Robinson Crusoe

This review may contain spoilers!

Sometimes with animated films it pays to bear in mind that basic is not always better. I would give Robinson Crusoe a 3.5/10.

While the animation in this film doesn't strive to do anything particularly new I will admit that it shows a great attention to detail; throughout the film the visual appearance of small elements really impressed. I loved the animation of fur, hair, feathers, water and fire particularly; the film had a very natural aesthetic.

Laila Berzins, who voiced Rosie, had a lot of spirit in her performance; she made scenes fun with the strength of her voice talent alone. David Howard, who voiced Tuesday, was the only one of the two protagonists to give a decent performance; his enthusiasm with his line delivery kept things moving somewhat. Colin Metzger, who voiced Carmello, had a really unique voice that stood out in this film; his character had an extremely minor role but had a fun wit about him. Dennis O'Connor, who voiced Long John Silver, had a really intimidating quality to his voice; O'Connor was a great pick for this pirate role. Doug Stone, who voiced Aynsley, had a very strong presence for such a minor character; his gravelly and insightful role was one of the better characters.Lindsay Torrance, who voiced Kiki, had a very strong passionate performance in this film; Torrance was one of the few performers to display a convincing emotional range.

However the best performance came from Jeff Doucette and Debi Tinsley, who voiced Mal and May respectively. Doucette and Tinsley presented a pair of antagonists who were very menacing and one of the most exciting parts of the film. This pair had a very distinct voice that was immediately recognisable as dark and villainous in this film.

This film was far too long for an animated feature, it dragged on and on with no real distinctive end in sight; even when the film had finally finished it was upon a very weak note. In fact the entire plot was exceptionally weak, you never really connect with Crusoe or the animal characters because all of their motives or personas are generic or stereotypical. This film is artificial and it feels like it was quickly churned out and cobbled together to have an animated feature prepared for school holiday season. The music in this film is another major disappointment, I would doubt that anyone exiting this film would have a particular moment of the score  that they remember.

Joey Camen, who voiced Scrubby, was one of those voices that we've heard a million times before; the role was a bit nonsensical and a weak attempt to generate more comedic moments. Jeff Doucette, who voiced Pango, is pretty forgettable in this film; his character often moves into the backdrop in scenes. Sandy Fox, who voiced Epi, had a really annoying voice for this film; she created this cute and delicate role that was a bit too over the top. Yuri Lowenthal, who voiced Crusoe, didn't feel like he connected with the script at all; his performance was without a doubt one of the most exaggerated and artificial of all the cast.