Just for a moment, slow down, relax and breathe. In the chaotic world of entertainment, it’s all blood, guts and gore. Why not relax with a nice family film, like Heidi: Rescue of the Lynx.
We had the trailer for Heidi recently, and I know most of you weren’t impressed. I get it, it’s an animation made for kids, but you know what, it can still be enjoyable. I was half looking forward to Heidi. Usually, the indie movies are horror, and recently, full of cannibals.
Heidi: Rescue of the Lynx stars Max Giermann, Toby Schwarz, and Michael McCown. Toby Schwarz and Aizea Roca Berridi direct. It’s based on a book by Johanna Spyri, with the writers of The Queen’s Corgi and Gnomeo & Juliet.
The Story
The story isn’t anything new, but:
When spirited eight-year-old Heidi rescues a lynx cub from a greedy businessman threatening their Alpine home, she uncovers her grandfather’s hidden past and learns that true belonging means protecting both family and the wild places they call home.
Little Heidi lives with her grandfather in the Swiss Alps, as her parents were brutally killed by a lynx when she was young. No, no, I kid, but she does have a lovely life with her grandfather.
She gets letters from a friend who’s invited her to visit the ocean. She cannot wait to meet her pen pal and visit somewhere new. In the meantime, a businessman turns up in her village with promises of new jobs via a new sawmill.
To win the towns folk over, the businessman helps each of the people with some of their problems. One of the biggest issues is a family of lynx that tries to kill chickens. Obviously, they don’t kill chickens; that would kill the mood of a family film.
While on the run from one farmer, little Pepper (what the baby lynx eventually ends up being called), loses its family and ends up alone. #ihavesomethinginmyeye
The businessman sets up a trap, which Pepper gets stuck in, but Heidi and her friend Peter end up saving her. You can guess the rest of the story; I’m not going to spoil it.
Family Fun
The last animation I saw, previous to Heidi, was Akira. These two movies are chalk and cheese, almost polar opposites of each other. Heidi is definitely a movie I wouldn’t choose to watch. I would see it on one of my lists and pass it by.
Being ‘made’ to watch it, for this review, though, was a good thing. In the trailer article, one of you Outposters used the expression ‘a palate cleanser’. This is what it was, something out of my comfort zone, and I’m glad it did.
Usually, the indie horror movies I get sent, I have to watch on my own, in a locked room, with no lights, and two buckets, one for food and one for the other end. The number of times I have confused them, but I digress.
I was able to watch Heidi with Mrs Boba Phil, and it was just nice. The movie is a cute, family film, mainly for the kids, but fun for the whole family. The story isn’t all that new or exciting, but it’s not meant to be.
The animation is gorgeous, as is the ‘Swiss Alps’, obviously they aren’t real, but they do look beautiful.
I’ve Seen This Before
Heidi is basically Mac and Me, E. T., Lilo and Stitch, Harry and the Hendersons and a hundred other movies about the same thing: family/kid finds a ‘fish out of water’ and helps it out.
I was worried, in today’s climate, Heidi was going to be a girl boss, but she’s not. She’s just a naughty little girl (not that way), who gets herself into pickles now and then. She is basically every child ever.
Heidi was a book character for Germany from the 1880s. Johanna Spyri was the writer, and it was written as a book “for children and those who love children”.
Overall
Heidi: Rescue of the Lynx isn’t going to be everyone’s cuppa tea, I get that. What it is, though, is a beautiful animation that you can let your family enjoy. Fine, you might be browsing your phone while it’s on, but the kids will be quiet for a while. #haveigonedeaf
With all of the usual movies I have to suffer through at times, I did enjoy something gentle, cheery and just nice. The animation was really nice, and the characters are a little cliché, but fun. The town mayor was basically the same town mayor from Nightmare Before Christmas; he even looked the same.
The businessman as the bad guy is good enough to get your teeth into. The movie also deals with what damage that can be done to the environment due to the sawmill. This didn’t feel preachy, and will hopefully teach kids a little something about looking after the world we live in.
I’m giving Heidi: Rescue of the Lynx a solid 3.5 out of 5. That might seem a little high, but you know what, I found it entertaining. Give me this over anything Disney have produced for the past 15 years odd.
Heidi: Rescue of the Lynx will be in UK cinemas from the 1st of Aug.
