash in Thomas the Tank Engine and the snowstorm in ‘Tigger the Movie' caused him more emotional distress. He was as equally confused as Napoleon at the sounds of a wild dog barking that turned out to be a perenti lizard doing animal impressions.However, the dingo pups are probably portrayed as too cute (witness the tragic mauling to death of Clinton Gage, a nine year old boy, by a couple of wild dogs on Fraser Island in Queensland in May 2001) and perversely the most ferocious looking animal is a domestic cat. A healthy respect for wild animals must be encouraged so that we recognise that we are living in their environment, and that they as well as household pets will behave unpredictably. The senseless culling of animals in retaliation is never an answer. Co-existence is the way forward, not extermination.In the UK VHS (PAL) copies of this film can be obtained from Britannia Music.