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List Price: $14.98 | | Label: BBC Warner
Salesrank: 39115
Released: October 7, 2003 |
| Our Price: $7.23 |
| Used Price: $2.00 |
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MPAA Rating: G (General Audience)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Two fabulously funny animated holiday classics brought to you by a brilliant creative team including writer Richard Curtis (Bridget Jones' Diary, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill) and directed by Richard Goleszowski (Wallace & Gromit, Rex The Runt)
Robbie the Reindeer in Hooves of Fire - He's a bit lazy, a bit chubby, and totally lovesick. Robbie is at a crossroad in life and is soon convinced he's hopelessly unfit to join Santa's sleigh team. So begins his first hilariously hip adventure, as Robbie learns there is no easy route to success and that hard work and talent get rewarded in the end.
Robbie the Reindeer in Legend of the Lost Tribe - Follow Robbie as he sets out to discover a mythical tribe of lost Viking warriors to help him save his friends from another dastardly plot by the evil Blitzen and his new-found partner-in-crime The White Rabbit. Robbie is having girl trouble too - Donner is feeling neglected and decides to give Robbie an ultimatum. Can Robbie save the day, keep his girl and unravel the mystery of the Legend of the Lost Tribe?
DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:Director Commentary
Biographies:US and UK vocal talent biographies
Featurette:"Making of" featurettes for both programs
Other:Alternate UK vocal track
Description of Robbie the Reindeer - Hooves of Fire/Legend of the Lost Tribe (US Versions):
Robbie the Reindeer is as short as many of the made-for-TV classics that have preceded it, like How the Grinch Stole Christmas, but so much action, zippy dialogue, and witty visual puns have been packed into its 29-minute running time that you'd swear it was longer. For this reason, it also stands up to repeat viewing better than some of the more straightforward programs of recent years, although it is directed toward a slightly older audience--age 10 and up--due to some sexual innuendo. Whether Robbie will become a holiday perennial in the U.S. is yet to be seen, but he appears to have won the hearts of the U.K. and shares a lineage with another stop-motion favorite, Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Robbie just happens to be Rudolph's son, and Pop is keen to see his lovable--but lazy--progeny follow in his famous hoof prints. Adults may get a kick out of the fact that the story line was actually inspired more by Rocky than by Rudolph. As in Rocky, there's a supportive female (Donner) and a crusty old trainer (Old Jingle). Together they help Robbie get in shape for the Reindeer Games, where he'll have the chance to show Santa whether he has the right stuff or not. Fans of Aardman Animations should appreciate the detailed animation and clever humor. The cream of Britain's comic crop provides the voices, including Jane Horrocks (Absolutely Fabulous) as Donner. Pop singer Robbie Williams narrates the story, and Mark Knopfler provides the music. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Robbie the Reindeer - Hooves of Fire/Legend of the Lost Tribe (US Versions) Reviews:
Robbie the Reindeer DVD 
2008-02-22 - You need to enjoy 'British' humor to watch this DVD, but all in all it does add to anyones Christmas DVD collection.
Remastered Rubbish added to a great movie! 
2007-12-10 - I didn't ask for Ben Stiller and Britney Spears to voice over the actors in this amazing film! I am very disappointed. There is nothing better than the original version. Our whole family was looking forward to having this favorite on DVD for future Christmases. The charm and whit, the British accents, gone, the whole thing is ruined.
Buyers beware! "US Version" means they took out the heart of the movie! Make sure what you're getting is the original film and you won't regret it.
added later:
thank God! there is an "alternate" uk voicetrack! please please do not watch this movie without selecting it first in the audio options. yay, my purchase was not a total loss!
Good for some people
2007-07-31 - Humor could have been better. Oh well win some lose some. Thought it would be more like Creature comforts.
Enjoyable way to spend time but nothing outstanding
2007-01-28 - I certainly enjoyed my time watching Robbie, but I wouldn't go so far as to recommend it to anyone but animation buffs. I listened to it with the British soundtrack (an option you can select on the American disc), and I enjoyed the humor and the storyline, but there was very little that made me laugh out loud or that I thought about even an hour later.
The humor was crass at times and definitely not suitable for children. I think the crassness of the humor made it less funny, like they were trading cleverness for crassness and hoping we wouldn't notice the difference.
I'd love to see more from the animators, because this was a near miss. A little bit more time spent writing good dialogue or a funny plot would have gone a long way towards making this a five star show.
Until then, try Wallace and Gromit or Creature Comforts - both are cleverly hilarious and have truly fantastic claymation.
Funny, but inapporpiate for very young children
2006-12-23 - Robbie The Reindeer is really a comedy greared for older kids maybe 8 or 10 years old and up. It's not innocent entertainment for very young children like my three year old son. I did not want him to watch it, so it is going to his older cousins. They will get a kick out of it.
