A Rat's Tale (1997)

Very disappointing...

Expected more

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

"Die Story von Monty Spinnerratz" is a German movie from 1997, so it has its 20th anniversary this year. And despite the age, it is one of the more recent film works involving the Augsburger Puppenkiste as you can clearly see the strings in here with the help of which the rat puppets are operated. Besides them, this is a film however that consists almost exclusively of "real" people. The movie runs for 90 minutes and has actually quite a handful known actors in its cast, for example Ben Stiller's dad or also Golden Globe nominees. You can check the cast list yourself to see who is on board. The writers and director are probably not too well-known, but they still did an okay job I guess. If you manage to embrace the fantasy aspect and don't take it too seriously, then you may be in for a rewarding watch. I personally quite liked the rat characters and this maybe made a difference for the positive side in my opinion. I also liked that the film was not scared of making crucial decisions, like a character's death. One weakness was perhaps that the film tried to be too emotional and too mind-provoking with its message, but it's all good. I still think this can be a film, especially for younger (not too young) audiences that can teach them an important lesson and entertain them too (the most important thing). I know I was entertained and it's also not a problem that the film is really all about the rats overall and that the other human characters (no matter if friend or foe) don't get that much screen time. Check it out.

Die Story von Monty Spinnerratz, or A Rat's Tale as it is named in English, is a strangely naive, unpretentious German puppet movie featuring some known American actors in minor parts. The production is in many ways extremely simple, on par with TV programs for very young children. No attempt at all has been made to camouflage the strings that move the puppets; while they could easily have been made of fine transparent nylon, they are in fact plain, black thread that stands out against the background. The puppets themselves, while individually designed, have a single, fixed facial expression and look exactly like the scruffy plush toys they are, and the "Canalligator" looks as if it is made of painted cardboard, which it probably is. One gets the impression that this reflects a conscious decision by the film makers to dispense with any attempt at illusion, rather than ineptitude. Especially as there are a few competently done and rather pretty optical effects in the humanly acted scenes, showing that the film wasn't made entirely on a shoestring. The plot matches the production, being a rather simplistic story about love, courage, kindness and freedom from prejudice - among rats, and to some extent also alligators and men. A story fit for small children, with a moral that it takes no subtlety to comprehend. Yet there is something likable about the film, something that can appeal to adults as well. Perhaps I admire the stubbornness and courage it must have taken to produce and market a film like this, or maybe I like to occasionally see simple storytelling without a multi-million dollar budget squandered on special effects and exotic locations. Perhaps I just sympathise with the idea that there is a place for films that aren't cool and hip and controversial and spectacular, but just nice in a very modest and subdued way. In any case I'm glad, and somewhat surprised, that utterly unlikely films like this can be made in our time and day.