O Incrível Maurice

Adapting Terry Pratchett's Carnegie-winning Discworld book, The Amazing Maurice is a successfully wry, odd, utterly British spin on the Shrek-like self-aware fairy tale.

It's a film that's extraordinarily clever and proud of itself, even though it rarely manages to make that cleverness fun for the rest of us.

The Amazing Maurice is a compilation of better fairytales smashed together, devoid of a compelling flair of its own.

A Sinister Villain Elevates This Humdrum Kid's Flick

Maurice, resembling one of Maurice Sendak's Wild Things crossed with Alice in Wonderland's Cheshire Cat, isn't the most honorable creature and Laurie breathes just the right mix of self involvement and reluctant hero into him

Fans of Terry Pratchett, rejoice! "The Amazing Maurice" is here, filled with all the wild world-building that is the late science-fiction and fantasy author's preserve.

Most of the cast is excellent, and the writing is very clever. Couple those elements with the fun, cartoony animation, and one gets a pleasing little family film that, thankfully, does not fit into a specific mold.

It's genuinely eccentric enough - with its sly talking cat, intrepid band of gold-hearted rats and chronic aversion to keeping the fourth wall intact - to come off as charming rather than smarmy.

The production is out to entertain audiences young and old, and most of the endeavor is enjoyable, especially when it focuses on animal characters and their fight for survival.

Emilia Clarke steals the show in this vibrant, self-aware animated feature.

An entertaining way to convince kids to pick up the book.

The Amazing Maurice is family entertainment with an attitude.

An exhilarating adventure with just right balance of action, comedy and heart.

What should be a cute story about a mischievous orange tabby cat instead becomes an ironic, even vaguely smug movie in the vein of something like "Deadpool."

Delightful and sometimes droll

It's a fast-paced adventure bouncing back and forth between vantage points and devices to keep the jokes loose and the danger light. The film stumbles at times and is definitely convoluted, but it also just plain works.

It is wonderful that Terry Pratchett and his marvelous, oddball world is getting new life. So, enjoy.

There is a good story in there somewhere, but this film is far too pretentious to let it out.

[T]he result is a movie that's probably too grimly esoteric for kids but not nearly enough for adults.

It could be because of deviations from the source, the film's bland visual style that's just unambitious enough to be annoying, or the unengaging story, but "The Amazing Maurice" is, well, less-than-amazing.