Writer: Syahida Kamarudin

Writer Ratings:
Overall:
Cast:
Plot:
Effects:
Cinematography:

Watch this if you liked: “Fly Me to the Moon”, “Finding Nemo”, “A Shark Tale”

Here's what this English-dubbed Belgian animation is in one word - a snooze-fest (is that two word?).

The most suitable audience for this movie is below 12. Unless you are a kindergarten teacher, a parent with children below the age of puberty, a wildlife enthusiast, an environmentalist or someone who is generally obsessed with anything 3D, this movie is not for you. This will also be an excruciating hour-and-a-half experience for the lovers of Pixar or DreamWorks animations who are so used to the snarky dialogue and continuous comedy those two big names are known for.

As we have already excluded who should not watch this, now let's talk about what this movie is all about. "Sammy's Adventure: The Secret Passage" is not in any way related to Crush the Turtle from "Finding Nemo" (dude!) It takes you (or more like educates you) on a journey within the life-span of a turtle in the ocean - from the time it hatches to its peak age of 50, or in this case from the point of view of one named Sammy.

The movie is sweet and Sammy is one cute little green turtle, but it ends there. There are no memorable characters - from Roy, the turtle-with-attitude (a very cliche characters with Afro American slangs), to Fluffy the Cat (a cat with a fake French accent, not entirely on purpose), most of them are typecasts of animation. The dubbings are too expressive that it reminds you of those interactive preschoolers show or straight-to-DVDs "Barbie Adventures", somehow robbing the movie from any voice-over versatilities.

The plot is questionable. The Secret Passage as the title suggests only last for twenty minutes, and the rest of it is just an amazing 3D show with neither much character development nor any laugh-out-loud moments.

"Sammy's Adventures" however is a good film for you to educate people about issues such as illegal whaling, ocean pollution due to oil spills and ocean littering, and at the same time it tries to inform you (with not much subtlety) about the existence of animal shelters and various efforts to save the ocean throughout the years. The animation itself is breathtaking (especially the underwater scenes) and the soundtrack that comes with it consists of some great classic songs.

Cinema Online, 05 October 2010