453. The Little Vampire; movie review

THE LITTLE VAMPIRE
Cert U
80 mins

BBFC advice: Contains mild comic violence, threat, very mild bad language

It's only a short plane trip from Dusseldorf to Birmingham but it was a perfect fit for The Little Vampire.
Yep, the fascination with bloodsuckers seems to have been stimulated even further with the success of Hotel Transylvania, so here, flying on its back, is another movie on the theme.
This is aimed fair and square at the under-10s with positive messages about people from different backgrounds working together for the greater good.
Based on a series of German short stories, Richard Claus and Karsten Kiilerich's film centres on the friendship of a 13-year-old boy (voiced by Amy Savile) and a vampire of equivalent age (Rasmus Hardiker).
They meet up as the vampire's family are under threat by an unscrupulous hunter (Jim Carter) and his much less vicious sidekick (Joseph Kloska).
The action flows quickly and usually involves the boys helping each other to dramatic escapes from their pursuers.

Meanwhile, there is a dab of comedy added by a couple (Miriam Margolyes and Matthew Marsh) who run a castle-turned B & B and from the boy's rather perplexed parents (Julia Rhodes and Kevin Otto) who are meant to be touring Europe on vacation.
The animation is rather clunky and the dialogue is bordering on banal but I am not sure that will bother its target audience.
They are more likely to be entertained by its pacy chase scenes and tickled by a vampire cow which has a volley of green poo in its armoury.
In short, it's good rainy day fodder for eight-year-olds.

Reasons to watch: Monster-led cartoon adventure
Reasons to avoid: All rather tame and no giggles

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 6/10

The big question - Why are we so fascinated by vampires?

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