My Family and Other Animals (2005)

An English family relocates to sunny Greece in the months before WWII.

Director:

Sheree Folkson

Writers:

Gerald Durrell (book), Simon Nye

Stars:

Eugene Simon, Imelda Staunton, Chris Langham

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Eugene Simon	...	Gerald Durrell
Imelda Staunton	...	Mother
Chris Langham	...	Theodore Stephanides
Omid Djalili	...	Spiro
Matthew Goode	...	Larry Durrell
Russell Tovey	...	Leslie Durrell
Tamzin Merchant	...	Margot Durrell
Kostas Tziotakis	...	Customs Officer
Mihalis Giannatos	...	Porter / Waiter (as Michalis Giannatos)
Olga Tournaki	...	Agathi
Dimitris Kaberidis	...	Rose-Beetle Man
David Armand	...	George - the tutor
Antonis Antoniou	...	Yani
George Couyas	...	Turkish Boyfriend
Efi Papatheodorou	...	Lugaretsia - housekeeper

Storyline

Feeling the depressing effects of a gloomy English summer, the Durrell family decides to pack up and move to the Greek island of Corfu. Lead by their widowed mother, 13-year old future naturalist Gerald Durrell, his two older brothers and older sister move into a series of villas. Gerald indulges his passion for nature by filling his room with local fauna, while his brothers fill their time with writing or hunting and his sister sunbathes and flirts.

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Plot Keywords:

corfu | naturalist | greek island | eccentricity | turtle | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

BBC [United Kingdom] PBS [United States]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 December 2005 (UK)

Also Known As:

Mi familia y otros animales

Filming Locations:

Corfu, Greece

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), WGBH

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

[first lines]
Larry Durrell: Why do we put up with this bloody climate? I mean, look at us: Gerry can't speak,
Gerald Durrell: Uh?
Larry Durrell: Lesley can't hear.
Leslie Durrell: What?
Larry Durrell: Margot's got a face like a plate of red porridge.
Margot Durrell: Shut up.
Larry Durrell: Mother's beginning to look like an Irish washerwoman.
Mother: I am not.
Larry Durrell: It's August. We need sunshine.
[...]

User Reviews

Absolute Delight!

The movie is truly a delight to watch. It's full of warmth and humour. It reminds me how wonderful it is to connect to nature, a thing hard to achieve in this modern age of technology and fast-paced life. The scenery is just so beautiful, the characters interesting and lovable, the acting smooth and convincing, the soundtrack I find quite quirky but amusing, and the animals absolutely cute! Imelda Staunton is superb as usual, while Eugene Simon is very good as the inquisitive Gerald. Despite the fact that this movie is not a very dramatic one (no violence, no real romance nor suspense), it is engaging and entertaining. A must-see.