Hogfather
Starring: Neil Pearson, Tony Robinson, David Jason, Stephen Marcus, Joss AcklandDirector: Vadim Jean
Studio: Genius Products (TVN)
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Running Time: 189 minutes
DVD Release: March 4th 2008
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DVD Review
Hogfather is the magical, menacing, wicked, and witty family story unlike anything else you could ever imagine. From the imagination of best-selling author Terry Pratchett comes Hogfather. It?s the holiday of Hogswatch, the night when kids anticipate presents from the beloved Hogfather. But someone wants the Hogfather out of the way. Now it?s up to the most unlikely of heroes to get the holiday back on track. Just in time for the Easter season, Hogfather is a cross between Chronicles of Narnia and Harry Potter that?s sure to be a family favorite you?ll be watching for years and years to come.
User Reviews
Not a bad attempt, but ... - Rating: 3/5
I am an avid Pratchett reader and Hogfather is a great book. I'm thrilled that his works are now being adapted for film and television, although one fervently hopes that their production will be in safe hands.
There is much to like about this adaptation, although the main attraction for me is simply that it brings the discworld and its characters to the screen. Ian Richardson's `Death' is the star of this film, and it is always good to see Nigel Planner and Joss Ackland.
Unfortunately, Marc Warren's portrayal of Teatime ruined it for me. In particular, his voice was unnecessarily silly and often difficult to follow. I got sick of him very early in the proceedings, and could have done with a lot less of the tooth fairy's castle.
In summary, this is a reasonable adaptation that many people will enjoy, although it might have been improved with different casting. Overall, it falls short of the excellent Colour of Magic adaptation.
Better than most major releases - Rating: 5/5
If you are a Terry Pratchett fan, this is a must see. However, anyone who has a sense of wit and humor, kids or adults, will enjoy this even if they have never heard of him (if you enjoy the humor of Wodehouse and Douglas Adams you will certainly enjoy Pratchett). The casting is fantastic, and while it requires that you pay attention for the entire movie to follow the parallel plot lines, it is well worth it because you wouldn't want to miss a minute anyway. This, and its made for British TV companion The Colour of Magic, are so good it is hard to believe they were released for TV rather than the theatre.
The book was better... There, I said it! - Rating: 3/5
First off, let me say that I am a HUGE Terry Pratchett fan and that's why I got this movie. A lot of the humor that I loved in the Hogfather book didn't sit well with me in this movie... mostly came out as cheesy. If I were a child, it might seem silly and funny, but I found it cheesy. I might've actually cringed at some scenes.
Another reason I didn't care so much for the movie is that it's over 3 hours long. I think I read the book faster than that. If you're getting this movie for your kid, good luck getting them to sit through it. Parts that I remembered in the book as being very good were transformed in this movie as parts that dragged on and on. I needed it to be faster paced, I suppose.
I got this movie because I needed my Terry Pratchett "fix" until I could get my hands on the next book of his, but this movie version of the Hogfather didn't deliver. I was disappointed and I've got to go reread Hogfather so I can hopefully get the memory of this movie out of my head. If you're thinking of getting this movie for the same reasons I did, consider yourself warned. :)
Love it! - Rating: 5/5
Personally I think they pretty much got it like the book. I really enjoyed the film and look foward to others.
Magnificient - Rating: 5/5
This was done with SUCh love and attention to detail. And Terry Pratchet's writing comes through-- funny, sad, deeply philosophical and ultimately uplifiting. Its now a Xmas favorite in my collection displacing "The Nightmare Before Christmas."
Honestly, I hadn't read the Hogfather yet, and now I'm wondering if Tim Burton had because Nightmare seems terribly derivative.
