The Amazing Maurice

It could be because of deviations from the source, the film's bland visual style that’s just unambitious enough to be annoying, or the unengaging story, but “The Amazing Maurice” is, well, less-than-amazing.

What should be a cute story about a mischievous orange tabby cat instead becomes an ironic, even vaguely smug movie in the vein of something like “Deadpool.”

An entertaining way to convince kids to pick up the book.

It’s genuinely eccentric enough — with its sly talking cat, intrepid band of gold-hearted rats and chronic aversion to keeping the fourth wall intact — to come off as charming rather than smarmy.

It’s a film that’s extraordinarily clever and proud of itself, even though it rarely manages to make that cleverness fun for the rest of us.

The overwritten script is laden with insider jokes for older viewers, but the film seems to fall between two stools – the animation isn’t ­especially distinguished and the screenplay is both derivative and overstated.

If your kids enjoy animated films about animals they will have a good time.

The animation is a bit cut-rate but there's plenty of imagination here, zippy action for kids and some terrific voice work, particularly from David Thewlis as the genuinely creepy Rat King.

There are also some scary scenes that might not play well with younger audiences. But older kids who think they’ve outgrown their Little Golden Books should have a good time, if not an “amazing” one.

Many current animations look the same & The Amazing Maurice is no different. But what it lacks in technical imagination it makes up for elsewhere.