phoenix 2 As I haven't read the book-comic book, I can't say if it's a good adaption or not. But the animation as it is is good enough. The story is very truthful and you can easily be moved by it. The characters are simple, ordinary people, who try to deal with the hardships that life throws at them. The couple's dynamics were great and the family drama was moving. I loved that the movie kept it real and didn't try to idolised the situation or soften it. The drawings were really good, with soft colours that reminded of a winter tale rather than a fantasy fairy tale. So, my rating is 4 out of 10.

morrison-dylan-fan Thanks to them being shown every Christmas on TV,I can't remember an X-mas where I've not seen at least one of the classic adaptations of Raymond Briggs's books. With the films that were shown during the holidays about to be removed,I looked out for anything I missed,and found out about a brand new Briggs adaptation,which led to me going to meet Ethel and Ernest.The plot:Meeting in the 1920's,Lady Maid Ethel falls in love with a milkman called Ernest. Settling down in London,Ethel and Raymond Briggs have a child called Raymond. Whilst going about their daily lives, Ernest hears on the radio that Hitler has gained power in Germany. View on the film:Opening with a live action intro from Briggs,writer/director Roger Mainwood gives the title an incredibly warm,intimate atmosphere,drawn from immaculate animation painted with an expert mix of detailed designs for the house that the couple spend their life in,and light watercolours, emulating the melancholy of a fading photo. Witnessing the couple go from the fears of WWII to the swinging 60's,Mainwood delicately plays the score/background noises to land on each era,from the radio announcement of the UK being at war with Nazi Germany,to the feel-good anthems of the post-war years.Staying close to Briggs's original book,the screenplay by Mainwood gives Ernest & Ethel an exquisite sense of humour,with gentle one liners displaying how relaxed,and loved up they are with each other. Ending on an incredibly heart wrenching moment,Mainwood finds a Poignancy in the earthy daily life of the couple, shining from Ernest having to black out the windows during air raids,to Ernest and Ethel (brilliantly voiced with a rustic grit by Brenda Blethyn and Jim Broadbent ) becoming aware of the passage of time,as they see their only son Raymond leave for art collage,from where he would later pay tribute to his parents:Ethel and Ernest.

Prismark10 Ethel & Ernest is a tribute by author Raymond Briggs to his working class parents. Both meet in 1928, Ethel who is older, is a maid to a wealthy family. Ernest, a milkman who is 5 years her junior waves at her every day and then one day brings her flowers and asks her out.Ernest is a Labour supporter, Ethel believe that the toffs are born to rule and is a Conservative. They get married and Ernest saves enough money to put down a deposit for a house and get a mortgage. Eventually little Raymond arrives but they could not have anymore children. When war breaks out Raymond is sent to the country where he would be away from the bombing raids.After the war, Ernest cheers on the creation of the welfare state but ongoing rationing places a strain. As Raymond gets older, he does his bit in National Service and later goes to art school and insists on having long hair.The film becomes more episodic as we go through the swinging sixties and eventually to their old age. Ernest, ever the optimist, although it dawns on him that as a manual worker, he was always relatively low paid (he finds out that Raymond could earn just as much as him by working one day in art school) but he did manage to buy a house in London and eventually purchased a car.A charming animated film of two people in love and coping with events but also a social history of the twentieth century. Lovely voice work from Brenda Blethyn and Jim Broadbent.

legindyoll This adaptation is a lovely look at the lives of 2 'average' London folks who happen to be the parents of the author Raymond Briggs who is best known for The Snowman, a Christmas favourite for nearly everyone.The story takes you from the couples marriage to their deaths and on it's way, takes you through the history of England from pre World War II on through to the 1970s. On it's way. the atmospheric animation of the second world war is beautifully and tastefully done, and gives one a real taste of what life was like. Anderson shelters, Morrison shelters, The Blitz, the docklands on fire, Spitfires, Doodle Bugs and more. I'd recommend this film to anyone from 9 to 90 and past.