Paul Magne Haakonsen
I ended up watching "Stick Man" because my son wanted to watch it. I had no idea what it was about or who was in it."Stick Man" turned out to actually be an entertaining animated movie, despite it being fairly short.There is an overwhelming sensation of this story being based on a children's rhyme or perhaps even a book, although I am not sure, nor familiar with such a rhyme or book. It is because of the narrative presentation that the animated movie does take on that quality.As for the voice acting, well then there was surprisingly little dialogue in this animated movie. And I had no idea that it was Martin Freeman who actually voiced Stick Man before I came to review the animated movie.The animation in "Stick Man" was good and to the point. Although it was at times fairly simplistic, it served its purpose well and it was straight to the point."Stick Man" hardly is a classic, but it is still fun enough to watch once or twice.
Prismark10
Stick Man is an endearing adaptation of Julia Donaldson's children's book featuring the voices of Martin Freeman, Sally Hawkins and Hugh Bonneville. It remains faithful to the rhyming text.Stick Man lives in the family tree with his family. Stick lady and stick kids or should they be twigs?However while he is out for a jog he gets snatched by a dog and there begins a series of events leading him to be taken further away from home and seemingly no chance of finding his way back to the family tree as the seasons come and go. Luckily for Stick Man there is a festive tinged ending in sight for him.Stick man takes a lot of knocks in this heart-warming CGI cartoon adaptation but he is a kindly soul but at a loss as to why people do not see him as a person but just as a stick.As a slightly cynical parent it is easy to be dismissive of these types of Christmas day special cartoons but I found this to be charming.
Jackson Booth-Millard
I saw clips for this short animation that would be broadcast during Christmas, I could tell it was the same writers and producers of The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo's Child, so I was hoping for the same kind of fun. Basically Stick Man (Martin Freeman) is a living tree twig who lives with his Stick Lady Love (Sally Hawkins) and their children in the family tree. One day Stick Man goes out for a jog, and through a series of incidents gets pulled further away from his home. As a tree twig he is used as a stick for a dog to play fetch, by a child as a Pooh Stick for the river game, a twig for a swan building its nest, washed out to sea and landing on the beach to be used as a mast for a flag on a sand castle. Every incident he manages to escape, and repeats the phrase "I'm Stick Man, I'm Stick Man, I'M STICK MAN, that's me!", and it appears that he is gone for an entire year. In the end it is Santa Claus (Hugh Bonneville) who is his unexpected saviour, he helps him get back home to his family in time for Christmas, and he is content to stay with them, family is all he needs. Narrated by Jennifer Saunders, also starring Russell Tovey as Dog and Rob Brydon in various supporting roles. It's a simple story about a man who is a stick dragged away from his family, getting caught in sticky situations, and trying to find a way to get back to his family and stick with them, with fantastic stop-motion animation and well chosen voices it is a charming and likable animated fantasy for all ages. Good!
Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de)
"Stick Man" is a British television short film from the writing team of the 2 Gruffalo short films and "Room on the Broom". It's not difficult to see that, also without the trademark squirrel and the rhyming verses from start to finish. It is about a stick man, who is mistaken for a stick and unlucky coincidence makes it that he gets taken away further and further from home as the film goes on. It goes on for 26 minutes and the thing takes place at Christmas. In the end Santa gives to the stick man after the Stick Man helped Santa before. A cute little film, mostly for younger audiences, but grown-ups can also have fun. The cast includes Oscar nominee Sally Hawkins, Emmy winner Martin Freeman (for the main character) and Golden Globe nominee Hugh Bonnevill voicing Santa. Not bad for a television production. I personally thought this was a good watch. No truly great moments, but certainly worth checking out during the holidays.
AD
