Although it features the de rigueur Shrek-like mashup of fairytale elements – with Sleeping Beauty rubbing shoulders with the titular seven dwarves, Snow White, and an evil witch with ice-generating power, plus a tap-dancing dragon thrown in for good measure – this German-made cartoon has some properly winning qualities. The script balances kiddie-friendly winsomeness and knowing winks for grownups, and is more tightly constructed than you’d expect, with even fleeting throwaway gags delivering plot payoffs later on. The characters sometimes move stiffly and lack expressivity, but the CGI textures are surprisingly varied and well rendered, and even if the songs don’t compare to the best of Disney’s, they’re OK. Minus points for the mermen who are borderline-racist rapper types, but they’re only in one scene, and you’ve got to love a kid’s film where the female villain has, for a change, visible nipples underneath her sheer dress.
