ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

GazerRise Fantastic!

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Tweekums In the city of Ankh Morpork on the Disc World the celebration of Hog's Watch replaces Christmas and the Hogfather replaces Father Christmas. A shadowy group known as 'The Auditors' have employed the Guild of Assassins to kill the Hogfather and they have sent Jonathan Teatime, a particularly nasty assassin to do the job. Teatime's scheme first involves invading the Tooth Fairy's castle where he hope to gain control over what people believe in. His actions have caused the actual Hogfather to go missing so Death, the Grim Reaper himself, takes over the role of Hogfather while his granddaughter Susan tries foil Teatime's plans.This two part TV adaption of Terry Pratchett's book is fairly faithful to the original work with its large cast of slightly eccentric characters. The cast does a fine job; Michelle Dockery particularly stands out as Susan, despite her third billing her character is definitely the protagonist; she does a great job in this early role. Marc Warren is suitably creepy as the sinister Teatime; at first I found the way he spoke rather annoying but the more I watched the more I thought it suited the character. The rest of the cast, which includes the likes of David Jason, Joss Ackland and Ian Richardson, as the voice of Death, impresses as well. I liked the portrayal of the Unseen University and the various bumbling wizards and the Tooth Fairy's castle… although I was less sure about the tooth shaped helmets the guards there wore, I can't recall if they were mentioned in the book or not. The story is told in a family friendly way; there are some mildly scary moments but nothing that is likely to really scare children. Overall I'd recommend this whether you've read the books or not; I enjoyed it when I first watched it without having read and Pratchett and enjoyed it just as much after reading several of his books including 'Hogfather'.

G Rose A slightly more recent review. I watched this based on a still image I saw of one of the ending scenes, and the words- 'You're saying humans need...fantasies to make life bearable.' That scene is really the backbone of this plot, and the brief moments of sobering, heartfelt dialogue amongst the humour and fun are really perfect. The set, and actors are completely full of life, and perfect for this.The author was very involved in the making of this (and there are even fun little videos of him in the extras), which I think is one of the reasons it exceeds expectations. I've never read any Pratchett, but this adaptation made me think I probably should. If you get a chance to watch this- and you are a fan of similar Christmas & magic themed films such as Arthur Christmas, and Rise of the Guardians (which has a similar tooth fairy angle), or just fancy a fun Christmassy romp with a smart undercurrent and heart, then you will be very happy with this.

dinningfamily Before I begin, I have to say that I have not read a single terry Pratchett book, but I love fantasy movies and the trailers made it look really good. So I watched this movie and.......................What is it about? No, seriously. What is this movie about? I'm lost and confused. What is it about?The scenes just jumped too quickly from one story to the next. I didn't understand it all.I must say though, the actors and special effects were brilliant. It's a shame the storyline wasn't there:(.

AussieBeka I have been a huge Terry Pratchett fan for over a decade now, and "Hogfather" would have to be one of my favourites of the Discworld series. So when I saw it was going to be aired for Christmas, I was really looking forward to watching it.However, this rendition was pretty disappointing. Susan was portrayed terribly! She is meant to be a supremely self-confident person who is always in control. This version showed her as almost a meek woman who is ruled by either her charges or her family. Susan should not have been so easily manipulated by Teatime. She has always been one of my favourite characters for her strength, and she was shown *so* badly here.Teatime was a blatant rip-off of Johnny Depp's Willy Wonka. There was none of the coldness that inspired such fear in the book. His appearance and accent were terribly annoying, and detracted from the story itself. Teatime needed to be approached completely differently in order to succeed.The wizards were also portrayed appallingly. Ridcully should have been a far stronger figure, and been the focal point of his scenes. Instead, we were shown an old man who doddered around for his time on the screen.However, I loved Albert and thought he was a fairly accurate representation of the character from the book. He also portrayed the humour that is so distinctive in Pratchett's work. I also appreciated how Death's love of humanity was shown. He was an interesting character, if not quite as sympathetic as in the books. The sets were also well-designed and complimented the story.Overall, a good effort but required some recasting to be as spectacular as it deserved to be.