Oh help. Oh no! This is not the Gruffalo.If you know the book of which this story is the sequel, then you have experienced something special. It has an untrusted narrator nested in another untrusted narrator. The inner con is by a mouse who fools dumb predators with a tale of a fictional creature. The outer con has the noir storyteller change the nature of the world to make this creature real.The mouse then modifies his original con to escape the new danger. The surrounding execution of the book is good: rhythms and detail in the drawings. But the real power of the thing is the way it takes a Chinese folk tale (similar to the Br'er Rabbit stories) and adds in this meta-noir, meta-cinematic structure.So imagine my anticipation on hearing that the same team produced a sequel and that it had been translated into film. Back into film would be my preferred notion.Well, "The Gruffalo's Child" book has none of the magic of the original — none of the teasing of truth that made me want to expose my kids to it.This story is told without any folds in the narration. There is a nesting in the film version that copies that of the film of the first story: a mother squirrel telling the story of the child, but even that is straight; there is no causal connection between the world of the squirrels and that of the mouse. This only works if you have the original story in your head and consider this a second half-chapter.The style of the animation is poor. The book's text is jaunty and the illustrations support that (without adding to it). The studio who did this apparently had a good procedure for snow, but chose to renter all the creatures as balloons.Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

'THE GRUFFALO'S CHILD': Two and a Half Stars (Out of Five)This 2011 TV animated short film is a sequel to the 2009 animated short 'THE GRUFFALO', which was nominated for a 2011 Academy Award. Once again it's based on a children's book (of the same name) by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. It was adapted for the screen by Donaldson and Johanna Stuttmann and directed by Uwe Heidschotter and Johannes Weiland. It features the same all star voice cast as the original (including Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, John Hurt, Rob Brydon, James Corden and Tom Wilkinson). Coltrane once again voices the beast known as 'The Gruffalo' and in this story he's telling tales to his daughter (Shirley Henderson) of a 'Big Bad Mouse'. The child then ventures out to find the ferocious mouse and comes across various other animals on her journey (including the snake, owl and fox from the original film). It was screened with the 2013 Oscar nominated animated shorts in theaters and billed as 'highly commended'. At 27 minutes it's a tad too long and kind of just feels like more of the same (as the original film). It once again is nothing special as well. It will probably fascinate small children but no one else. I don't especially care for the animation in these films either.Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6yq7kwUUDQ

"The Gruffalo's Child" is a very good sequel of "The Gruffalo", which has all the many virtues of its predecessor, such as the beautiful animation style (that made a nice contrast between the cartoonish appearance of the characters with the realistic sceneries) the simple but charming story, and the cute and endearing characters.The new character is very likable and adorable, being a nice addition to the story. The result is something nice, heartwarming and pleasant, which is appropriate for the whole family.If you like the first "Gruffalo" short, then you will enjoy this too.

Nice story about curiosity and survive. About childhood and search behind legend. And soul of legend. A naive story about basic things. In the skin of evening tale but seductive for animation, game of snow, remember of lost age and moral. For short dialogs and small ambitions. For old fashion flavor. And for memories about another meetings of heroes with the secrets or monsters. In fact, a kind of hot tea. With lemon, cookies and a sunny morning. Or a piece of chocolate or a milk cup. Or fly of a bird. After complicated projects of Disney or Pixar revolution, it is an oasis far from universal movies or box office star.And this is secret of its success. Courage to be only a story of a clever mouse and a Gruffalo in search of truth Nothing more.