Feature | Lights, Camera, Action! – Postman Pat: The Movie (Movie Review)

Postman Pat: The Movie (UK Rating: U)

Pat's promised his wife, Sarah, a holiday in Italy and is banking on his bonus from work to pay for it. However, a new whiz kid manager scraps all the bonuses leaving Pat with no choice but to enter a TV talent competition called You're the One in the hope of winning the holiday instead. His singing voice makes him an overnight sensation and he finds himself facing all the temptations of fame and fortune. Will a nice cup of tea ever be the same again?

The Postman Pat of the 1980s was aimed at pre-school children and filmed in stop motion animation, yet this is a digitally animated Pat for the 21st Century, aimed at families with children of around eight and, of course, their parents. It knows its market well, opening at the start of the Bank Holiday and half term week so that it will pack the masses into cinemas nationwide, throwing in some jokes that will keep the parents happy - Pat's choice of bedtime reading for his son is easily the best of the bunch, for instance.

It loses something in translation, though. Granted, stop motion would have its limitations in a 90 minute movie, but its naivety fit the simplicity of the original TV series. Now it's replaced by pristine, smooth digital animation that is nicely done yet feels ever so slightly clinical - although the film's audience wouldn't expect anything less than digital.

Then, of course, there's Simon Cowell, or, in this case, Simon Cowbell (voiced by Robin Atkin Downes). He has limitless put-downs and, given some of the acts he has to sit through, he needs them. Talent shows in the mould of Britain's Got Talent get a gentle ribbing, as do many of the acts, meaning that for today's audience it's quite topical. How it will fare when such programmes have had their day is another matter.

For all its slick animation, celebrity voices and topical gags, Postman Pat: The Movie has one thing in common with the original - at heart, it's thoroughly decent and nice. When Pat has his Susan Boyle moment and is tempted by all the adulation and luxury that goes with it, he eventually finds it's no match for the things that really matter in life - family and friends. The glowingly happy ending is inevitable.

6/10

Good

Postman Pat has come a long way since the 1980s and while his first big screen outing - Postman Pat: The Movie - will no doubt be a hit with families thanks to its inoffensive style, the introduction of pristine digital animation means it's lost some of its original charm, and sadly the addition of voice talents like Stephen Mangan, David Tennant and Jim Broadbent cannot prevent this. While its topical gags and talent show based storyline will no doubt raise more than a smile with today's audiences, once the likes of Britain's Got Talent falls out of favour, the film is likely to have a short shelf-life.