Absolutely amazing

A Disappointing Continuation

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

It takes a lot of work to create a good series. The cast is great, but the show is bogged down by several things that Horrible Histories mostly avoided. The first issue is the lack of development of characters. No one changes, no one learns. After watching 12 episodes, very little has happened. I've learned nothing, nor have the characters in the show. The second issue is that Debbie is supposedly super smart and all the male characters are stupid. This makes Debbie quite 1 dimensional (compare to her husband who is just plain stupid and constantly subservient as one example). She comes across as condescending (as another reviewer pointed out). It's a shame because she was far more diverse in Horrible Histories - breaking "modern gender stereotypes" that, surprisingly, this show suffers greatly from (summary: woman perfect, smart: men stupid. Same stereotype for the last 20 years). The show could also benefit from dropping the naked gags (or at least evolving them). One of the few gags that really hit the spot was the references to celebrities in the Sherlock Holmes style episode. The who-dun-nit was the best laugh I'd had in the series. Puppeteering and sets are diverse and look good. Needs to drop the stereotypes/sexism and be a little less condescending and a little more risk taking. If the writers aren't careful, Political Correctness will kill the series, as will the lack of a story arc.

I bought the DVD series of Yonderland for my kids as they are avid Horrible History fans (as am I), and I have to say I have enjoyed it even more than HH. Very Monty Pythonesque in the humor, and much of it very much aimed (very subtly) at an adult audience. The cast of six play many different parts in the fantasy world of Yonderland, and the fun is in seeing the actors play around with silly voices and comic characters. The use of real puppets rather than CGI is also refreshing and really works with the style of the piece. Its a testament to the puppet makers and performers that after a while you forget they are puppets and accept them as real characters in the show. The whole family has now watched the series a number of times and we hope it is a great success and goes on for many more series. Brilliant!

Unfortunately I've been very disappointed by Yonderland. I really enjoyed the cast in Horrible Histories but they just don't seem to have the same spark now it's their own material. For a comedy it only gets a few chuckles from me each week rather than proper laughs (the 'councellor who wants to get naked' joke is wearing really thin), and the few songs are nowhere near as clever as they were in HH. At times it feels a bit like the Mathew Baynton Show (MB seems to play at least 4 parts each week to everyone else's 1-2), while I also think it's confused over the audience it's aiming at. The first episode seemed child-friendly but others have had some very risqué dialogue for its time slot. As for plot, I'm still waiting for something to actually happen. So far 'Debbie' hasn't done very much that I would consider a significant contribution towards the battle against evil, and she spends each week whingeing and flipping her hair, speaking to all in a undeservedly superior tone.I heard the HH team were planning to do a movie about Shakespeare which I had previously been anticipating, but having seen their efforts in Yonderland I'm sad to say I will probably be giving it a miss. Sorry :(

What a treat ,I saw someone comparing it with the Dark Crystal But I feel it's more a dash of Labyrinth thrown into the mix! The characters are funny ,especially the puppets or Muppets! The Council guys look like they watched allot of Monty Python even for some strange reason a Dr. Who attitude. The lead female gives you that Alice in Wonderland goes Shirley Valentine on us ! The sets and props are definitely magical, but I wish they wouldn't roll the credits by so fast. I was trying to see the creative teams behind it all and if I recognized any of them. Great costumes , all in all a great show for kids of all ages! And I just turned 66!