It is not as if I dislike Burbank Films Australia animations. On the contrary. While I was disappointed in this, The Odyssey, 20000 Leagues Under the Sea, Through the Looking Glass and The Three Musketeers, I did love Wind in the Willows, Peter Pan, Treasure Island, Around the World in Eighty Days and The Adventures of Robin Hood. For me, the only redeeming quality of this Prisoner of Zenda were the landscapes and background art, which were suitably colourful and beautifully realised on the whole. I can't say the same for the character designs though, which throughout are very crude. The characters themselves are not as likable or as complex as they are in the book, understandably as it is condensed to 50 minutes, but here we are not just talking about a slight change in character, we are talking about characters that are so watered down that they are just not interesting. When the most interesting character in the book, Rupert, is excised completely, you know there is something wrong, same with omitting the idea that the twins are in love with the same woman which actually misses the point of about half the story. The music is not terrible, nor is it anything remarkable. The writing suffers from over-simplification and lack of wit, while the story, which I always did find thrilling, feels dull and unexciting and the lack of sword-fights really do take away from the character and spirit of it. The voice acting was rather bland, with the villainous characters overdone and non-threatening. All in all, the landscapes are good but the rest didn't work for me. 2/10 Bethany Cox
Review of Prisoner of Zenda
