In Review: Roald Dahl And Beatrix: The Tail of The Curious Mouse

Synopsis: Heartwarming Sky Original about a six-year-old Roald Dahl, who goes on an epic adventure to meet his literary hero Beatrix Potter.

The Story

A recently bereaved Roald Dahl goes for one last adventure with his mother Sophy before he attends a boarding school. The memory of his dead father and sister relatively fresh. Roald and his mum take a trip up north as a diversion. The destination is the home of Roald’s literary hero Beatrix Potter.

While on his journey. Roald meets a variety of colorful and quirky characters. But none are quite so formidable as his literary hero.

The Acting

John Hannah narrates this charming story, which is based on fact, but of course, has a few creative flourishes. Hannah’s narration very much acts as our way into the young Roald Dhal’s memories of events.

Jessica Hynes is brilliant as Roald’s mother Sophie who is still struggling with having lost both her young daughter and husband in such a short space of time. The scene between Haynes and Harry Tayler as the young Roald on the train is wonderfully played out. And shows what a humorous and resilient figure Roald Dahl’s mother must have been.

Harry Tayler is rock solid as the six-year-old Roald and gives a very mature performance for such a young actor. I particularly enjoyed his scene with the Fox scarf that the Horrible Woman at the Taxi Rank was wearing. Additionally, his scene with Bill Bailey’s Bona Fide Gent was brilliant.

Dawn French strikes a nice balance between cranky and witty as Beatrix Potter and Rob Brydon is a brilliant choice for Beatrix’s Husband. We also get a funny performance from Nina Sosanya who plays Anne Landry, who tries to influence how the tail of the Three Blind Mice should be told, but with little luck.

Overall

A wonderful film, which combines the real story of Roald’s meeting with Beatrix with a few fantastical encounters with animals along the way. The final meeting between Roald and Beatrix is just a few minutes long, which might well feel somewhat anti-climatic, but the film is more about the journey than it is about the meeting.

The CGI effects for the various animals were well done and I enjoyed how the use of these brief encounters was few and far between and did not dominate the story.

Roald & Beatrix: The Tail of the Curious Mouse premiers later tonight on Sky One at 8:15 PM.