Toonhound - The King's Beard (2001)

   "The story of a beard, a barber, a wand
        and a wizard; where the fate of a fairy and
          an entire Mirrored Kingdom are held in the balance!"

     The first animated feature from Collingwood O'Hare, "The King's Beard" follows
     the exploits of young Rufus, a newcomer to the merry Mirrored Kingdom. Here
     he finds big bearded subjects following the footsteps of an even bigger bearded
     King and as a consequence, having no need for the services of his newly-acquired
     barber shop. Rufus' attempts to redress the whiskery balance unearths an evil plot
     involving the King's maniacal brother, his batty sidekicks, an upside-down realm,
     and the uncertain fate of a newfound fairy friend called Sophie.

       Sophie       Rufus and the evil Jasper

     "The King's Beard" touches upon territory familiar from COH award-winner Rarg,
     with its central idea of a unique kingdom in peril. This time, however, the focus
     is shifted from whimsy to action. "The King's Beard" is stuffed with characters,
     songs, events and occurrences. Indeed, if there's a flaw it's that too much is
     going on in those seventy-three minutes for you to catch your breathe and
     experience the story. But hey, "Beard" is primarily for kids and, on that level
     it works rather well. It certainly makes a pleasant change to gripe about too
     much content, rather than too little!

     Whilst it doesn't quite reach the whimsical heights of "Rarg", "Beard" still offers
     adult appeal via some witty dialogue and asides, some silly song parodies and
     plenty of that attractive Collingwood layout and character design. As far as tv
     feature animation goes, this one pushes its budgetary restraints to the max.
     You gets your money's worth here. Now how about a True Blue theatrical
     feature on a Disney-style budget? - That really would be something special...

     The King's Beard on DVD

    The King's Beard
                Region 2 / Granada / January 2003

       written and directed by Tony Collingwood
       produced by Christopher O'Hare

      script editor:   Helen Stroud
      music:            Philip Appleby
      storyboard:    Chris Butler, Arna Selznick,
                           Andrea Tran
      charac des:    Chris Butler
      seq dir:          Vincent Woodcock
      voices:          Robin Edwards (Rufus)
                           Maria Darling (Sophie)
                           Jim Broadbent (Wizard)
                           Peter Egan (King Cuthbert)
                           Maureen Lipman (Maddie)
                           Allan Corduner (Ronnie)
                           Jimmy Hibbert (The Babble)
                           Colin McFarlane (Jasper)
                           Kerry Shale (JJ and Batface)

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			The King's Beard (2001) producers: Collingwood O'Hare for Granada animation: 2D animation run time: 73 mins
		"The story of a beard, a barber, a wand and a wizard; where the fate of a fairy and an entire Mirrored Kingdom are held in the balance!" The first animated feature from Collingwood O'Hare, "The King's Beard" follows the exploits of young Rufus, a newcomer to the merry Mirrored Kingdom. Here he finds big bearded subjects following the footsteps of an even bigger bearded King and as a consequence, having no need for the services of his newly-acquired barber shop. Rufus' attempts to redress the whiskery balance unearths an evil plot involving the King's maniacal brother, his batty sidekicks, an upside-down realm, and the uncertain fate of a newfound fairy friend called Sophie. "The King's Beard" touches upon territory familiar from COH award-winner Rarg, with its central idea of a unique kingdom in peril. This time, however, the focus is shifted from whimsy to action. "The King's Beard" is stuffed with characters, songs, events and occurrences. Indeed, if there's a flaw it's that too much is going on in those seventy-three minutes for you to catch your breathe and experience the story. But hey, "Beard" is primarily for kids and, on that level it works rather well. It certainly makes a pleasant change to gripe about too much content, rather than too little! Whilst it doesn't quite reach the whimsical heights of "Rarg", "Beard" still offers adult appeal via some witty dialogue and asides, some silly song parodies and plenty of that attractive Collingwood layout and character design. As far as tv feature animation goes, this one pushes its budgetary restraints to the max. You gets your money's worth here. Now how about a True Blue theatrical feature on a Disney-style budget? - That really would be something special... The King's Beard on DVD The King's Beard Region 2 / Granada / January 2003 written and directed by Tony Collingwood produced by Christopher O'Hare script editor: Helen Stroud music: Philip Appleby storyboard: Chris Butler, Arna Selznick, Andrea Tran charac des: Chris Butler seq dir: Vincent Woodcock voices: Robin Edwards (Rufus) Maria Darling (Sophie) Jim Broadbent (Wizard) Peter Egan (King Cuthbert) Maureen Lipman (Maddie) Allan Corduner (Ronnie) Jimmy Hibbert (The Babble) Colin McFarlane (Jasper) Kerry Shale (JJ and Batface) On the web Collingwood O'Hare Collingwood O'Hare feature The King's Beard on their official site. Follow the front page icon of King Cuthbert to a bright internal site featuring a synopsis, character profiles, audio clip and a quicktime trailer. There's plenty more to explore too, covering the entire COH CV... index » previous » next »

© Collingwood O'Hare 2001 / F2006