The Pebble and the Penguin

The Pebble and the Penguin
Family Fun Edition DVD cover
Directed by	Don Bluth Gary Goldman
Produced by	Don Bluth Gary Goldman Russell Boland
Screenplay by	Rachel Koretsky Steven Whitestone
Narrated by	Shani Wallis
Starring	Martin Short James Belushi Tim Curry Annie Golden
Music by	Barry Manilow Bruce Sussman (Songs) Mark Watters (Score)
Editing by	Thomas Moss Fiona Trayler
Studio	Sullivan Bluth Studios
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Warner Bros. Family Entertainment (International)
Release date(s)	April 11, 1995 (1995-04-11) (United States) February 16, 1996 (1996-02-16) (UK & Ireland)
Running time	74 minutes
Country	United States Ireland
Language	English
Budget	$28 million
Box office	$3,983,912

The Pebble and the Penguin is a 1995 animated musical family comedy film, based on the true life mating rituals of the Adelie Penguins in Antarctica, produced and directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman. The film was released to theatres on April 11, 1995 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the United States and internationally by Warner Bros. Family Entertainment. The film features the voices of Martin Short as Hubie, Annie Golden as Marina, James Belushi as Rocko and Tim Curry as Drake.

Plot

Hubie a shy, gullible but kindhearted penguin, is in love with the beautiful and kind Marina, but lacks self-confidence leading him to be bullied by the much more impressive, but vain and cruel Drake, who also wants Marina, but clearly for lust. One night, Hubie and Marina manage to confirm how they feel for each other, but Hubie can't quite find a perfect pebble to propose to Marina with. He wishes on a star to make his dream come true and he receives an emerald from the sky. Ecstatic, Hubie rushes to find Marina but is stopped by Drake, who demands Hubie to give him the pebble. Hubie refuses, so Drake throws him into the water. Hubie narrowly escapes a leopard seal and climbs on to a piece of ice where he is swept away from Antarctica.

Hubie is picked up by humans and caged on their ship, which is transporting penguins to a zoo and meets a tough, grumpy, streetwise and somewhat arrogant but good-hearted rockhopper penguin named Rocko. After seeing in a vision Marina having a dilemma, Hubie decides to escape. Together, he and Rocko flee, and while lying low on a beach. Rocko reluctantly tells Hubie about his desire to fly. He convinces him to help him return to Antarctica by making up a lie about a flying penguin named Waldo. They have a short fight after Rocko tries to fly off "an authentic, ancient aviarial airstrip" and another after Rocko saved Hubie from a killer whale. Back in Antarctica, Drake begins to threaten Marina for her hand in mating. Hubie and Rocko attempt to depart, but Rocko discovers Hubie lied to him and attempts to attack Hubie, but soon starts laughing, praising Hubie's determination to get back to Marina. Back in Antarctica, Marina becomes worried about Hubie. Hubie and Rocko run into the hungry and persistent leopard seal but are able to escape it. With that Rocko and Hubie become true friends. Their joy is short lived as killer whales attack them causing Hubie's emerald to get lost and Rocko to go missing.

Hubie continues on to face Drake. Thanks to Rocko's teachings on fighting, Hubie beats Drake in a fight. Then Rocko comes back. As Hubie makes a proposal to Marina and gains her acceptance, Drake returns to finish the two off. With Rocko's help, Hubie and Marina dodge Drake's giant boulder while Drake himself is crushed by his own tower. During the rescue, Rocko's dream for flight comes true. Rocko gives Hubie his emerald. He presents it to Marina, who loves it. Some time later Rocko teaches Marina and Hubie's children to fly.

Cast

• Martin Short as Hubie, a shy, good-hearted Adelie penguin.
• Annie Golden as Marina, a female Adelie penguin and Hubie's love interest.
• James Belushi as Rocko, a roguish, streetwise Northern Rockhopper Penguin and Hubie's best friend
• Tim Curry as Drake, a muscular, hunky, vain, dark-hearted Adelie penguin.
• Philip L. Clarke as the King penguin
• Frank Welker as the leopard seal
• Alissa King as Petra
• Stevie Vallance as Priscilla / Chinstrap 1 (as Louise Vallance)
• Will Ryan as Royal / Tika
• Neil Ross as Scrawny
• Stan Jones as McCallister
• S. Scott Bullock as Chubby / Gentoo
• Shani Wallis as Narrator
• B.J. Ward as Megellenic 1
• Hamilton Camp as Megellenic 2
• Angeline Ball as Gwynne / Chinstrap 3
• Kendall Cunningham as Timmy
• Maggie Roswell as voice (uncredited)
• Campbell Morton as an Ant and orcas

Soundtrack

Main article: The Pebble and the Penguin (soundtrack)

The songs were written by Barry Manilow, who previously wrote the songs for Thumbelina, along with Bruce Sussman. The film's score was composed by Mark Watters.

1. "Now and Forever" - Hubie, Marina, Company
2. "Sometimes I Wonder" - Hubie
3. "The Good Ship Misery" - Company
4. "Don't Make Me Laugh" - Drake
5. "Sometimes I Wonder (Reprise)" - Marina
6. "Looks Like I Got Me a Friend" - Hubie and Rocko
7. "Now and Forever (Reprise)" - Company
8. "Now and Forever (End Credits)" - Barry Manilow and Sheena Easton

Production

The Pebble and the Penguin was produced by Don Bluth Ireland Limited. At one point, production began in November 1991. The film was originally slated for release in summer 1994 (while Thumbelina was scheduled for November 1993 and A Troll in Central Park was scheduled for March 1994), but due to some production difficulties, the movie's release date was changed to April 1995.

Reception

The film was panned by critics and audiences. Rotten Tomatoes reported only 11% of critics gave positive reviews based on eight reviews with an average score of 3/10. The film was given a Two Thumbs Down on Siskel & Ebert. Gene Siskel noted that the film's animation looks "cheap and unfinished" and that "none of the songs are memorable" while Roger Ebert added his dislike of the film's color-coding of its heroes and villains. Due to changes insisted by MGM, animation fell behind and additional colouring had to be done at a Hungarian animation studio. Don Bluth and Gary Goldman were so dissatisfied with the final film that they demanded to be uncredited as the directors.

The film, made for $28 million, grossed only $3,983,912.

Home media

The Pebble and the Penguin was released on VHS and Laserdisc on August 15, 1995. It was first released on DVD in 1999. A new "Family Fun Edition" was released only in the United States and Canada on March 27, 2007 by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. Gary Goldman supervised the restoration for the "Family Fun Edition", which features color corrections, refielded scenes to hide missing effects and correct other errors from the first release. [1] The Family Fun Edition was nominated for the Satellite Award for Best Youth DVD. In 2010, the film was re-released along with Rock-a-Doodle as a double sided DVD, but it carries the unrestored 1999 print.

The film was released on Blu-ray for the first time on October 11, 2011.

External links

• The Pebble and the Penguin at the Internet Movie Database
• The Pebble and the Penguin at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• The Pebble and the Penguin at AllRovi
• The Pebble and the Penguin at Box Office Mojo
• The Pebble and the Penguin at Rotten Tomatoes