The Gruffalo 2005 (DVD)

Having read other reviews on the site, I decided to completely rewrite mine as I realsied the original told nothing at all about the dvd
The dvd was released in October 2004...great marketing to get more more more out of the popularity of The Gruffalo!
I decided to buy the dvd when I had read the story several times, and more to my daughter, and this is one thing I would advise, that young children are aware of the story before they ...
.../> The Gruffalo is actually a great book, and one which children will enjoy having read to them time and time again, not least because of the repetition and the fact that they will learn it quickly and so become confident and increase their enjoyment of books.
It is the story of a small mouse who goes for a walk and on the way meets a fox, an owl and a snake. they each in turn try to lure him into their homes (for tea??!!) but clever mouse ... more

Having read other reviews on the site, I decided to completely rewrite mine as I realsied the original told nothing at all about the dvd
The dvd was released in October 2004...great marketing to get more more more out of the popularity of The Gruffalo!
I decided to buy the dvd when I had read the story several times, and more to my daughter, and this is one thing I would advise, that young children are aware of the story before they watch the dvd or it could all get horribly confusing.
The Gruffalo is actually a great book, and one which children will enjoy having read to them time and time again, not least because of the repetition and the fact that they will learn it quickly and so become confident and increase their enjoyment of books.
It is the story of a small mouse who goes for a walk and on the way meets a fox, an owl and a snake. they each in turn try to lure him into their homes (for tea??!!) but clever mouse assures them that he is meeting a Gruffalo. "A Gruffalo!" He goes on to describe in great detail how truly scary the Gruffalo is with the "wart on the end of his nose" "terrible claws" "orange eyes". The animals in turn quickly disappear into the background, and hurry off, not wanting to be the Gruffalo's newest delicacy.
mouse walks on until....horror!! he meets the Gruffalo himself, who, unsurprisingly, wants mouse for HIS tea!
Clever mouse tells him that all of the animals are afraid of him, and although the Gruffalo finds this terribly amusing, he follows him through the wood, whereupon they meet in turn, fox, owl and snake. Of course, they are terrified when they see the Gruffalo, and hurry away, but mouse convinces them that they are afraid of HIM.
Poor Gruffalo has to beat a hasty retreat when mouse tells him that Gruffalo is HIS favourite meal.
Story in a real nut shell. (Nut shell??)
Enough about the book. That's the story line...the dvd is a filmed performance of the play. It does follow the story line well and if children know the story they can join in.

However, be prepared.

Whilst, the story is excellent, costumes could
be better... mouse is wearing brown t shirt, capri pants and pink trainers. The costumes are however, amusing with owl being in a flying helmet and snake having a sombrero and fake moustache. I think the adults will "get" this quicker than the children.
the setting is sparce compared to alot of animated films, with zero special effects. This is possibly, probably intentional, so that, fuelled by their knowledge of the book, and with their fabulouds imaginations, children can "see" the story unfold, rather than being spoon fed. Once the Gruffalo appears, children will have no trouble recognising him...costume is exactly like the book.

The dvd does follow the storyline as it is in the book, with the addition of some catchy songs...you will love the Gruffalo's!

Three people perform the whole production but this does not detract anything from it. We actually saw Julia Donaldson and her husband perform it with much aplomb so I think it's the kind of thing where "less is more"

If your children love the catchy rhythmic style of the Gruffalo, they will love this.
Not so sure about the adults...whilst I love it, it won't appeal to all.

 

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