Elevator Music Sorry I had problems and I just couldn't have time to write a review for "The Pebble And The Penguin" until now.Like I was saying in my review of "A Troll In Central Park", Don Bluth achieved being the first true competition Disney had in decades, forcing them to regroup and releasing "The Little Mermaid" which put Disney again on the road. But now Disney was back with all their might, and Don Bluth struggled facing them. Every single of his films would be compared to their Disney counterparts ("Aladdin" to "Rock-a-Doodle", "The Lion King" to "A Troll In Central Park"...) This dangerous habit of comparing his output also severely damaged his integrity when trying to make his films: executives forced him out of his distinctive, trademark style to one the public would be more easily to stomach, with fictional devices and conventions common in Disney films that would be more sure to make money. But when it was the time to release the film on the big screen, distribuitors wouldn't have faith on it, the only animated films that could prove that were capable of make money are Disney's, so why bothering distributing a Don Bluth film when you could as well distribute a proper Disney's?So, in this lose-lose scenario, having been caught between fire from the executives that wanted a Disney-style film that would be more likely to make money, and the fire from the distribuitors that wouldn't trust any animated film not made by Disney, was where "The Pebble And The Penguin" was made. And how bad it affected it? Certainly, Don Bluth abandoned in the middle of the production and demanded that he wouldn't be credited in this film. An Hungarian studio had to finish it, and so you see why the legendary high-style quality of the animation of Don Bluth, one of the things he never compromised no matter if his films were bad, here hits his lowest quality and seems at times as unpolished and mediocre.But luckily, Don Bluth had a couple of tricks in his sleeve to redeem the animation, like the opening sequence in 3D musical sheets, the scene of the shooting star, and Drake's musical number. Which brings the next topic, the score was certainly better than "Troll" but nowhere near his best. "Don't make me laugh" (Drake's number) and "Forever and ever" (the opening sequence) are great but others songs aren't particularly memorable. Maybe is the quality of the voice acting that makes what they are, which brings the next topic. I didn't liked Hubie's performance, nor that of many support characters, but Rocko, Marina and specially Drake were fine (see? I'm starting to note that Drake was the best thing of the film)And the story/plot... well it's OK I've seen plenty of films like this in Cartoon Network, it's perfectly acceptable to have a film like this, with this mood and atmosphere, if I could catch a film like this in a Saturday afternoon on TV I wouldn't see what's different with many other films like "A Nine Dog Christmas" or "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" so why the film failed and was another flop of Don Bluth? Disney. Like I said, all animation had to be only and just only from Disney. This cruel and sadistic practice of the industry (and to some extent, the public too) would come later to bite back Disney and destroy their traditional animation divisions with the arrival of the CGI, but that's another story...5/10, it's a perfectly OK, average film, absolutely better than "Troll" and "Rock-a-doodle" but nowhere on par of Don Bluth's best.

DrQuidam Congratulations, Bluth, Goldman, Manilow & Co. ! This movie is actually the ancestor of Youtube Poop !Who knew ? I have to say that I've been foolish to despise this little masterpiece all these years !You actually managed to achieve : 1°/ the most incoherent editing in all history of animated feature films (no story continuity, completely void of rhythm, same color charts all along the movie etc.) 2°/ to write a script based on no particular storyline (except of course these couple vague sub-plots that you mixed in a huge mishmash in order to somehow make the movie last 90 minutes) 3° / to assemble the biggest array of disposable bland excuses for characters, before Dingo Pictures thought about it (now that's something !) 4° / to compose the dumbest non-melodic songs in all movie history (even lamer than the ones in the worst Disney movies - if this isn't genius !) 5° / to draw the most hermaphrodite character designs ever (sorry, I still can't tell the girls from the guys in this picture)Not bad, I think ! Apart from point n°5, this movie has actually gathered all the basic ingredients you need to make a good Youtube Poop video.Except Youtube poops are intentionally funny. This movie isn't.If you haven't seen it - don't bother.

TheUnknown837-1 By the mid 1990s, the career of animator-director Don Bluth had seemed to drop to its all-time low. Before, Bluth had made a series of popular animated films, many which remain beloved today such as "The Land Before Time" (1988), "The Secret of NIMH" (1982), and "An American Tail" (1986). But beginning with "Thumbelina" in 1994, his films seemed to decrease more and more in quality and popularity and one of the many unfortunate entries is 1995's box office bomb "The Pebble and the Penguin", a film that didn't attract audience members beyond parents and children under the age of seven. Frankly, the latter are the only audience members I can comprehend taking enjoyment out of this rather bland animated feature.The story is absurd. The film stars a poorly-drawn, stammering, and chubby penguin named Hubie (voiced by Martin Short) who falls in love with a female penguin with a surprisingly healthy flower on her head (voice by Annie Golden). SORT OF like in real life, penguins present their bride-to-bes with a pebble as a substitute for a ring. But when Hubie is swept away by the current, he teams up with a lone rockhopper (James Belushi) with a dream of flying and they race against time to return to Antarctica before it's too late. The reasons why they could be too late is one of many underdeveloped elements of this weak story that would still be weak even if they were there.It becomes very clear very early on why this animated children's musical does not and will not work for anybody older than say six or seven years of age. It just does not have any of the qualities that are required for a good animated feature. Number one, the film looks bad on account of a very poor drawing style. The animation in this film is very cartoony (even as far as animated films go); it's dark, gloomy, there is no vibrancy in the colors, and on top of that, the design of the film and the elements in it are universally droll and laughable. Take for instance, the penguins who star in the film. With only a few background exceptions, every single penguin looks absolutely nothing at all like a bird. Hubie, for example, looks absurdly ridiculous with wide cheeks, a stubby beak, big eyes, and that preposterous hat that he wears wherever he goes. Combined with his hand-like "flippers" he looks like Chris Farley in a penguin suit. Result: he's an ugly, poorly-drawn cartoon character. But the most absurd-looking and absurdly-designed character is the evil penguin, Drake, who frankly looks nothing at all like a penguin. He's a muscle-man wearing a penguin mask. He's got a chest broader than that of Arnold Schwarzenegger, and teeth larger than the teeth of the leopard seals and killer whales that serve as the film's predators. Basically, he's a two-dimensional, recycled villain. He lives in a cave shaped like a skull, he wears a cape, laughs a lot, and gets mad when people laugh with him. Result: who cares? And what's also bad, and maybe worse, is that this is an animated musical and there's not a single noteworthy or memorable song to found anywhere within its running time. The opening hymn was harmless—not memorable, but harmless. But after that, the songs became duller and duller and there was one in particular that had me grimacing all the way through. It's the moment that viewers press the fast-forward button for whenever it comes up.I felt "The Pebble and the Penguin" was lame all around save for the very few moments when Hubie and the rockhopper penguin Rocko are placed in peril at the jaws of leopard seals and killer whales, who were thankfully, given no dialogue and treated as animals instead of cartoon characters. But in a way, for this reason, I cannot wholeheartedly recommend this movie to children. This is the reason. The film displays killer whales are the natural predator of the penguins. My concern is that children familiar with "Free Willy" (1993) may be offended or downhearted by seeing their favorite denizen of the sea portrayed as a bloodthirsty carnivore. The leopard seal was a better antagonist and was more funny seeing as how his jaws opened wider than a rattlesnake's and how he appeared to smile while growling. But the point really is, these moments with the predators—and there are only a few—are the only interesting moments. And they're not enormously interesting, mind you.Bottom line, I cannot recommend this to anybody below the age of seven. My advice: if you have children around that page, rent it for them. They might enjoy it.

BuffaloWilder Whoa. I mean, whoa. I mean, whoa whoa.I saw this movie, waaay back when I was eight, in 1996. Back then, CGI films were a rarity; and good ones even more so. Also, back then we listened to things called CD players. But I digress. I used to like this movie a lot, way back then, and up till viewing it again, I've held reaally fond memories of it. Hey, it's Don Bluth! Anyone who hates "All Dogs Go to Heaven" is clearly a robot. But, again, I digress.Then, I saw it again. This really isn't one of his best, I can say now, eleven years later. I've seen a lot more films, and I've garnered a little bit more knowledge. Now, sure, the voice acting is good, I'll give 'em that. Story's...okay. I mean, we see it all the time. A LOT. But, it works. The musical numbers are what irk me. This would've been more at home in the eighties, with these kind of musical numbers. In '96, most kids movies had epic numbers, like the Lion King (which came out a year or so previous, but whatever)or stuff like that. You get showtunes here, vaudeville style.The animation kind of hurts, too. At times choppy, and at others completely changing style and format with the change of a shot, it's really hard not to notice.I still like "All Dogs Go to Heaven, but this could've been waaay better.4/10