An animated adaptation of George MacDonald's fairytale.

     Princess Irene and the courtiers within her castle home do not believe in the
     existence of such dark, ignoble creatures as goblins. But the folk who dwell
     in the surrounding villages know too well that goblins are real and that they
     lurk in the darkest places beneath the mountains which they mine for a living.
     When Irene strays into the woods she finds herself face-to-face with a
     marauding band of goblins. But a young mining boy, Curdi, rescues her with
     his heartfelt singing - goblins can't abide such a fearful sound. Later in the
     depths of the mines, Curdi stumbles upon the environs of the goblin kingdom
     where he overhears the goblin prince, Froglip, as he schemes to overpower
     those detestable humans or "Sun People" as he calls them, once and for all.
     Froglip aims to take Princess Irene's hand in marriage and bring about the
     downfall of her people and kingdom. Guided by the spirit of the Princess'
     Great-Great Grandmother, Curdi and Irene must race against time to thwart
     Froglip and prevent his devilish plan from coming to fruition.

            

     A traditional 2D cel production, "The Princess and the Goblin" was actually
     the first animated feature ever to come from Wales. The film was produced in
     two countries, with Siriol films based in Cardiff and Pannonia in Hungary. Robin
     Lyons' Siriol Productions had, of course, previously reaped international
     acclaim for the hit-tv series SuperTed.

     The story's author, George MacDonald was a Scottish Minister and friend
     of Lewis Carroll and CS Lewis. Just like his associates, there are many Christian
     themes to be found within his work. Although this animated adaptation does
     not dwell on the association one can read significance into the concept of light
     and dark (above ground, underground) and the suggestion of magic and song
     coming from a goodly heart.

     The film features a fine collection of voice performances. Most notable are
     Rick Mayall's menacing, lisping Prince Froglip and Joss Ackland's dignified
     contribution as the King. Trivia Hounds may recall that Roy Kinnear, who voices
     the character of Mump, had actually passed away before the film's completion
     (he died during filming of "Return of the Musketeers" in 1989). Both Kinnear and
     Victor Spinetti who voices Glump, had close associations with Siriol having
     previously voiced Bulk and Texas Pete in "SuperTed"...

       
      

 

     The Princess and the Goblin on DVD


       The Princess and the Goblin
                 Region 2 / Boulevard Entertainment / May 2007

       The Princess and the Goblin
                 Region 1 / Good Times Video / September 2007

 

      director:                      Jozsef Gemes
     producer:                 Robin Lyons
     exec prod:               Steve Walsh, Marietta Dardai
     writer:                     Robin Lyons
                                    from the novel by George MacDonald
     line prod (hung):      Emoke Marsovsky
     anim dir (wales):      Les Orton
     prod man (wales):    Peter Turner
     music:                     Istvan Lerch
     voices:                     Joss Ackland (King)
                                    Claire Bloom (Fairy Godmother)
                                    Roy Kinnear (Mump)
                                    Sally Ann Marsh (Irene)
                                    Rick Mayall (Froglip)
                                    Peggy Mount
                                    Peter Murray (Curdie)
                                    Victor Spinetti (Glump)
                                    Molly Sugden

 

      On the web


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