the amazing maurice
★★★
starring: hugh laurie, emilia clarke, gemma arterton, and david thewlis​
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REVIEWER: lyall carter
Maurice is a streetwise ginger cat who comes up with a money-making scam by befriending a group of self-taught talking rats. When Maurice and the rodents meet a bookworm called Malicia, their little con soon goes down the drain.
Rats! They’re everywhere… In the bread bins, dancing across the tabletops, stealing pies from under the cook’s noses. So, what does every town need? A good piper to lure them away. That’s where Maurice, a streetwise tomcat with the perfect money-making scam, comes in.
Everyone has heard of the stories about the pied piper and the town full of rodents. So, Maurice has found his very own pied piper and a plague of rats to trick gullible townsfolk into giving him lots of cash. All is going well until they arrive in the far-flung village of Bad Blintz where they meet a book obsessed girl called Malicia, who enlists their help to solve the mystery of her town …
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Based on Terry Pratchett’s 2001 parody novel of the Pied Piper fairy tale, the twenty eighth entry of his Discworld series, and the first written for children The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, The Amazing Maurice really does feel like a Pratchett tale through and through.
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From the distinctly rough and slightly bizarre but beautiful animation to the constant breaking of the fourth wall by the narrator Malicia (wonderfully voiced by Emilia Clarke), The Amazing Maurice is stacked to the brim with all whimsical charm and mischief that you’d expect from a Pratchett tale.
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The story is fast paced, jumping from set piece to entertaining set piece, The Amazing Maurice is a colour filled riot from start to finish. And there's something for everyone here. For the children there’s fun, furry animals and for the adults there's more subtle jokes like a rat appearing before the Grim Squeaker.
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Packed to the rafters with charm and mischief, The Amazing Maurice is a colour filled riot from start to finish.