Horrid Henry: The Movie (U)

Kids (2011)
92mins UK

Starring: Anjelica Huston, Richard E Grant, Parminder Nagra, Theo Stevenson, Prunella Scales, Mathew Horne, Noel Fielding
Director: Nick Moore
Writer(s): Lucinda Whiteley
Listings: London | Rest of UK and Ireland

Henry is a lazy boy with dreams of pop stardom, who runs rings around his Mum and Dad. At school, Henry and his mates, collectively known as The Purple Hand Gang, clash with Moody Margaret and her coterie and invariably fall foul of their form tutor, Miss Battle-Axe. A series of pranks in front of two school inspectors threatens the future of Ashdown Primary School and its long-suffering headmistress Miss Oddbod.

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LondonNet Film Review by Amelia Abraham
Horrid Henry

Finally it's time for Horrid Henry to hit the big screen...

The well-known series of books by Francesca Simon have been kicking around for over 15 years; finally it's time for Horrid Henry to hit the big screen. Here we have a rare example of a film that actually benefits from 3D, which makes it feel so much more interactive. Expect everything from biscuit tins to yoyos to fly in your face. Wicked fun.

Henry journeys through a series of misdemeanours for which he is usually not at fault - which is disappointing as Henry is not actually that horrid here. The poor boy becomes exasperated by constantly getting in trouble while his adorable younger brother Peter makes him look bad by comparison. Yet when Miss Battleaxe (Anjelica Huston), the teacher he loves to hate, is sacked, and Henry's school faces closure, he must buck up his ideas and save the day. What follows is a series of bizarre events including a kidnapping by an evil Richard E. Grant, a talent show judged by Noel Fielding, and a guest appearance on a fictional T.V. show hosted by Dick and Dom. What more could you want?

Always nice to see a British cast, and with cameo appearances from the likes of Jo Brand, Matthew Horne and Kimberly Walsh, you can't get bored. Horrid Henry feels thoroughly modern, with young Henry performing hip-hop interludes one minute and featuring on reality T.V. shows the next. In this way Henry has lost some of his old-school charm - part of the plot even pivots around a mobile phone - so much for Orange's maxim "don't let a mobile phone ruin your movie". Other qualms include the overt private/state school divide, a lack of emphasis on the fact that bribery is not okay - especially in the current climate - and a heavy reliance upon stereotypes such as "brainy Brian" and "perfect Peter". But heck, the kids will still love it.

- Amelia Abraham

LondonNet Film Review by Sam Cannon
Horrid Henry

Rarely has a film title been more fitting than Nick Moore's woefully misjudged caper based on the mischievous character created by award-winning author, Francesca Simon...

Horrendous Henry would be closer to the disappointing truth because it's hard to find any joy in this explosion of garish colour, slapstick and scenery-chewing that passes for family entertainment. Danny DeVito's magnificent rendering of Roald Dahl's Matilda seems to be an inspiration but neither Lucinda Whiteley's script nor Moore's direction are sufficiently elegant to chart the same ebbs and flows between uproarious and dark comedy. Instead, Horrid Henry: The Movie starts off silly and becomes increasingly dull and soulless, culminating in an excruciating TV game show presided over by Dick & Dom at their most buffoonish and grating. The film's sense of humour trades in groans of disgust. Thus, the eponymous hero must eat a bowl of putrid, bubbling vegetable stew from the school canteen and Henry's beleaguered father returns home from work and inadvertently devours a leftover sandwich drenched in baby vomit.

The troublesome child at the centre of the destruction is Henry (Theo Stevenson), a lazy boy with dreams of pop stardom, who runs rings around his Mum (Siobhan Hayes) and Dad (Mathew Horne). While Henry wreaks havoc, his annoying, goody-two-shoes brother Perfect Peter (Ross Marron) does everything he is told and is a model student for teacher Miss Lovely (Parminder Nagra). At school, Henry and his mates, collectively known as The Purple Hand Gang, clash with Moody Margaret (Scarlett Stitt) and her coterie and invariably fall foul of their form tutor, Miss Battle-Axe (Anjelica Huston). A series of pranks in front of two school inspectors threatens the future of Ashdown Primary School and its long-suffering headmistress Miss Oddbod (Rebecca Front). So Henry grimly faces the prospect of attending the local private school run by Vic Van Wrinkle (Richard E Grant), where his rebellious behaviour will not be tolerated. If only Henry and his chums could win the upcoming talent contest and draw attention to the school's plight.

Horrid Henry: The Movie is a long slog, even at 92 minutes. Moore has apparently directed his cast to over-act wildly with as much volume as possible. Huston chirrups every line wide-eyed with a shrill Scottish accent, Grant cajoles boos and hisses as the pantomime villain, and Noel Fielding camps its up briefly as rock musician Ed Banger, the head judge of the talent contest. Stevenson has a certain roguish charm as the pint-sized tearaway, singing and rapping in the musical dream sequences. "Gonna be a rock star, no need to go to school!" he barks, enforcing the notion that celebrity not education is the path to lasting fulfilment. Moore's film won't bring him the success he craves.

- Sam Cannon

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