A co-production involving companies in Copenhagen (A Film) and Galway (Magma Films), The Ugly Duckling and Me is an appealing animated treatment of the classic Hans Christian Andersen fable about finding inner beauty. The movie's expanded title signifies that some liberties have been taken with the original story in updating it to the present.
The "me" refers to Ratso (voiced by Morgan Jones), a would-be impresario whose failing show business ventures centre on Wesley (Paul Tylak), a worm he claims to be the longest in the world. Escaping from a rival rat pack, Ratso takes refuge on a duck farm when an egg hatches and out pops a duckling.
The other ducks are aghast at the creature's unconventional appearance and call him a freak. Spotting an opportunity for another carnival act, Ratso names him Ugly and assumes the role of a surrogate father, which gets confusing when Ugly calls him Mama, and even more so for Ugly when he observes the absence of any physical similarities between them, such as the fact that Ratso does not have a beak.
Irish screenwriter Mark Hodkinson's reworking of the fairytale is engagingly playful, peppered with boisterous humour and turning tender when Ugly falls for Jesse (Aileen Mythen), a goose he bravely saves from a predatory fox. Kim Larney and Justin Gregg provide the voices for Ugly at different ages.
The skilful computer animation sets the characters against attractive landscapes in this lively romp likely to engage young children, in particular.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/SJQTLMCMMRC2PLALXUKEWWS6HU.png)