It's been a couple of years since the mind-shattering horror of Stick Man, so it must be time for
another Julia Donaldson/Axel Scheffler adaptation. This time, it's Donaldson's
take on Alfred Noyes much-studied-at-GCSE poem 'The Highwayman', The Highway Rat.
The mean and selfish Highway Rat steals food from travellers, fattening
himself at the expense of the other animals, even on food that he doesn't
really want. At last, with the entire country suffering, a brave duck risks all
to trick the villain and reclaim what has been stolen. The story borrows its
tempo and rhyming scheme from the Noyes verse, but omits a lot of the death,
gun violence, sex, assault and suicide in favour of rapier flourishing, food
theft and some subterranean soul-searching (the latter primarily added,
wordlessly, in the adaptation.) The TV version features the usual cavalcade of
star voices, with Rob Brydon on narrative duty and David Tennant in native
Scots mode as the titular thief.
For my money, The Highway Rat
lacks the charm of The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo's Child, the warmth of Room on the Broom, and the
soul-shattering horror of Stick Man.
Perhaps because it is so closely modelled on 'The Highwayman', it lacks a
certain vitality that marks Donaldson's work out from the crowd(1). It's still
good fun, and even second tier Donaldson/Scheffler animation is a Christmas
treat, but I'm hoping for Tabby McTat
or A Squash and a Squeeze in two
years' time.
My daughter, on the other hand, loved it, which is probably what matters.
(1) I find the same with her The
Further Adventures of the Owl and the Pussycat, which is technically
excellent, but still feels more like superior fan fiction than its own thing.
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