The Pebble and the Penguin (1995)
Oh Don Bluth, is there any way you could’ve bounced back after a few bad movies?
Brief Backstory
While Disney was on a hot streak with multiple successful movies, Don Bluth’s studio went through a bit of a rough time while doing some producer hopping. Both MGM (Rock-A-Doodle and All Dogs go to Heaven) and Warner Bros. (A Troll in Central Park and Thumbelina) produced the next set of movies by his studio. Despite the decent reception toward All Dogs go to Heaven, the next three animated movies afterwards didn’t sit too well with audiences, and that troubling trend continued with the Pebble and the Penguin.
Story
Hubie plans to give a pebble to Marina out of tradition, but Drake is after Marina as well, and gives Hubie an eviction notice. Castaway from the arctic, Hubie teams up with Rocko to get back to Marina and get even with Drake.
Random Facts
Don Bluth hated this movie.
Not the only time Tim Curry played a villain; he was Forte in Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas and Dr. Slicer in Disney’s Recess. He also voiced the Mastermind in Scooby Doo: Night of 100 Frights (one of the only good Scooby Doo games) and was the Plaza Hotel concierge in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. So his acting/voice work resume holds up.
Random Opinions
I actually prefer this over Pocahontas, but there’s no way in hell I’d ever put this above A Goofy Movie or Toy Story. So along with Land Before Time and the Secret of NIMH this was the only other time Don Bluth outwit Disney to me.
I saw an image of Jenner from the Secret of NIMH and for some reason Drake’s cape kind of makes me think of Jenner whenever he’s not constantly behaving like Gaston.
This is far from the worst of Don Bluth. A Troll in Central Park is way worse as is Thumbelina (sorry, but I couldn’t really enjoy that one) and Rock-A-Doodle.
Pros
- Drake’s song alone is a big advantage.
- The storyline works well.
Cons
- Drake’s just some copycat of Gaston from Beauty and the Beast. Both of them greedily target a woman and both end up falling to their deaths. If the cape isn’t too convincing then of course Drake’s body build is obvious. Even when he’s singing he sounds like Gaston.
- Besides, there’s already been way too many of these arrogant “deadlift” bad guys out there; Bluto from Popeye, Clubber Lang from Rocky III, those bullies from the Karate Kid, and obviously Gaston as I mentioned earlier.
- The animation is pretty bad for a 90s animated movie and looks more like something that came out around the same time as the Rescuers.
- Excluding Drake’s song the songs suck.
Rating: 5.5/10 – Average
Well it’s not the worst animated movie I’ve ever seen, but the Madagascar penguins were better. I liked this more than Happy Feet though and the Pebble and the Penguin is one of the better efforts from Don Bluth in the 90s. But as a whole, you’re better off watching All Dogs go to Heaven or any of the other 80s Don Bluth movies.
Thankfully, Don Bluth was able to get back up with Anastasia working for 20th Century Fox in 1997.
One response to “The Pebble and the Penguin”
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I’m gonna come clean. Nostalgia Critic introduced me to The Pebble and the Penguin. I saw Don Bluth at Fan Expo Dallas 2024. I didn’t get a photo or autograph. He’s also from Texas.
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