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Men In Black 3

It’s not a sequel that needed to be made, but thanks to the charm of its leads and a tone that harks back to the wit and humour of the original, it’s a pretty enjoyable trip.

Bel Ami

The excellent female support cast saves this patchy effort, which is let down by its leading man and a flat screenplay.

The Dictator

A disappointing, often repulsive and mean-spirited mess of a film with seemingly only one real criterion on its agenda: to shock and offend.

The Woman In Black

Packed with atmosphere, this old-fashioned but deftly told ghost story delivers ample chills and thrills.

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Santa's Apprentice (Film)

by Annette Basile | November 07, 2011 16:16 | Edited November 10, 2011 14:42

Beautifully drawn and sidestepping cliché and forced sentiment, this sweet and inspiring Christmas story will bring out your inner kid.

Right now, hand-drawn animation almost feels like it's come from another era. It has a dignity that its bigger, faster, sexier CGI competitor lacks. But the great hand-drawn films of today have a classic rather than old fashioned feel, and this beautiful Australian-French co-production has all the hallmarks of a classic. With much of the animation done in Australia, Santa's Apprentice is a homegrown tale (it's partly set in an orphanage on the edge of Sydney's harbour) that looks beyond these shores - in every sense.

It's an original story that still has the traditional Christmas feel, but the Santa here is a bit different. Facing a version of retirement-crisis, the big bloke in red chooses a Sydney boy called Nicholas as his apprentice. Whisked from his orphanage home to The North Pole, Nicholas sees the inner workings of Santa's rather magical toy factory, and gets to know the man behind the Santa myth. But Nicholas has his challenges...

As Santa, Shane Jacobson (Kenny) is inspired. And the rest of the likeable voice cast can't be faulted either, with songstress Delta Goodrem as Nicholas' friend Beatrice, Magda Szubanski as Santa's assistant, Ms. Lovejoy, and Jack Versace as Nicholas. Messages about friendship and developing confidence in the face of adversity come without any forced sentimentality. There's hardly a cliché in sight - even a bully boy eventually shows that there's something other than nastiness under his surface.

 

Santa's Apprentice is a sweet and innocent story for kids - even those honed on CGI will find enough to wonder at. There's definitely something here for full-grown animation fans too, but this becomes more apparent as you go deeper into the film. This is one designed for kids - and that's its great strength. Somehow, for an hour or so, it tricks you into being a kid again.