The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse Movie and Book Comparison by the Hobbit. This post contains affiliate links, you can find out more on our policies page or in the disclaimer at the bottom of the blog.
Know Before you Watch
Movie: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse
Release Date: December 25th, 2022
Streaming Service: Apple+
Rating: TV-G
Age Suggestion: any age, but younger kids may be bored
Genre: Fantasy, animal stories, philosophy
Warnings: you MIGHT, with younger kids, need to deal with abandonment. See our comments below for more detail.
Quick Summary
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse is an animated adaptation of the Book by the Same Name. It follows the boy as he meets each of the other title characters.
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse
Movie and Book Comparison/Review
The original book “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse” was a series of loosely connected drawings. The author, Charlie Mackesy, first published some of the drawings of these characters on social media and tied the story of the characters together in book form. The film brings more definition to the story, but there is not a lot of plot in either. Both are best viewed as lessons about life presented as a story.
The artwork in the film is similar to that of the book but maintains more of one style rather than several. For instance, the book mixes color and black-and-white drawings, while the film is all color. The book is set, per the author, in early spring; the film appears to be set in winter. In the book, we have no real beginning. The film opens with the boy being lost (this is not explained – see below).
In the book we do not see the boy as having a physical home; in the film, it appears he rejects this. All of this, as we have noted, is in service of presenting life lessons. Lastly, The film has some great voice actors including Idris Elba and Tom Hollander!
Continue reading for more of our The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse Movie Review
Story and Themes
The story is, as noted, pretty simple. The boy meets and has conversations with the animal characters. It is further defined in the film as the boy being lost and looking for home. The film does not address why the boy is lost (it is not relevant for the moral lessons and would be a distraction). However, with some kids, the issue may come up. If this would be a sensitive place to go without explanation you may want to wait to watch this.
Younger kids may get bored. It is not faced paced and has some, but not much, action. It is contemplative and in our action-adventure society that will not work for some. But, for those who do watch it and think on it, there are quite a few things to consider.
The themes are multiple. Friendship (likely and unlikely). What is life about? What makes a person truly happy? How are we free? Self-worth. What is home?
One significant question is who you identify with. Why do you identify with that character? What was said that affects you or makes you think more? Which theme resonates with you?
Final thoughts
on The Boy, the Mole,
the Fox, and the Horse Movie
The movie, in a way, reminds me of an earlier British film, The Snowman. It provokes a sense of wonder without much of what we see today on film and wants us to ask questions. All will not like it, but I believe it is, for most, a great way to start the year.
Thanks for reading our The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse Movie and Book Comparison. Check out these related posts:
–The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse Book Quotes
–Lessons from The Bad Guys movie
–All of our Dog Man Posts:
–Grime and Punishment
–Brawl of the Wild
–Lord of the Fleas
–Fetch 22
–For Whom the Ball Rolls
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