My Family and Other Animals (2005)

An English family relocates to sunny Greece four years 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 in 1935. 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:

literature on screen | european literature on screen | british literature on screen | humoristic literature on screen | british humoristic literature on screen | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

TV-PG

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.
[...]

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Connections

Edited into Masterpiece Classic: My Family and Other Animals (2006)

User Reviews

Truly worth watching!

I rented My Family and the Other Animals on a friend's recommendation and am happy that I did. I think I'm going to have to own this movie now. I will certainly watch it again - if just to catch all the lines that were delivered (with either Greek or English accents depending on who was speaking) while I was laughing too loudly to catch the dialog! This movie proves that if the story (which is based on real life in this case), the writing, and the acting are all impeccable (which is true of this movie) one doesn't need much more that a nice villa set in a beautiful location in Southern Europe and some local talent to make a fantastic little movie.

I use the word "little" not to take anything away from the quality of the movie, but rather because this movie was never released on the "Big" screen. Aired on PBS television for "Masterpiece Theatre" and now available on DVD, this film is capable of succeeding in movie theaters.

If you are anything like me, you will find yourself smiling, chuckling, and recalling particular lines from this movie for at least a full day after watching it!

Details

Official Sites:

BBC [UK] 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

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1