Written by Giles New, Keiron Self and Oscar Wilde

Directed by Kim Burdon and Robert Chandler

An American family moves in to Canterville Chase, a stately countryside mansion that has been haunted by the ghost Sir Simon De Canterville for 300 years.(IMDB)

The Canterville Ghost is a well-loved classic from Wilde that follows the fortunes of an American family who move into the haunted Canterville mansion. Their plans for a fairy tale English home are put in jeopardy as they find themselves haunted by a ghost that wants them to leave and a centuries old conspiracy of jealousy and murder.

Searching for The Canterville Ghost on IMDB brings up a multitude of movies and TV series that have been adapted from the original tale as well as many many more that have been influenced by it. It is clearly a very popular story, but the question is, do we need yet another interpretation? Well the answer is probably no, so any new version really has to pull out all the stops to elevate itself above the competition.

Sadly this new adaptation doesn’t quite manage it.

I found it really hard to put my finger on why it doesn’t however, as the animation is pretty cool (well, I liked the style and it reminded me a little of A Monster in Paris) and we are treated to a fantastic cast that includes Imelda Staunton, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Meera Syal, and Toby Jones among others. Emily Carey as the headstrong daughter of Canterville’s new owners and her love interest played by Freddie Highmore are also perfectly good in their roles and Miranda Hart does her best to steal the show as The Ghost Catcher. But that is as far as it goes. It is a perfectly “good” adaptation, but didn’t really have anything unsurprising in what it offered.

Any animation aimed at kids/family viewing needs to cover all the bases and provide some humour/entertainment for the adults as well as the kids and The Canterville Ghost doesn’t cater for the adults watching this with the kiddies. Other than some highly inaccurate auto-generated subtitles in the screener that gave me a laugh (referring to the head of the household as Mr UTI and a random erroneous F-bomb were highlights) there is not a lot for the adults here and, while I can see some younger viewers may want to rewatch, many an adult may well lose interest quite quickly.

I don’t know if it was the screener I had, but the score felt a little muted in the background and I wonder if this also had an impact as it never quite seemed to engage with the visuals and lift the dramatic and emotional scenes off the screen, leaving the whole thing a little flat. Perhaps, in a cinema, this will be less of an issue?

And that is the main problem for me. I finished The Canterville Ghost feeling underwhelmed and checking my watch. It was perfectly decently made, but I am not sure if it is a cinema film? In the current climate, an expensive trip to the multiplex could further damage the movie, and I wonder if The Canterville Ghost will do better a little later down the line when it comes to home streaming? In fact, I can’t help feeling that this would have been perfect fodder for an early Christmas Eve family film as the kids wind down for bed. As it is, it feels as if it is punching too far above its weight, despite a fantastic cast and fun animation.

Of course, I am guessing I am not the real target audience for this film. Although I do love animation, this is definitely one for the kids and the current rating on IMDB (7.6) certainly suggests it just didn’t quite hit the mark for me. Your Mileage May Vary!

Signature Entertainment presents The Cantervill Ghost in cinemas from 22nd September