Sammy's Adventures in glourious 3DI was a kid once.
I could barely remember what it was like to go on an adventure of a lifetime then emerge from it all bubbly and excited.
Which in a nutshell is what Sammy's Adventures: The Secret Passage is about.
Little Sammy the sea turtle (his mommy must have named her brood while in the egg - one by one by one by one...) hatches from his egg to begin an epic journey, the journey of life - complete in 3D animation.
Along the way, he chums with best pal and jellyfish slugging Ray (one of his supposed many brothers, who looks a suspiciously different breed, ie. colour of turtle); takes 'flying lessons' from hungry seagulls; gets caught by humans and joins the hippy movement; and goes on a hunt for a secret passage that brings him to the south pole. And of course at the end of it all, he finds his long lost love Shelly.
It's all good kiddy fun.
Too bad I'm not a kid anymore.
I could barely remember what it was like to go on an adventure of a lifetime then emerge from it all bubbly and excited.
Which in a nutshell is what Sammy's Adventures: The Secret Passage is about.
Little Sammy the sea turtle (his mommy must have named her brood while in the egg - one by one by one by one...) hatches from his egg to begin an epic journey, the journey of life - complete in 3D animation.
Along the way, he chums with best pal and jellyfish slugging Ray (one of his supposed many brothers, who looks a suspiciously different breed, ie. colour of turtle); takes 'flying lessons' from hungry seagulls; gets caught by humans and joins the hippy movement; and goes on a hunt for a secret passage that brings him to the south pole. And of course at the end of it all, he finds his long lost love Shelly.
It's all good kiddy fun.
Too bad I'm not a kid anymore.
Life through the eyes of a turtle - an eagle's eye view....
Oh crab!
Enjoying life in the sun - in a makeshift luxury yacht....
Seriously, I wouldn't have watched this movie if I hadn't been asked to do a review. Though to be fair, there is no doubt whatsoever who the target audience is - children - and more specifically those below the age of 12.
And it was telling, sitting amongst an adult audience, that there was hardly any laughter throughout the screening of the preview. On my part, I peaked at a grand total of one good chuckle - when the baby eaglets were pecking away at Sammy's cute bald head.
If you're looking for a good balance of adventure and intelligent humour like say in Finding Nemo, Sammy's Adventures simply will not fit the bill.
The writing is too uninspired for that. Everytime Sammy loses Shelly, a new character pops up to tell him where she is. Deus ex machina in a cartoon? No need to explain to the kids....
Not to say there aren't any saving graces.
Sammy's Adventures proves once again that 3D belongs best for now, in animation rather than in god-awful epics like Clash of the Titans.
The technology isn't perfect. Landscapes and individual objects still look like those cut outs from 3D picture books (to which by the way, there is a wonderful nod during the end credits). But the renditions of sand and water and waves can somtimes border on the sublime. The producers too, make full use of the 3D animation to produce some stunning 'in your face' visuals - the unforgettable image being that of a menacing and inquisitive snake.
And for a kid's film, the movie also brought up a few environmental issues facing the world today - the threat and pollution of oil spills; the problem of whaling etc. These can certainly be appreciated by a young and impressionable audience.
All in, Sammy's Adventures: The Secret Passage can be a fun and unforgettable ride for little children, but adults sans kids may not be too eager to catch this cute animated turtle.
Moometer Reading:
Moo-o??
Query for:
? Being a kid's film: Being a movie primarily targeted at children, it would be unfair to judge it with adult eyes. And yet there are easily plenty of animation films - Finding Nemo among others that are funnier and that appeal to both adults and children. Sammy's Adventures thus gets a generous Moo-o when its rating could easily have been worse.
? Poor Scripting: It seems pretty clear that the writer was thinking: It's for kids! Who cares? Well, I did for one.
