Napoleon (1995)

The adventures of Golden Retriever pup Napoleon and his friend, the parrot Birdo Lucci.

Director:

Mario Andreacchio

Writers:

Mario Andreacchio, Michael Bourchier,

Stars:

Jamie Croft, Philip Quast, Susan Lyons

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jamie Croft	...	Napoleon (voice)
Philip Quast	...	Birdo (voice)
Susan Lyons	...	Napoleon's Mum / Other Wallaby (voice)
Coralie Sawade	...	Kids' Mother (voice)
Brenton Whittle	...	Owl / Frog / Wombat / Other Wallaby / Desert Mouse (voice)
Anne-Louise Lambert	...	Spider / Earless Wallaby / Desert Mouse (voice) (as Anne Lambert)
Carole Skinner	...	Cat (voice)
Catherine Lambert	...	Lorikeet / Rabbit (voice)
Tracey Canini	...	Lorikeet / Rabbit (voice)
Annabel Sims	...	Lorikeet / Rabbit (voice)
Neusa Timms	...	Lorikeet / Rabbit (voice)
Debbie Horn	...	Lorikeet / Rabbit (voice)
Lucia Mastrantone	...	Lone Lorikeet (voice)
Frank Whitten	...	Koala (voice)
Fiona Press	...	Other Wallaby / Galah (voice)

Storyline

Napoleon is a little dog that lives in Sydney. He and his mother live with a family, but Napoleon loves to dream about meeting the wild dogs that live far away, and eventually becoming one himself. One day he gets into a basket hung from some balloons and flies away into the sky. The wind carries him to a nearby island where the basket finally lands. There he meets all kinds of different animals; some of them are friendly, but some aren't. With the help of a parakeet friend he learns the secrets of living alone in the island and defending himself from wild animals. He goes in search of the wild dogs, whom he finally finds. He is very happy with them, but then he gets homesick and starts to miss his mother, so he decides to go home again.

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Plot Keywords:

dog | golden retriever | balloon | journey | sydney australia | 

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Taglines:

He's a hero who will capture your heart.

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Genres:

Family | Adventure

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

Australia Japan

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 October 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Kulta

Filming Locations:

Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

AUD 4,300,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$47,687 (USA) (10 October 1997)

Gross:

$47,687 (USA) (10 October 1997)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Adelaide Motion Picture Company, Australian Film Finance Corporation (AFFC), Film Australia

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

With a budget of 4.3 million Australian dollars, this was, at the time of production, the most expensive independent film made in South Australia.

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Goofs

When Napoleon meets the "owl", it is not actually an owl. The animal is actually a Tawny Frogmouth.

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Quotes

Napoleon's Mum: I want you to promise me you'll never run off like that again!
Napoleon: I won't. And I want you to promise me something too.
Napoleon's Mum: Anything!
Napoleon: I want you... to call me Napoleon!
Napoleon's Mum: [laughs] From now on, you're my little Napoleon.

User Reviews

What a lovely movie!

I absolutely love this movie. Words are not enough to describe such a cute movie. Aside some minor stuff, the whole movie is delightful, adorable, wonderful, hilarious, sweet, exciting, thrilling, entertaining, full of charm and adventure, danger and even some darkness.

The list of qualities doesn't end here. What to say about the scenario? For one thing, this is an Australian film. This special production takes place in Sydney and in a nearby island. This is one of the reasons why this movie is well renowned. This is a rich production that captures all the beauty and wonders of pure nature. Even details like the sounds of exotic birds and waterfalls were not forgotten, which accents this realistic environment even more. Mountains, forests, green places, trees, rivers, lakes, waterfalls, rocks, various species of animals, deserts, sandstorms, sunsets, sunrises, winds, rain, snow and even the seasons of the year are all present here. Plus, the camera work is very efficient.

The story is about a very cute and adorable Golden Retriever puppy named Muffin' (although he nicknames himself Napoleon) that longs for adventure, danger and a life with wild dogs. Despite his young age and innocent appearance, Napoleon is very confident and not timid at all. In fact, he is a brave and curious explorer. But he proves to be a hero later, when he saves two adorable dingo puppies.

His curiosity makes him explore a balloon and accidentally causes the balloon to fly with him inside the basket (which is attached to the balloon). The balloon flies all over the city (Sydney) in very big heights. There are very beautiful and stunning angles of view in this sequence: very tall buildings, roads, a big bridge, the endless sea and even the famous Sydney Opera House (also known as Opera Australia). And these fantastic vistas are perfectly combined at the sound of the lovely Napoleon's song "How High I'll Fly?". Even a brief but delightful voyage by train wasn't forgotten just after that. The basket gets stuck on the train, which takes Napoleon to a great ride over the city.

Other gorgeous shots are when a fantastic sight of Sydney is shown at the beginning, from Napoleon's house and also when, after a long cross of the sea (in the air) Napoleon is getting close to very tall mountains with a beautiful beach down there but he doesn't know what to do until a galah named Birdo appears to help him all over his fantastic journey. Together they live big adventures and dangers while, at the same time, Birdo teaches him everything he knows about wild life.

The soundtrack includes beautiful and soft instrumental music, the sad goodbye song sung by Birdo and Napoleon and the tender and touching Napoleon's song "How High I'll Fly?".

As for the cast, they do a decent voice job, especially Jamie Croft as Napoleon, Philip Quast as Birdo and Susan Lyons as Napoleon's mother.

Despite all its qualities, this is a quite underrated film, a sad reality. However, it's one of the best animal movies, no question about that. And anyone who loves this precious little film just gotta love "Old Yeller", "Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey", "Fluke" and "Air Bud". They all deserve to be considered timeless classics.

They don't make movies like this anymore and this is one of those unique gold classics about animals.

This should definitely be on Top 250.