The Gruffalo's Child (film) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Gruffalo's Child |
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Film poster
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| Created by | Max Lang |
| Based on | The Gruffalo's Child by Julia Donaldson |
| Written by | Julia Donaldson Axel Scheffler |
| Directed by | Johannes Weiland Uwe Heidschotter |
| Starring | Rob Brydon Robbie Coltrane James Corden Shirley Henderson John Hurt Tom Wilkinson |
| Narrated by | Helena Bonham Carter |
| Theme music composer | René Aubry |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom Germany |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Martin Pope Michael Rose |
| Editor(s) | Robin Sales |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Magic Light Pictures Studio Soi |
| Distributor | E1 Entertainment |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC One |
| Original release | 25 December 2011 |
The Gruffalo's Child is a fun, short animated TV film from 2011. It's based on the popular picture book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. This film is a sequel to The Gruffalo.
It first aired in the United Kingdom on Christmas Day 2011. This was exactly two years after the first Gruffalo film came out. Johannes Weiland and Uwe Heidschotter directed the film. It was made by Magic Light Pictures in London and Studio Soi in Germany. In 2013, the film won an award for Best TV Special.
Contents
The Story of the Gruffalo's Child
The film starts in a snowy forest. A mother squirrel is with her two children. The squirrel daughter shows her brother some footprints in the snow. She tells him they belong to the Gruffalo.
But the Mother Squirrel says the footprints are too small. She then tells her children a story. It's the story of the Gruffalo's own child.
The Gruffalo's Daughter's Adventure
In the story, the Gruffalo's daughter wants to follow a hedgehog into the deep, dark wood. Her father, the Gruffalo, tells her not to go. He warns her about a scary "big bad mouse" he once met. He can't quite remember what the mouse looked like. So, he describes it as a monster. His daughter imagines the mouse to be very frightening.
That night, the Gruffalo's daughter decides to be brave. She sneaks out to explore the deep, dark wood. She wants to find this "big bad mouse" her father talked about.
Meeting Forest Animals
As she walks, she follows some footprints. She meets different animals from the first Gruffalo story. First, she meets the snake. Then, she finds the owl. Finally, she comes across the fox. Each animal tells her where to find the mouse.
After meeting them all, she starts to think the big bad mouse isn't real. She believes the animals and her father tricked her. She feels sad and starts to cry.
The Big Bad Mouse Revealed?
Suddenly, she notices a small mouse. When she threatens to eat him, the clever mouse has an idea. He tells her he can show her the real monster. He makes a scary shadow on a hazel tree branch using the moonlight.
The Gruffalo's child believes this shadow is the "big bad mouse." She gets very scared and runs out of the forest. The mouse follows her all the way back. She feels safe again next to her father in their cave. The mouse watches over them.
The Squirrels' Prank
When the Mother Squirrel finishes her story, her daughter smiles. She admits that she made the Gruffalo footprints herself. It was just a prank to trick her brother! Then, the two little squirrels go off to play in the snow.
Voice Cast
- Helena Bonham Carter as Mother Squirrel/Narrator
- Shirley Henderson as The Gruffalo's Child
- Robbie Coltrane as The Gruffalo
- James Corden as Mouse
- Tom Wilkinson as Fox
- John Hurt as Owl
- Rob Brydon as Snake
- Sam Lewis as First Little Squirrel
- Phoebe Givron-Taylor as Second Little Squirrel
