Inkheart DVD Review

Inkheart - An Alliance Films’ Release

On DVD: June 23rd, 2009

Rated PG for frightening scenes, and violence - not recommended for young children.

Running time: 106 minutes

Ian Softley (dir.)

David Lindsay-Abaire (screenplay)

Cornelia Funke (novel)

Javier Navarrete (music)

Brendan Fraser as Mo Folchart

Andy Serkis as Capricorn

Eliza Hope Bennett as Meggie Folchart

Paul Bettany as Dustfinger

Helen Mirren as Elinor Loredan

Jim Broadbent as Fenoglio

Rafi Gavron as Farid

Sienna Guillory as Resa

Special Features: Eliza reads to us.

(left to right) Helen Mirren stars as “Elinor,” Brendan Fraser stars as “Mo,” Rafi Gavron stars as “Farid,” Eliza Bennett stars as “Meggie,” and Paul Bettany stars as “Dustfinger” in New Line Cinema’s release, INKHEART, Photo Credit: Murray Close/New Line Cinema.

Inkheart © 2007 Internationale Filmproduktion Blackbird Erste GmbH & Co. KG. ™New Line Productions, Inc. Package Design & Supplementary Material Compilation © 2009 New Line Productions, Inc. Distributed exclusively in Canada by Alliance Films. All Rights Reserved.

Our reviews below:

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Inkheart DVD Review By John C.

*** (out of 4)

Inkheart is a highly entertaining fantasy film, based on the books by Cornelia Funke. It’s the story of Mo (Brendan Fraser) a silvertongue, which means that when he reads out loud, the characters literally come off the page. When his daughter, Meggie, was very young, he read aloud from a book called Inkheart. When someone leaves the book, someone from our world has to go in. The books villain, Dustfinger (Paul Bettany), escapes, sending Mo’s wife into the clutches of the book, only to be returned if she is “read” out of it. The problem is, Inkheart is an almost impossible to find book.

The movies excitement comes alive with some pretty cool special effects. While it would be way to scary for younger kids, it’s incredibly entertaining for older kids, and even adults.

The DVD has one bonus feature. A short video of main actress Eliza Bennett reading a passage from the Inkheart book.

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Inkheart DVD Review By Erin V.

***1/2 (out of 4)

Inkheart is based on the series of books (the first of which is Inkheart) by Cornelia Funke. It the first part of the story of Mo, a ‘Silvertongue’, meaning everything he reads on paper, comes to life. He has been searching all over Europe for 9 years, trying to find a copy of the elusive book, ‘Inkheart’. His daughter Meggie, who is 12, wants to know why they move so often, and why he is on an endless, desperate quest for this one book.

The villain of the story is Capricorn. He is from the story ‘Inkheart’, and was accidentally released by Mo, the last time he held a copy of the book. Desperate to prevent Mo from finding a copy and sending him back, Capricorn has his henchman travel the land to try to destroy every copy they come across. Meanwhile, they want to capture Mo, because as a ‘Silvertongue,’ he can read out anything - from great riches, to the great monster of Capricorn’s, The Shadow.

Inkheart is a fun movie for older kids, that teens and adults will thoroughly enjoy as well. Young kids, under maybe 8 or so, will probably find some elements of this quite scary, so just be aware of that. By 12 most kids will probably love this though, and it would make a fun present for the start of Summer vacation.

From theatre to DVD, this movie translates well, although clearly some of the end scene’s special effects were really cool on the big screen. Having just seen it a few months ago, normally I would have waited a little longer before seeing something like this again, but it was still quite enjoyable for me. Overall, Inkheart is a fun movie that would make for a great Summer family popcorn night.

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Inkheart DVD Review By Nicole

*** (out of 4)

Inkheart is a fun fantasy story that celebrates the love of reading. Based on the book by Cornelia Funke, this movie tells the story of what can happen when books come to life.

It all started when Mo Folchart, the father in the story, reads a book called ‘Inkheart’. Mo is a silvertongue, which is someone who can bring characters out of books by reading them aloud. Problem is, whenever someone comes out of a book, someone else goes goes in. As a result, Mo’s wife is lost in ‘Inkheart’. So he goes on an adventure to find his wife. His daughter, Meggie, comes along on the journey. It turns out that Meggie is also a silvertongue, which comes in very handy at the end of the film. Their are a lot of fun characters in this movie, as well as fairy tale animals and scary villains.

Although scary for very young children, this movie is great fun for older children and adults. The special effects are good, as is the storyline, acting, and score.

There isn’t much in terms of bonus features. The only bonus feature involves Eliza Bennett reading a passage from ‘Inkheart’, not in the movie, accompanied by illustrations by Cornelia Funke. This bonus feature is good, but I would have liked seeing some making of featurettes, including one about the special effects, as well as a commentary track form the director and cast. Commentary or an interview from the author of the book would also have been nice. Over all, however, this DVD is worth owning. Inkheart is a fun fantasy film that you will want to see again and again.

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Inkheart DVD Review By Maureen

*** (out of 4)

Inkheart is an exciting, fantasy adventure about book characters who come to life. The story is based on the book ‘Inkheart’, the first of the trilogy by Cornelia Funke.

The story revolves around silvertongue Mo Folchart, his daughter Meggie, and their quest to find a copy of the ‘Inkheart’ book and rescue their wife/mother who became trapped in the story. Mo and Meggie face a lot of danger and villains in their fantastical quest. There is a wonderful sense of adventure throughout Inkheart, which is exactly what you would want if you were reading a fantasy, adventure book.

Some of the villains and situations would be too scary for younger children. Inkheart is best suited for children, 12 and over and adults who enjoy fantasy adventure. The special effects are really good.

This would be a great movie to watch on a rainy Summer afternoon. It would probably inspire the reading of a good book or three. Inkheart is worth adding to a family DVD collection.

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Inkheart DVD Review By Tony

***1/2 (out of 4)

The title Inkheart refers to a rare book full of medieval castles and fantastic characters, sought by antiquarian Mo Folchart (Brendan Fraser), who is traveling with his 12 year old daughter Meggie (Eliza Hope Bennett). Just as Mo finds a copy, they are met by a strange young fire juggler named Dustfinger (Paul Bettany) who begs Mo for help. Mo panics and takes Meggie across the border to stay with his aunt Elinor (Helen Mirren) in her large Italian house with its wonderful library. Dustfinger follows them with a group of degenerate thugs who trash the house, burn the books and take Mo, Meggie and Elinor away to a remote castle where they are locked up alongside fictional creatures such as a ticking crocodile, unicorn, flying monkeys and a minotaur. When they are brought to meet their host, a preening lowlife named Capricorn (Andy Serkis), he burns Mo’s copy of Inkheart and forces him to read out the treasure of the Arabian Nights along with one of the 40 thieves named Farid (Rafi Gavron).

”Reading out” is the power Mo has as a silvertongue to bring to life whatever he reads aloud, but when a character comes out of a book, another live person must go into it. Nine years prior, Mo discovered his gift while reading from Inkheart to Meggie and his wife Resa (Sienna Guillory). Capricorn and Dustfinger came to life, but Resa was trapped in the book. While Mo has longed to read her back out, Capricorn has been determined to stay alive by destroying every copy of Inkheart. He has another silvertongue named Darius (John Thomson) but he stutters, so the characters and other creatures he reads out for Capricorn are all covered with writing and otherwise defective. Resa has been read out to serve Capricorn in chains as a scullery maid, but was left mute.

Dustfinger and the others escape the castle during a cyclone Mo reads out from Meggie’s copy of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. They go visit Inkheart’s author Fenoglio (Jim Broadbent). Left alone, Meggie discovers she is also a silvertongue when her reading produces a little black dog, but just then she is caught and brought back to the castle to be forced to read out the most terrifying creature of all–the Shadow–a huge black all-destructive cloud. Whether she and the others can save themselves leads to an exciting conclusion to the film.

According to the film’s press release, prolific German-born author/illustrator Cornelia Funke actually had Brendan Fraser in mind when she wrote Inkheart, and is delighted with the film adaptation directed by Iain Softley and his largely British cast and crew. I agree. The film is further enriched by its Italian locations and full-blown score by Spanish-born Javier Navarrete. With all its fantasy, Inkheart is terrifying, suspenseful, and ultimately satisfying.

The only extra on the DVD is a charming reading by Eliza Hope Bennett from the concluding pages of Inkheart. There is more in the BluRay set (not reviewed), including access to additional online material.

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Consensus: Inkheart is a fun fantasy adventure that older kids and adults alike will enjoy. With a good score, acting and special effects, this is one movie that you will want to own on DVD. ***1/4 (Out of 4)

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(left to right) Eliza Bennett stars as “Meggie” and Brendan Fraser stars as “Mo” in New Line Cinema’s release, INKHEART, Photo Credit: Murray Close/New Line Cinema.

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