Once in a while, it's nice to revisit shows and movies you watched as a young child, if nothing else to see what easily entertained you back then. For me, one of these movies from my early childhood was Scamper the Penguin, a 1988 animated film released in North America under the Feature Films For Families banner.
Until recently, I didn't realize it was actually animated partially in Japan (Enoki Films, to be exact). Part of it was also animated in Russia, courtesy of Souyzmult Film. Watching it again, despite many years of animation expertise under my belt, it was actually very difficult to tell which sections came from which countries. It was pretty homogeneous, which I guess is a good thing for consistency's sake, but it also means the visual tropes of both countries don't really come through and it looks and moves rather generically as a result. One could even look at this movie and not realize it was animated in Japan and Russia without looking at the credits.
That doesn't mean the animation quality is bad (as it's quite fluid in places), but it does have a certain conservative nature to it. You won't find the rubbery squash and stretch of Disney, and the attention to detail seen in many anime, especially theatrical works, is pretty slim as well, outside of the water effects. The penguins are adorable, though, and to that end, the animators and character designer succeeded.
The movie stars a young blue penguin named Lolo (renamed "Scamper" for the U.S. release- more on that release below) who is optimistic and curious. That curiosity frequently gets him into trouble, especially when he tries to prove how brave he is to shy girl penguin Pepe (renamed "Snowflake"), who has a crush on him. The movie is basically a series of sketches where Lolo wanders away from the pack, is scolded by his parents when he returns, and proceeds to forget about the lesson he just learned and gets lost again. In that sense, the movie has a rather disjointed and somewhat repetitive in quality, though things do get better once Lolo and Pepe find themselves adrift at sea and are picked up by a poacher's boat, unsure of how to get back home.
As I mentioned above, the movie was edited a bit for U.S. release. The orchestral music by Masahito Maruyama (also known for Superbook) was replaced by an electronic score by Mark Mercury, under his performing name "Bullets". The original soundtrack wasn't anything amazing, but one glaring downside to the English music is the array of corny songs sung by background voices and peppered into various scenes. I found myself fast-forwarding until they were over, which I shouldn't have to do if the songs were entertaining like in, for example, Aladdin. Oh, and the female narrator is too cheery, like she's reading a book to little kids. The narrator in the original Russian version was male and a bit more "nature documentary"-ish, which makes the movie more accessible if you're an adult.
The movie was edited as well. Some scenes of violence too much for the kiddies were removed, and supposedly, Lolo's father is actually killed in the original movie. But you wouldn't know it, because that's gone in the U.S. version. It's funny; knowing his fate beforehand, it's amusing to note that after a certain point in the movie, we never see Lolo's father again. I guess he just decided to step aside and give Lolo the spotlight for the rest of the film, eh? Sorry, no. But don't tell the kids that; they might have to face the unthinkable concept of death.
Which leads me to my point. It would be interesting to see a U.S. DVD of the original, uncut version, as released in the U.K. They could even put both versions of the film on the same disc so one could compare the two, similar to the 2006 re-release of Street Fighter 2: The Animated Movie. It would at least allow the creators' original visions to be made available. It would also give parents an option of which they'd prefer to show their kids. And if they really wanted to go the extra mile, the original Russian audio track could be included, allowing one to compare the music and voices with the English version. The subtitles would make for a great reading tool for the kids, too.
So, how does Scamper the Penguin hold up? Well, despite my criticisms of it, I can't truly hate the film. Yes, part of that is likely due to nostalgia, but the rest is due to the film nailing other aspects. Namely, the day-to-day dangers that real penguins face. There's a scene early in the movie where we see sea birds wait for opportunities to snatch unhatched penguin eggs, and we see the consequences of leaving the nest unguarded, even for a second. These types of scenes almost have a March of the Penguins documentary feel to them, in that the sea birds aren't characterized as evil; they're just hard-wired to steal eggs. The movie presents this (and other moments) matter-of-factly, despite playing up the drama of the situation.
It's a little thing, but I also like how the film didn't portray all humans as evil or cruel to animals. Sure, the poachers in the later half of the movie fit that bill, but there's also an Antarctic scientist who is kind to Lolo and whose dog, Cowboy, makes sure he and Pepe make it back to the flock safely. Such a broad stroke can be quite annoying, so it was nice to see humans, both good and bad, represented.
Also, for those weary of sarcasm and pop culture references, Scamper is void of either. Normally, I like my entertainment to have a bit of an edge to it, but at the same time, it's refreshing to very occasionally watch an innocent, wholesome film, sort of taking me back to a time when I wasn't so jaded and saw films with a fresh viewpoint. Scamper the Penguin fits that category. It's harmless entertainment for the really young set.
