| Grendel Grendel Grendel |
| Directed by |
Alexander Stitt |
| Produced by |
Phillip Adams (producer)
Alexander Stitt (producer)
Greg Terry (associate producer) |
| Written by |
Alexander Stitt (screenplay) |
| Starring |
Peter Ustinov |
| Music by |
Bruce Smeaton |
| Cinematography |
John Pollard |
| Studio |
Victorian Film |
| Distributed by |
Satori (1981) (USA) |
| Release date(s) |
9 July 1981 (Australia)
21 August 1981 (USA) |
| Running time |
88 min. |
| Country |
 Australia |
| Language |
English |
Grendel Grendel Grendel is an Australian animated film based on John Gardner's novel Grendel and starring Peter Ustinov. It was released in 1981.
Written, directed and designed by designer Alexander Stitt, this was the second full-length fully animated film ever made in Australia (coming after 1972's Marco Polo Junior Versus the Red Dragon).
Like Gardner's novel, the film is a retelling of part of the epic poem Beowulf from the monster Grendel's point of view. Grendel (voiced by Ustinov) is by turns a thoughtful and contemplative character and a rampaging monster who attacks the mead hall of an early Danish kingdom, biting the head off of one would-be defender. Despite occasional violent scenes such as this, the film appears to be targeted toward children as well as adults. There are several musical numbers and the overall tone is one of gentle humor. This humor is sometimes dark, and the ending, with the mortally wounded Grendel calling to his mother for help, is affectingly tragic. The animation is drawn in a colorful and highly simplified style reminiscent of construction paper cut-outs.
The music was composed and conducted by Bruce Smeaton and has been released on the 1M1 Records label.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
Australia
