']]}Watch Benjamin Sniddlegrass and the Cauldron of Penguins (2011)
- MOVIE page: Benjamin Sniddlegrass and the Cauldron of Penguins (2011)
- Rate: 7.0/10 total 47 votes
- Genre: Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy | Romance | Thriller
- Director: Jeremy Dylan
- Stars: Stephen Fry, Andrew Griscti, Catherine Davies | See full cast and crew
- Original Music By: Mike Carr
- (in alphabetical order)
- Jeremy Dylan
- Mark Kermode original idea
Plot: A nerdy redhead from Cockfosters discovers that he is part of an ancient magical sect. Under the eye of Pentangle, he heads to Australia to be taught the way of the witter by eccentric Bavarian filmmaker Werner Herzog. | »
Story: A nerdy redhead from Cockfosters discovers that he is part of an ancient magical sect. Under the eye of Pentangle, he heads to Australia to be taught the way of the witter by eccentric Bavarian filmmaker Werner Herzog.
Produced By:
- Yavor Dimitrov known as co-producer
- Jeremy Dylan known as producer
- Stephen Fry known as The Narrator
- Andrew Griscti known as Benjamin Sniddlegrass
- Catherine Davies known as Scarlett McKenna
- Dorian Newstead known as Werner Herzog
- Alec Doomadgee known as Pentangle
- Linda Newstead known as Aunt David Morrissey
- Sarah Louise Linnegar known as Lucy Sniddlegrass
- Jon Sewell known as Johnny Leroy
- Riley Maher known as Himself
- Tim Sampson known as Himself
- Isaac Owen known as Professor Mumblecore
- Yavor Dimitrov known as Asshole
- David Fairhurst known as Robert Allan Zimmerman
- Liam Bray known as Student #1
- Jeremy Dylan known as Student #2
- Scott Esplin known as Student #3
- Alice Keegan known as Student #4
- Nick Allen Mauer known as Student #5
- Jasper Newstead known as Student #6
- Jane Ramsay known as Student #7
- Ellie Willoughby known as Student #8
Production Companies:
- Seven Shells Media
Benjamin Sniddlegrass and the Cauldron of Penguins (2011) Review by bob the moo
It is very unlikely that you have stumbled onto this film and arewatching it out of context. It is almost certain that you have come tothis film because you already know the joke and listen to Mark Kermodeand Simon Mayo on Radio Five Live. This film was created following athrow away comment by Mark that Percy Jackson & The Lightening Thiefwas a rip-off of Harry Potter and could have be called anything – thistitle being the first thing that came to his mind. As is the way withthe show, listeners got involved on the text etc and before long we hadposters for this fictional film but it took a year for a listener todecide to spend their own money to make it a real film. It was onlyfair that I put my £7 in and give it a look.
OK, so let me get the congratulations out of the way; well done toDylan for making this happen off a throwaway remark in the podcast –his name is all over the credits and he not only made it but also puttogether the premier and got lots of coverage for doing so. The effortand motivation is commendable – it is just a shame that with thatmotivation did not come good ideas. In essence the whole film (fromtitle on down) is an in-joke for those that listen to Wittertainment(the in-joke name for the Kermode & Mayo film podcast); while I am nota fan of how silly they have become of late with listeners thinking upsilly duo names, listing their degrees and all those "hellos" (evenJason Isaacs tried to hint he wants it wound up – it fell on deafears), I am "target audience" for this film. With the origins of theidea it is a film that should be funny, sharp, stylish and punchy butsadly here it is pretty much the opposite of that.
The amateur production values are to be accepted and I didn't have toomuch of an issue with the budget – it was the content I had issueswith. All the in-jokes are here to be see (Witter, Fairport Convention,David Morrissey, Werner Herzog etc) but they are mostly done in ratherobvious and unfunny ways – mostly shoehorned in and seen for miles andthe audience is expected to enjoy them just because they are from thepodcast. "Unfortunate Event" was well used but the majority clunk ontothe screen like Jacob Marley's chains. The decision to make a film overan hour long appears to have been a mistake because what comic valuecould have come from the in-jokes is lost in a lot of other stuff. This"other stuff" is the same skiffle song several times, lots of pointless"plot" and lots of dialogue scenes with nothing of interest or humoursaid in them. Of course the production values don't help but I haveseen many short films made on shoe-string budgets (including, forexample, the Super8 series) which are punchy, clever, stylish andfunny.
In reality this is what BSATCOP should have been – a short film,perhaps even an animation. The absurd title demands fun; it suggests awacky film and "wacky" is rarely a quality you want to have come at youfor over an hour. An overblown action animation with a sharp punchyscript and an aim beyond just referencing words said on a podcast wouldhave been great. BSATCOP should have been that; it should also have hada script that focuses on what the title is making fun of – genericHollywood films, clichés and so on. Sadly when it comes down to it theonly part of the film that felt fresh and amusing was the Bond-esquetitle sequence with penguins and guitars flying around the screen.After that the poor script, lack of sparkle, lack of laughs and lack ofanything to really hold the interest just gradually wore me down overthe remaining time (of which there was far too much). Those with noknowledge of the podcast will have turned it off after 10 minutes –those who love their Wittertainment will stick with it out of loyaltyand hope, but will not find their effort rewarded.
The in-joke had potential but none of it makes it into the film. Iwould love to see someone take the title and make an animated shortfilm or an online comic strip but to try and make it into a full-length(ish) film with story, characters and performances was a very tallorder and it was one that Dylan is not up to. It is admirable thatsomeone picked up on this and had the drive and motivation to make thishappen – I just wish that it had been someone with good ideas.
Benjamin Sniddlegrass and the Cauldron of Penguins (2011) Review by Bloom___ from www.wordsfromthebox.com
It may well be the strangest raison d'être of a film in movie history.Film critic Mark Kermode, in reviewing Percy Jackson and the LightningThief, derides Harry Potter wannabes and says – in an entirelythrowaway remark – that you might as well make a film called 'BenjaminSniddlegrass and the Cauldron of Penguins'. On the other side of theworld, Australian Jeremy Dylan takes him at his word and with a gang offriends, and almost no money whatsoever, turns a sarky joke into afeature film packed with wittertaining references.
As narrator Stephen Fry briefly explains in an uncannily familiar set-up, Benjamin Sniddlegrass (Andrew Griscti) lives in the bathroom of hisunpleasant Aunt David Morrissey. One day, he's magically transportedfrom Cockfosters to Sydney, where the mysterious Pentangle (AlecDoomadgee) explains that he's a 'wit', a wizard selected for trainingat the famous Fairport Academy. Benjamin is an unwitting (sorry)celebrity at the school, since his parents were killed battling theevil Lord Emmerich, also presumed dead; but he has more immediatematters to address, such as a burgeoning friendship with bright-eyedthird-year student Scarlett McKenna (Catherine Davies) and a chance towatch long- dead music heroes, specifically skiffle king Johnny Leroy(Jon Sewell). However, events take a surreal turn when Emmerich – andpenguins – start appearing in Benjamin's dreams, forcing the student toseek assistance and a less-than-magical 'potion' to keep him awake,provided by the school's exchange headmaster, Werner Herzog (DorianNewstead).
It would be condescending to judge BSATCOP by different standards toany other film, and in a totally objective light you'd have to say it'snot brilliant. The reason for this is almost entirely attributable tothe fact that it's as cheap as – let's follow the form – nuts, andlooks it. I can't be bothered to count exactly how much of the movie isactual footage and how much is titles or scenes played through adifferent filter, but to make the film last more than an hour Dylanreplays scenes until they become over-familiar, interspersed with whatamount to Powerpoint graphics (I think we get four sets of titles, inall). The film displays all the hallmarks of student film-making, usingreal locations and making do with what's available: entirelyunderstandable, but (for example) was there really no betteralternative to a grungy student bar for Emmerich's lair? The plot toois at the mercy of the ultra-low budget (£6,000, roughly), which allowsonly the most cursory parody of the Harry Potter movies – we're talkingvery low-grade magic – and no set-pieces to speak of (unless you countrescue from a pool table as an action set-piece).
That said, Benjamin Sniddlegrass does – just about – manage to tell astory, and has fun while it's doing it. The acting from the leads ispretty decent for a student film, and there's something approachingchemistry between Griscti and Davies, bolstered by a saucy streak thathas nothing to do with J.K. Rowling's work (the banter while playingpool is pure smut, in a good way); the Maurice Binder-like titles arealso surprisingly effective, accompanying the bombastic theme song (themusic in general is good, depending on your tolerance for skiffle).Dylan makes a virtue of the film's cheapness, and while it neverreaches great heights of excitement, I didn't have time to get boredeither. I enjoyed individual jokes, like the Wicker Basket of TimesPast, very much.
The question I haven't answered so far is 'Do you have to know thecontext of the film's genesis to appreciate it?', and my answer is 'Idon't know'. I am a regular podcaster of Drs Mayo and Kermode filmreview show on Radio 5 Live, and as such did enjoy the littlereferences to the show's in-jokes and memes – even if no-one directlysays hello to Jason Isaacs. However, apart from knowing where the titlecame from and who Werner Herzog is, I don't think it does matter muchif you're aware of the film's background. Anyway, let's face it, ifyou're not a fan of the good doctor (and the fake one), your chances ofstumbling on this movie by mistake are pretty slim.
Benjamin Sniddlegrass and the Cauldron of Penguins is a brave, not tosay lunatic, attempt at making a mountain out of a molehill; and whileit would have obviously been a better film with another 20,000 or sodollars thrown at it, it contains enough good material to be perfectlywatchable. Personally, I think the film shows some talent – PeterJackson started off mega-cheap, and look where he ended up - and I'dquite like to see the proposed follow-up, Benjamin Sniddlegrass and theDeath of Narrative Cinema. Minute for minute, and balancing assetsagainst flaws, I genuinely thought the film was on a par with Ang Lee'sHulk, Eagle Eye and The Da Vinci Code. And it's a lot better than thatparticular favourite of Dr K's, Angels and Demons.
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