LITTLE MONSTERS/ FINNICK, Russia, 2022, 85 minutes, Colour. Directed by Denis Chernov. 85 minutes. Rated PG (Mild peril).
An animation entertainment for the much younger audiences, with the attraction of Monsters in the title, although that was not the original intention of the filmmakers. Their title referred to Finnick, one of several creatures called Finns, who are invisible to humans but who are there to help them, look after them, protect them.
This is a Russian animation film although some of the sequences and settings and, especially, the voice and dubbing, makes it seem like an American film. (So, this is what entertains Russian children in the 2020s.)
It takes a little time for the children’s audience to get to know and like the Finns. This happens because they will identify with Christine, an enterprising young girl who fancies herself, because of her reading, as a detective, something of a Sherlock Holmes. There is imagination in the whole family because her parents want to be film and television stars, going to auditions, experiencing a cantankerous director, hoping for their opportunity. In the meantime, they have rented an unkempt, partially ruined house.
But, detective Christine, exploring the house, encounters Finnick, learning what the Finns do, going to sit in on an assembly of a huge range of colourful woolly and cuddly creatures.
In the meantime, there is a chubby young boy who wants to be a film star, approaches the director, does a turn, but following a complete catastrophe, destroys a lot of the set. Later, he is revealed as the villain of the piece, declaring that if he can’t be a film star, he will be a star villain. He has befriended a lonely Finn and has decided that his disguise will be made of Finn wool and that he can move around freely, unseen by people.
Christine and Finnick seek out the villain, but he imprisons them, underestimating their capacity for escape. And they warn all the rest of the Finns of the danger that the villain will do to the city, his plan to unleash the huge Ferris wheel so that it will career out of control on to all the buildings and destroy them. [This could be bit frightening for the youngest of audiences – although they may be television robust these days. The film classification is PG and the warning of ‘Mild Peril’.]
So, plenty of action, plenty of peril, plenty of cuddly characters, the brave Christine, and, despite his frequent accidents, a cheerful Finnick and a happy collaboration with her parents. Holiday fare for those little audiences.
Rialto
Released 22 September 2022