Customer Reviews

War Game

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This film was made in 2001 but never released to the general public until now. Kate Winslet fans will enjoy this, as she is simply brilliant in animated movies - she has such a lovely voice. Get this on DVD if you see it at a good price!

War Game is a desperately disappointing animated adaptation of Michael Foreman's excellent children's picture book about the Christmas Truce of 1914. Unfortunately, in the hands of the Snowman team it's all just too nice and safe for the respite to have any power, and the loss of the haunting ending from the book (where the hero's body slowly vanishes under falling snow) in favour of something less upsetting to the kiddies renders it all even more so what: only the beautiful yet quietly devastating closing lines of narration truly work. Terrible performances from many of the voice cast, too. At least at 29 minutes it's brief.

The book is one of the most moving I've ever read, and so when I heard of the animated adaption, I was excited to see it. However, I found it to be extremely flawed in many ways. It wasn't a complete loss, there were a few very lovely scenes that only made the rest of it look worse.

The Bad:

1. The voice acting. With the exception of Kate Winslet, most of the voices were godawfully annoying. There was no subtlety or reality to these voices, they sound about as convincing as your Saturday Morning Cartoons.

2. The animation. With a few exceptions(I'll touch more on this later), the animation was too bright and kiddy for such a subject, and at times the people look unnatural and sort of disconcerting.

3. The unnecessary song. Not only is it annoying, it's still stuck in my head.

The Good:

There are several moments that really work, such as the final attack sequence. Many of the backgrounds are very nicely drawn, and there's a great moment involving a crashed plane that I won't spoil for you. The music (other than the aforementioned song) is very nice, and of course Kate Winslet does the best job she can with what she was given.

I think the biggest problem this movie has is that it tries to do to much. It tries way to hard to be funny, exciting, and moving and the only times it succeeds is when it calms down a bit and goes with something simpler. The book is told in very spare language with simple illustrations, and yet packs a much bigger emotional punch.

It's worth seeing once, but read the book.

I first saw this film by accident on british television and i HAD to have for myself.
I'm into history the American civil war, Irish history and of course The Great War 1914-1918 (the war that was meant to end all wars). When i got this dvd i watched it and i was in tears because this was what happened to these families during this time. young boys wanting to fight for king and country lied about their age some as young as maybe 15 and not coming home. SADLY this is still happening today families torn apart by war and sons,daughters and daddies not returning home.
This FANTASTIC dvd AND book by the same name 'WAR GAME' written by michael foreman trust me is worth the money.
And if like me you love history PLEASE buy. And even if you're not still get this FANTASTIC dvd and book. Just MAYBE you might change your mind.