Nice effects though.

Fantastic!

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

The Bad: Honestly, there's not much to complain about here. It's a short movie - more like a TV episode than a feature film. Possibly the pace is too slow for some, and the danger might be too much for sensitive children (a dragon threatens to each our nice witch!), but that's about it. The Good: Considering they adapted a very short book into nearly half an hour of movie, they did a fantastic job filling in the 'in between the words' with a visually interesting story that didn't feel like filler. Each character was fleshed out to have his/her own personality, making them all interesting and sympathetic. While I put the slow pace of this film in the 'bad' category, I will also address it here in the 'good' as well - the pacing is perfect for the pre-school/toddler ages! It doesn't flit between things too quickly to catch what is happening for developing brains. The visuals are excellent (it almost feels like stop-motion) and will hold up well as time goes on. The message of kindness, inclusiveness, and generosity is subtle and sweet. The Mom View: I would highly recommend this for all young children except for sensitive toddlers (due to the scary dragon)! It would probably be most popular for pre-schoolers. My little boy liked it, and I don't find it obnoxious (which is more than you can expect for a lot of shows for young children).

"Room on the Broom" is an Academy-Award nominated, 25-minute short film by Jan Lachauer, Max Lang and Julia Donaldson. Two of these already worked on "The Gruffalo" together and that is why you will find a couple similarities apart from the rhymes. For example the scene near the end with the "monster" chasing away the dragon is very similar in tone and style to the ending from "The Gruffalo". The animation is very clean and precise and the group of animals reminded me already of the Bremen Town Musicians before they stood atop on each other near the end. The main character is a witch with all the usual traits, the broom, the long nose, the hat, the mole and the not so attractive appearance. However, in contrast to Disney's usual approach it is a good witch, actually one of the most likable animated characters in recent years.I liked that this short film also included animals who would not join the witch on the broom, so you could wonder a bit what the next one is gonna be. The funny highlight here is the cat and its constant skepticism when the witch invites the next guest to the broom. The dramatic highlight near the end is nicely done. The eyes of the dragon near the witch really give off a scary vibe and the chase scene is pretty dramatic too. In order to make it not too scary, they included some funny, quite bizarre rhyming for the dragon including the witch being his meal with or without chips. That was funny in an odd way. The ending not much later is decent. I liked the design of the new broom and how everybody has their space, but I did not like that it was handled a bit more emotional than it actually was with the music and everything.All in all, this is, despite the Oscar nomination, really more suitable for children although I cannot deny I had a good time watching it, maybe because my inner child is still alive and kicking.

As always, Christmas was an interesting time of year for TV programmes and films as there are always some treasures and some disappointments. While I did like but was disappointed in The Snowman and the Snowdog of the animated short films(especially as I adore the original so much) I got so much pleasure from Room on the Broom as I did with The Gruffalo and its sequel from previous years. There is very little to criticise actually here, but while the dragon is very charismatic- some may say too much so- I did feel that he wasn't quite scary enough considering the type of character he is. Timothy Spall does voice him very well though, even if it is somewhat different to the roles I associate him with.The animation on the other hand is just wonderful. Detailed and vibrantly coloured, I loved the balance between hand-drawn and computer-generated animation, meaning that anybody who is fond of either style(admittedly I am more a hand-drawn person myself) will find Room on the Broom a treat. It is not just the quality of it that impresses, it is also to do with how much it does in defining the characters and story which I found incredibly compelling to watch. Thankfully the story and characters are done very well indeed on their own. The story is very charming and heart-warming with some touching moments, true it is simple but considering the target audience and the book itself, of which Room on the Broom is remarkably faithful to this was appropriate. Despite the short running time, Room on the Broom never felt rushed.As for the characters, they are engaging and likable. Again, like the story they are simple but all the better for it. The witch was especially true to this, and all the critters are very cute without being overly-so. The dialogue has similar rhyming rhythms, in how poetic, gentle and bouncing-like they are, to those of The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo's Child. They are also written respecting those of the book and written in a way that doesn't make them childish to an adult yet also easy for the children to understand. The voice acting is excellent. Simon Pegg of course stands out in restrained but dynamic mode as the narrator though he also has freedom to have some droll moments as well. Rob Brydon, Gillian Anderson, David Walliams, Sally Hawkins and Martin Clunes voice their characters wonderfully.I will say thought that Timothy Spall is not quite as good, and this has nothing to do with his voicing actually at all, he does give his all to make the most of it, but more that his character doesn't quite off as well as the rest. In conclusion, I loved it and found it hard to deny its charm. And I imagine that child, adult or family will feel the same. 9/10 Bethany Cox

From the same team that did the last two Gruffalo films comes this season's animation for Christmas Day. The films fit into the slot traditionally filled by the Wallace and Gromit films and, although none of them (this one included) have ever got close to that standard, they do at least do the job for the audience and time they are on. In this film a cat and a witch are helped to locate some missing items but end up taking on passengers each time – all well and good perhaps but they do not know that a dragon is stalking the witch for his tea.The music and the animation pretty much get you in the mood from the very start as they are slight, amusing in tone and non-threatening. The narration from Simon Pegg is good as it delivers the nicely paced gentle rhymes which form the structure of the film; they are repetitive in nature but this is the point of them and it works well. As the content is pretty simple, the animation adds plenty of amusing and funny moments whether in actual gags or in terms of little flourishes or moments of characterization. This is the main body of the film and it is this that helps it fill the time and stops it feeling too slow. The animation also makes the characters work because, as famous as the cast-list is, nobody really makes an impact beyond Pegg – it is the physical actions and reactions of the characters that make them work.It isn't amazingly smart or hilarious but it is gently funny and warming while drawing you in with the animation and the nice tone and rhythm of the delivery. A good family short film for Christmas Day and will have legs beyond that very specific time slot.