The Pebble and the Penguin

The Pebble and the Penguin
Family Fun Edition DVD cover
Directed by	Don Bluth Gary Goldman
Screenplay by	Rachel Koretsky Steven Whitestone
Produced by	Don Bluth Gary Goldman Russell Boland
Starring	Martin Short Jim Belushi Tim Curry Annie Golden S. Scott Bullock
Narrated by	Shani Wallis
Edited by	Thomas Moss Fiona Trayler
Music by	Barry Manilow Bruce Sussman (Songs) Mark Watters
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (US) Warner Bros. Family Entertainment (NON-USA)
Release dates	April 11, 1995 (1995-04-11) (United States) February 16, 1996 (1996-02-16) (Ireland)
Running time	74 minutes
Countries	Template:Film US Template:Film Ireland
Language	English
Budget	$28 million
Box office	$3,983,912

The Pebble and the Penguin is a 1995 animated musical 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, Annie Golden, James Belushi and Tim Curry. The film mainly revolves around four characters: Hubie, Marina, Rocko and 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. Drake also wants Marina, but clearly for lust. One night, Hubie and Marina share a song under the moonlight and their feelings are confirmed for each other. Hubie, however, is luckless in finding a perfect pebble to propose to Marina with and wishes on a star to make his dream come true. An emerald falls from the sky next to Hubie. Ecstatic, Hubie rushes to find Marina but is stopped by Drake, who taunts him for a few moments, and demands Hubie to give him the pebble, but when he refuses, 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. The unfortunate penguins on the ship sing of the misery awaiting them. Hubie meets a tough, grumpy, streetwise and somewhat arrogant but good-hearted rockhopper penguin named Rocko. After seeing Drake warning Marina of the full moon where she must choose a mate or be banished in a dream/vision, Hubie decides to escape. Together, Hubie and Rocko flee, and while lying low on a beach, Hubie finds out that Rocko wants to learn to fly. When Rocko refuses to help Hubie, he convinces Rocko to help him return to Antarctica by making up a lie about a penguin named Waldo who can fly. 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 and denies it. Meanwhile, in Antarctica, when Marina refuses to marry Drake, he sings threats of killing her. Meanwhile, Hubie and Rocko attempt to depart, only Rocko literally becomes crossed with Hubie when he reveals that he was lying to him. Enraged, Rocko 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 and sings a different version of the song Hubie sang for her earlier in the film. Hubie and Rocko later run into the hungry and persistent leopard seal (second time for Hubie). They escape the seal, as Rocko had commented Hubie as "amazing", and both sing to the beginning of their friendship (although Rocko feels hesitant towards it).

When Rocko starts to teach Hubie how to fight, they run in to their worst aquatic enemy: the killer whale. While trying reaching the home ice, Rocko tries to head-off the orcas while Hubie tries to approach the nearest iceberg, having to lose his pebble in the process. Once the killer whales are gone, he calls in vain for Rocko, whose bandana soon washes up right in front of him, suggesting that Rocko died, which devastates Hubie. After the chase, he must face his worst enemy, who has captured his love. Hubie gets knocked out, but gains confidence, and he stands up and fights Drake once again. Hubie has the upper hand on the second go-round, and with a skillful kick, he sends Drake plummeting to his supposed demise. In surprise, Rocko reappears unharmed to Hubie and Marina, but not before Hubie proposes to Marina, who accepts. Before Hubie can introduce his friend to Marina, an enraged Drake reappears. He throws a large boulder (with Marina on top of it) towards Hubie and Rocko, but it is Drake who meets his demise, by being crushed to death by the entire tower. Rocko saves the couple in danger, and finally gains his ability to fly, much to his excitement. Rocko, having found Hubie's pebble, gives it back to him and it is presented to Marina, who loves it, but then states that she loves Hubie more. In the end, 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
• James Belushi as Rocko, a roguish, streetwise Rockhopper Penguin
• Tim Curry as Drake, a hunky, vain, dark-hearted Adelie penguin
• Shani Wallis as the narrator

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, a 1992 release was scheduled. 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 February 1994) also, but due to some production difficulties and attempting to avoid competition with Disney's The Lion King, Fox's Baby's Day Out, and Paramount's Forrest Gump, the movie's schedule was changed to April 1995..

Reception

The film was panned by critics, audiences, and even Bluth himself. 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.

The film was a box-office bomb grossing only $3,983,912, only 14.2% of its $28 million budget. And as a result, it was beat out by Disney's A Goofy Movie which was released a week earlier before The Pebble and the Penguin.

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 IMDb
• The Pebble and the Penguin at AllMovie
• The Pebble and the Penguin at Box Office Mojo
• The Pebble and the Penguin at Rotten Tomatoes