For context: This was a film originally being developed by Sony Pictures Animation, based on a comic book series by Chris Grine, that would've served as a full-on reboot of the comic. But following the Sony Pictures cyber-hack of 2014, the project was cancelled and a scrpt draft by Dave Collard got lost in circulation. Until in 2018, Belgian animation studio nWave Pictures acquired the rights to the project and Collard's script came with it, in which they would partner with Sony Pictures International Productions and French film producer Octopolis to bring the film to life after all.
To be honest, I had some hopes for this movie. I was impressed by the concept behind it, and its settings were very original and clever. But then I had my chance to finally watch the film itself on Netflix... and oh boy, it not only disappointed. It depressed me... not so much because it's a mediocre movie. But because it was a purely wasted opportunity.
The first major problem is the main protagonist Chickenhare (played by newcomer Jordan Tartakow). He's just your generic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer-like character who hides a insecurity complex after a couple of former friends call him a "freak" behind his back, due to him being a hare with unusual chicken features. But what ruins any sense of likability or relatability in this character, is just how ignorant and whiny the script makes him out to be, on top of having little to no personality other than his awkwardly unique breed. Also, not to throw any crap at Jordan Tartakow himself, as he is just new to the voice acting circles, and along with such an impressive opportunity to have been casted as the main character in a movie, I can see he does have potential to be the next Richard Horvitz or Dee Bradley Baker... but his performance in this movie is absolutely terrible. Largely because of the materials he was given, his character ends up sounding like such an irritating little brat, especially one who is constantly complaining about how "not normal" he is, to the point that the character just becomes pitiful and his self-defeating behaviour makes it even worse. But what makes this character suck so much is how he doesn't learn his vital lesson until the very end. When his friend Meg and his foster father King Peter try to tell him that "the thing that makes him different is what makes him special" (y'know, don't listen to the naysayers, just be you, yada yada yada, we've heard this so many times before in other recent kids' movies and this is no different...), he doesn't take it to account at all and just replies "I just want to be normal and to be accepted, I'm an abomination, there's nothing good about being me". Seriously?? Who talks like that??! Yet he FINALLY gets the idea at the third act, and manages to use his inner abilities to save himself and his friends after his evil uncle leaves them trapped in an icy cave with one of his many tricks.
Then we have the story itself. It's your typical Indiana Jones treasure quest story where Chickenhare goes on a harrowing adventure with his butler Abe (voiced by Joe Ochman) and a female skunk adventurer named Meg (voiced by Laila Berzins) to race against the clock and discover a mystical scepter before his cleverly tricky but pathetically clumsy uncle Lapin (voiced by Danny Fehsenfeld) does, so he can use it and commit a coup d'etat against his brother King Peter (voiced by the late Brad Venable and Christopher McCullough filling in after Venable's death). After which the first time he did so, he failed and got jailed up for life, until he invites Chickenhare to his cell just to pluck one of the feathers on his head (without him knowing) and use it to break himself out. Chickenhare also has a rather selfish desire to be accepted in society by being apart of his father's adventuring club, and after his Indiana Jones-like disguise (and his own humility) sabotages his chances of becoming a member in the adventuring ceremony, he wishes to use the scepter as proof of his worth. *cough*Sir Lionel Frost *cough*. First off, it is unbearably cliched and at times, super predictable. It ticks so many notes: be yourself, pessimistic side character, cookie-cutter stereotypes, an estranged family member, following your dreams, wanting to be a hero, a tribe of pagan loons, blaming yourself for something you aren't actually responsible for, failing at first but getting back on your feet and trying again, etc... How can one really care what the characters are going through emotionally or physically, when you can tell from the very beginning that they'll come out just fine? But what especially ruins the experience is the film's hammering down of Chickenhare's self-hating personality, resulting in an unengaging and unpleasant experience from beginning to end.
However, not everything about this movie sucks. There are three things that do serve as redeeming qualities for the feature. Not on a crucial level, sure, but do a decent job make the movie a little more watchable.
Firstly, the concepts - Like I said before, this movie does have very clever and very original concepts. The world-building is an alternate version of planet Earth, in similar veins to Disney's Zootopia and Illumination's Sing, with the modernised pseudo-medieval world taking a lot from ancient civilizations and iconography, such as Chickenhare's home of Featherbeard being inspired by the ancient pre-colonial post-Roman kingdoms of Europe, and the desert town where Meg lived originally is based on the North African outback, along with each location having their own cultures and histories (which the barebones script only barely goes into...). The concept of an ancient society of hamsters having their own Atlantis-like scriptures and three-tier worthiness trial system makes for some additionally intriguing material as well. That, and I wish the movie delved some more into the antagonist Lapin's stigma of having a limpy ear, which could be the reason why he became so jealous of his brother becoming king, and the source of his path to villainy. That would've been a great comparison to Chickenhare's quirky species, probably more so than Meg's stigma (which I'll get to quite soon btw).
Secondly, the animation - For a movie that only literally had a $20 million budget, the animation from nWave's crew looks phenomenal even by such a limited budget's standards. The character animation is lively and believable, the effects are amazing, the locations are vibrant and full of life, and the use of color is breathtaking. However, the only downsides to the animation is that it doesn't do much with these features like the concept itself does. That, and some of the character designs look rather unoriginal and eerily familiar, like Chickenhare looking like a distant cousin of Judy Hopps from Zootopia, and both Abe and Meg looking a little too much like Verne and Stella from Over the Hedge.
And thirdly, and last but certainly not least --- Meg - And this is the biggest one. Out of all the other characters in this movie, whom are either forgettable or downright obnoxious, Meg the skunk on the other hand is a highly well-written and likeable character, while at the same thing having some familiarities which luckily don't get too problematic. Her abilities like using her massive farts as bombs (again, kinda like Stella from Over the Hedge but still) and her Japanese-inspired fighting skills is one thing, but her character is one that Chickenhare would wish he could have. Meg once had the same personal stigma as Chickenhare on account of simply being a skunk (I mean, who could ever love a skunk after all, right??), but she got over it and learned to be proud of who she is. Her interpretation is so much believable and I do pity her, not just for her explosive stomach being a source of ridicule and ostracisation, but also how she has to lecture someone constantly beating himself up over the most trivial of things like Chickenhare, TWICE, on how the thing he's "corking" (yes, she plugs her butt for a long time and finally releases it after a dangerous incident in her youth, yet another nod to Stella) is what makes him "special". Honestly, if she were the main character, this movie probably would've worked a lot better.
But aside from those qualities, Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness in conclusion, could've been a great treasure-hunt adventure, let alone the definitive Indiana Jones-inspired animated feature with admirable concepts, impressive animation and an enjoyable deuteragonist, but is hampered by an abysmally weak script, embarrassing dialogue (especially from a unlikeable protagonist), dull use of visual elements, bland side characters, a villain who also wasted all his potential, an annoyingly cliched and predictable story and such an awful execution of its themes like insecurity and social anxiety. Oh, and might I add, really bad voice acting except for Danny Fehsenfeld's Lapin, and Laila Berzins' Meg, who both do a decent job with their respective roles. Seriously, I still can't stand Chickenhare's voice... every time he's whining, I just wanna shout "Ah shaddup!!". Again, nothing to do with you Jordan Tartakow, it's just the calamity this movie calls "writing".
If I had to make a recommendation... well, just skip this one. There is a much better movie out there that talks about one's struggle with being an misfit and trying to be like the others in their community. And that is: Disney's Encanto. It pulls off the message so much more believably and realistically, even with its more fantasy elements like being about a family of magicians with one having no actual gift of her own. I mean, I wanted this to be good. I wanted this to be something I could enjoy from beginning to end. But clearly, I shouldn't have expected so much from a studio like nWave that tends to pull off nice-looking animation on a low-budget to the detriment of top-quality storytelling.
To be honest, I had some hopes for this movie. I was impressed by the concept behind it, and its settings were very original and clever. But then I had my chance to finally watch the film itself on Netflix... and oh boy, it not only disappointed. It depressed me... not so much because it's a mediocre movie. But because it was a purely wasted opportunity.
The first major problem is the main protagonist Chickenhare (played by newcomer Jordan Tartakow). He's just your generic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer-like character who hides a insecurity complex after a couple of former friends call him a "freak" behind his back, due to him being a hare with unusual chicken features. But what ruins any sense of likability or relatability in this character, is just how ignorant and whiny the script makes him out to be, on top of having little to no personality other than his awkwardly unique breed. Also, not to throw any crap at Jordan Tartakow himself, as he is just new to the voice acting circles, and along with such an impressive opportunity to have been casted as the main character in a movie, I can see he does have potential to be the next Richard Horvitz or Dee Bradley Baker... but his performance in this movie is absolutely terrible. Largely because of the materials he was given, his character ends up sounding like such an irritating little brat, especially one who is constantly complaining about how "not normal" he is, to the point that the character just becomes pitiful and his self-defeating behaviour makes it even worse. But what makes this character suck so much is how he doesn't learn his vital lesson until the very end. When his friend Meg and his foster father King Peter try to tell him that "the thing that makes him different is what makes him special" (y'know, don't listen to the naysayers, just be you, yada yada yada, we've heard this so many times before in other recent kids' movies and this is no different...), he doesn't take it to account at all and just replies "I just want to be normal and to be accepted, I'm an abomination, there's nothing good about being me". Seriously?? Who talks like that??! Yet he FINALLY gets the idea at the third act, and manages to use his inner abilities to save himself and his friends after his evil uncle leaves them trapped in an icy cave with one of his many tricks.
Then we have the story itself. It's your typical Indiana Jones treasure quest story where Chickenhare goes on a harrowing adventure with his butler Abe (voiced by Joe Ochman) and a female skunk adventurer named Meg (voiced by Laila Berzins) to race against the clock and discover a mystical scepter before his cleverly tricky but pathetically clumsy uncle Lapin (voiced by Danny Fehsenfeld) does, so he can use it and commit a coup d'etat against his brother King Peter (voiced by the late Brad Venable and Christopher McCullough filling in after Venable's death). After which the first time he did so, he failed and got jailed up for life, until he invites Chickenhare to his cell just to pluck one of the feathers on his head (without him knowing) and use it to break himself out. Chickenhare also has a rather selfish desire to be accepted in society by being apart of his father's adventuring club, and after his Indiana Jones-like disguise (and his own humility) sabotages his chances of becoming a member in the adventuring ceremony, he wishes to use the scepter as proof of his worth. *cough*Sir Lionel Frost *cough*. First off, it is unbearably cliched and at times, super predictable. It ticks so many notes: be yourself, pessimistic side character, cookie-cutter stereotypes, an estranged family member, following your dreams, wanting to be a hero, a tribe of pagan loons, blaming yourself for something you aren't actually responsible for, failing at first but getting back on your feet and trying again, etc... How can one really care what the characters are going through emotionally or physically, when you can tell from the very beginning that they'll come out just fine? But what especially ruins the experience is the film's hammering down of Chickenhare's self-hating personality, resulting in an unengaging and unpleasant experience from beginning to end.
However, not everything about this movie sucks. There are three things that do serve as redeeming qualities for the feature. Not on a crucial level, sure, but do a decent job make the movie a little more watchable.
Firstly, the concepts - Like I said before, this movie does have very clever and very original concepts. The world-building is an alternate version of planet Earth, in similar veins to Disney's Zootopia and Illumination's Sing, with the modernised pseudo-medieval world taking a lot from ancient civilizations and iconography, such as Chickenhare's home of Featherbeard being inspired by the ancient pre-colonial post-Roman kingdoms of Europe, and the desert town where Meg lived originally is based on the North African outback, along with each location having their own cultures and histories (which the barebones script only barely goes into...). The concept of an ancient society of hamsters having their own Atlantis-like scriptures and three-tier worthiness trial system makes for some additionally intriguing material as well. That, and I wish the movie delved some more into the antagonist Lapin's stigma of having a limpy ear, which could be the reason why he became so jealous of his brother becoming king, and the source of his path to villainy. That would've been a great comparison to Chickenhare's quirky species, probably more so than Meg's stigma (which I'll get to quite soon btw).
Secondly, the animation - For a movie that only literally had a $20 million budget, the animation from nWave's crew looks phenomenal even by such a limited budget's standards. The character animation is lively and believable, the effects are amazing, the locations are vibrant and full of life, and the use of color is breathtaking. However, the only downsides to the animation is that it doesn't do much with these features like the concept itself does. That, and some of the character designs look rather unoriginal and eerily familiar, like Chickenhare looking like a distant cousin of Judy Hopps from Zootopia, and both Abe and Meg looking a little too much like Verne and Stella from Over the Hedge.
And thirdly, and last but certainly not least --- Meg - And this is the biggest one. Out of all the other characters in this movie, whom are either forgettable or downright obnoxious, Meg the skunk on the other hand is a highly well-written and likeable character, while at the same thing having some familiarities which luckily don't get too problematic. Her abilities like using her massive farts as bombs (again, kinda like Stella from Over the Hedge but still) and her Japanese-inspired fighting skills is one thing, but her character is one that Chickenhare would wish he could have. Meg once had the same personal stigma as Chickenhare on account of simply being a skunk (I mean, who could ever love a skunk after all, right??), but she got over it and learned to be proud of who she is. Her interpretation is so much believable and I do pity her, not just for her explosive stomach being a source of ridicule and ostracisation, but also how she has to lecture someone constantly beating himself up over the most trivial of things like Chickenhare, TWICE, on how the thing he's "corking" (yes, she plugs her butt for a long time and finally releases it after a dangerous incident in her youth, yet another nod to Stella) is what makes him "special". Honestly, if she were the main character, this movie probably would've worked a lot better.
But aside from those qualities, Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness in conclusion, could've been a great treasure-hunt adventure, let alone the definitive Indiana Jones-inspired animated feature with admirable concepts, impressive animation and an enjoyable deuteragonist, but is hampered by an abysmally weak script, embarrassing dialogue (especially from a unlikeable protagonist), dull use of visual elements, bland side characters, a villain who also wasted all his potential, an annoyingly cliched and predictable story and such an awful execution of its themes like insecurity and social anxiety. Oh, and might I add, really bad voice acting except for Danny Fehsenfeld's Lapin, and Laila Berzins' Meg, who both do a decent job with their respective roles. Seriously, I still can't stand Chickenhare's voice... every time he's whining, I just wanna shout "Ah shaddup!!". Again, nothing to do with you Jordan Tartakow, it's just the calamity this movie calls "writing".
If I had to make a recommendation... well, just skip this one. There is a much better movie out there that talks about one's struggle with being an misfit and trying to be like the others in their community. And that is: Disney's Encanto. It pulls off the message so much more believably and realistically, even with its more fantasy elements like being about a family of magicians with one having no actual gift of her own. I mean, I wanted this to be good. I wanted this to be something I could enjoy from beginning to end. But clearly, I shouldn't have expected so much from a studio like nWave that tends to pull off nice-looking animation on a low-budget to the detriment of top-quality storytelling.