Director:Richard Claus, Karsten Kiilerich
Distributor: eOne
Duration: 83 minutes
The Little Vampire 3D (Blu-ray) – Movie Review
Halloween is long past, yet here we are with our thoughts on ‘The Little Vampire 3D’. The film was actually released around Halloween, which makes sense, but as it only came in store recently, we present you with our review now. Halloween or no Halloween, a vampire film is always fun, certainly this family film.
A little vampire named Rudolph Sackville-Bagg (Rasmus Hardiker) lives with his family in a cemetery underground, somewhere in Transylvania. He is supposed to be celebrating his thirteenth birthday, but he’s not very much enjoying himself. As vampires don’t age, he’s been celebrating his thirteenth birthday for centuries, and he’s just tired of it all. When his brother decides to head outside, out of the shelter of their home into the real world, that’s when things start to get exciting. Unfortunately, it doesn’t take long before they wish they hadn’t gone out at all. Rookery (Jim Carter), a notorious vampire hunter, is on to them. He injures Gregory (Rasmus Hardiker), Rudolph’s brother, but luckily doesn’t kill him. He does however find out their hiding place. Rudolph and his family manage to escape before Rookery locks them in, but the other guests at the party are trapped. Rudolph and the others will somehow have to find a way to save them, but as it’s getting dawn, their first concern is to find somewhere dark to sleep, before the sun comes out.
Meanwhile, Tony (Amy Saville), a thirteen year old American boy, is on a holiday with this parents in Transylvania. He loves vampire stories and knows everything about the creatures, and that’s also why he chose to go on holiday here. On the way to their hotel, they have some issues with their car, but luckily, they can stay the night with a lovely elderly couple in a big but quite spooky castle. The old couple make sure that there is garlic everywhere, and they even check if Tony and his parents have a reflection in the mirror. It all seems a bit weird, but Tony soon finds out that the fear of these people isn’t pure superstition, when the little vampire Rudolph suddenly flies into his room. At first, Rudolph tries to scare Tony, but it doesn’t take long before they become friends. When Rudolph explains to Tony that his family is in danger, Tony is very eager to embark on an adventure with his new friend.
When watching this animated film, we weren’t that impressed at first, partly because the characters look a bit square and unfinished, but also because in the beginning, the storyline is a bit wonky. Also, a lot of characters are introduced, which makes it difficult to keep track of the main story. If you’re willing to overlook these issues the story has at the beginning, it actually becomes a fun adventure to watch. A lot of action is implemented in the storyline, even with a flying cow, so it would definitely be unfair for us to say that the story is dull. It’s just not that cohesive, but fun nonetheless.
As far as voice acting goes, we don’t have any complaints. Rasmus Hardiker makes the little vampire Rudolph a fun little creature to watch, and Amy Saville proves to know very well what an excited thirteen year old sounds like. When you’ve seen British series such as Downton Abbey, you will undoubtedly recognize Jim Carter’s voice as that of Rookery, and he does a marvelous job as well.
Unfortunately, there are no extras at all on this blu-ray release. As we’ve said before in other reviews, it’s always a bit sad to see that no extra effort was put in for those who decide to buy the actual DVD or blu-ray. Nonetheless, we’ll survive without the extras just as well.
Conclusion
The Little Vampire 3D started off as just an average animated film, the graphics not being that attractive and the storyline a bit wobbly. While this was annoying at first, the film is quite fun when you can see past these flaws. Lots of crazy action scenes follow each other, while at the same time you see how a friendship between a vampire and a mortal begins. We liked it well enough, we hope you will too.
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