Directed by: Marit Moum Aune & Rasmus A. Sivertsen
Release date: 2019
Contains spoilers
This is a Norwegian kids animation and the version I saw was dubbed into English, with Norwegian actor Kyrre Haugen Sydness providing the voice for Captain Sabertooth, reprising his original voice work, but new voice talent for the other characters. I will be listing the actors who provided the English dub voices.
What I probably need to touch on, to begin with, is the vampire aspect and the vampire is not pirate Captain Sabertooth – despite his character’s pasty pale complexion and name. Rather it is bad guy Maga Kahn (Luke Griffin) though he is never named as such.
 |
| Maga Khan |
So, as well as the V word never being used and the fact that there is no biting or feeding, this character does have fangs and burns when in direct sunlight. He can fly (and cast fireballs). That he is a vampire is left for the audience to decide. However we start with young characters Pinky (Tighe Wardell) and Veronica (Robyn Dempsey) in lunar bay. Veronica has to help out at the beach café but dreams of being a pirate, Pinky was erstwhile deckhand for Sabertooth and is enjoying chilling out.
 |
| Captain Sabertooth |
Meanwhile Sabertooth and his crew are searching for a magic diamond (that grants one wish per person when bathed in the light of the full moon). They find the chest (which contains a chest, which contains a chest etc). Opening the last they have a musical box – the diamond has already been found by Baltazar (Garry Mountaine), who has taken it to Maga Khan who wants it to become a daywalker (my words not his). Unfortunately, the diamond is taken by a starving urchin who looks like Pinky. This leads to Sabertooth, through a broken rumour, thinking the deckhand has hidden the diamond and Pinky being shanghaied. Veronica sneaks aboard disguised as a lad.
 |
| Pinky and Veronica |
The animation was lovely on this, bright cgi, but the film itself lacked a charm. A kid’s film is always difficult to score as an adult and I like to look for adult nuance, of which there was little. Beyond that the songs were lack lustre, the characters strange but not quite zany (though I did enjoy them designing one pirate as a hipster with a coiffured beard, man bun and coffee cup tattoo) and everything seemed a little bland. I’m sure it will charm some kids (and they are the target audience) and fans of Sabertooth – in Norway there are several stage plays (the original format, I understand), theatrical films (live action and animated), a television series, games and books. This gets a below average 4 out of 10 for me, watchable but ultimately bland.
The imdb page is here.
On Demand @ Amazon UK
No comments:
Post a Comment