There is one small town, rather a castle with a sub-castle. It's called Syretskov. We don't know who rules there, but the local nobility wear white hats. The local police wear red hats. But the strange thing is that the underground of this town is inhabited by creatures that have only boxes for clothing.
Once in a lifetime, these creatures kidnap a child and therefore become inconvenient in the city and are caught and destroyed, there are always reasons, even if the child isn't so true. But you'll find that out in the film.
The animation studio LAIKA is one of the few that prefers classic puppet animation to the simpler 3D animation using computers. The film created by this animation studio is a fairy tale for children called The Scroungers. I spell children's correctly because they took the theme from the American book "Here be Mosters", which could perhaps be translated as "Tady žijí Mostra".
Children's fairy tale books are usually suitable as adaptations for animated films because not everything can be played by live actors. Classical animation can always take the best of the magic of a book and use children's imaginations to make the film feel better.
Scavengers is for kids. It's a fun film, dark just enough to hit the right kids' eyes to go for it. So take your little ones to the world of "Cheesecake" and let them enjoy the cheeses of Mr. Hermelin and his daughter. Let them be surprised, too, that not all monsters are bad, it's just about people and their characteristics.
Famous American actors are also tapped to dub these animated films. I think some of them are chasing money and taking barking below their level. One of these actors who's doing the filming, dubbing... is Oscar-winning actor Ben Kingsley, who's been showing up lately in everything he thinks might be successful. After the third Iron Man, he's appeared in Rangoyer, Ender's Game and Prince of Persia. He has already made 14 films this year. It may be going into his wallet, but it devalues the quality of acting since Gandhi.
Other stars have appeared in original roles. Elle Fanning is still young enough to dub little 10-year-old girls. We must not forget to mention the duo Frost/Pegg, who have their unforgettable roles in this film.
But unfortunately we won't hear all these famous actors in Czech cinemas. The Scroungers is coming to the cinemas in the Czech version. It's for children and they won't read the subtitles. I still remember being in the cinema 20 years ago and a grandmother was reading the subtitles to her grandson at the cinema for the third Batman.
The most famous Czech actor to appear in the dubbed Czech version is Ladislav Županič, who takes the whole film for himself with his distinctive voice. I wouldn't even recognise the rest of the voices. Maybe Rebecca Maxiánová, who once again took a small and important bark under the gaze of her father. It's like a LEGO® story.
Unfortunately, Scrooge is only for kids. In fact, I know several better animated films that are much better. Stolen Christmas or Corpse Bride, for example. I didn't hold my breath and enjoyed every frame. It's just a weak film.
Photo © Focus Features
Original release of this article September 26, 2021 – Kritiky.cz
