The Gruffalo (2009)

78% of users liked it
(277 ratings)

Helena Bonham Carter narrates this delightful animated adaptation of the popular children's book from author Julia Donaldson and illustrator Alex Scheffler. When a tiny mouse is cornered by three hungry critters, he weaves a colorful tale of an imaginary monster that scares his attackers away.… More Helena Bonham Carter narrates this delightful animated adaptation of the popular children's book from author Julia Donaldson and illustrator Alex Scheffler. When a tiny mouse is cornered by three hungry critters, he weaves a colorful tale of an imaginary monster that scares his attackers away. Later, the mouse gets a big surprise upon discovering that his frightening creation really exists. Featuring the voices of John hurt, Rob Brydon, Tom Wilkinson, and Robbie Coltrane. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 27 min.
Directed By: Max Lang, Jakob Schuh
Genres: Television, Animation, Kids & Family

On DVD: Aug 15, 2011

Critic Reviews

Christopher Lloyd, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
A charming computer animated tale about a little mouse who travels through the woods, rendered beautifully and in rhyme.

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Featured Audience Ratings

Jani H

"...doesn't he know? There's no such thing as a Gruffalo!" I've been watching the Oscar nominated films during the last week or so. All the "big" movies are already seen and then I thought for myself: "Why not watch the "smaller ones"… More
"...doesn't he know? There's no such thing as a Gruffalo!" I've been watching the Oscar nominated films during the last week or so. All the "big" movies are already seen and then I thought for myself: "Why not watch the "smaller ones" too?" I remember 'The Gruffalo" from the live Oscar ceremony and I liked the few seconds I saw. Now, after seeing it, I was ever sooo pleased. Then I had to search some info from the most reliable interweb site called Wikipedia... 'The Gruffalo' tells the story of a squirrel telling the story of a mouse that tells the story of a Gruffalo beast. So, what we got here is something of a 'Inception' like storytelling. The only difference here is that the mouse is a better actor than Leonardo DiCaprio. Ok, I have no idea of what I just wrote. But the point is that the story, that is based on an award winning children's book, is well written, has some very good visuals that differ from the mainstream and a good voice cast. If you're fed up with the polished Pixar and Dreamworks animations, check the hell out 'The Gruffalo'. Hope to see some good stuff later on by the two rookie directors Max Lang and Jakob Schuh. Recommended!
Michael E

A great childeren story remake
Candy R

A little mouse goes for a walk and avoids being eaten by scaring the creatures with stories of the gruffalo. Cute animation.
Byron B

Disney of course enlists the biggest named stars for their entry in the Oscar nominated animated shorts. This is the longest of the entries. Helena Bonham Carter is a mother squirrel telling the story of The Gruffalo, based on the children's book by Julia Donaldson, to her two… More
Disney of course enlists the biggest named stars for their entry in the Oscar nominated animated shorts. This is the longest of the entries. Helena Bonham Carter is a mother squirrel telling the story of The Gruffalo, based on the children's book by Julia Donaldson, to her two young squirrels. The CG animation had some surprises every so often. The number of references to the circle of life with bigger animals eating littler animals was unexpected. However the ending and the repetitive nature of the story/dialog for very young children left something to be desired from the adult perspective.
Matthew Y

Fun short that is a worthy compliment to the children's book that inspired it. Too childish for some perhaps but a great little watch for anyone with a younger child. Excellent voice work by shockingly name actors.