PLAYMOBIL: THE MOVIE (U)

Cast in a similar mould to The LEGO Movie, replete with a live-action framing device, Playmobil: The Movie encourages young children who play with the plastic toy sets to never limit their imaginations or allow cynicism to warp their desire to dream big. Youthful exuberance romps through Blaise Hemingway, Greg Erb and Jason Oremland’s scattershot screenplay, which breathlessly slingshots from Norse mythology and the rootin’ tootin’ Wild West to a prehistoric land before time and gladiatorial Rome. Briskly paced interludes, which trade logic for a sensory overload of colour and cartoon violence, are glued together with saccharine pop musical numbers sung by an ensemble cast, which includes Adam Lambert and Meghan Trainor. Jim Gaffigan’s vocal performance as a Hawaiian-shirted food truck driver has the impossible task of providing the majority of the comic relief, while Daniel Radcliffe oozes self-delusion as a James Bond-lite spy, who is repeatedly shaken not stirred by his own giddy reputation. Humour isn’t as sophisticated or snarky as the LEGO films and there are almost no cute visual gags aimed at parents, who may find themselves power-napping for the best part of 90 minutes. Eighteen-year-old Marla (Anya TaylorJoy) dreams of travelling the world with her most prized possession - her first adult passport. Fate cruelly intervenes and Marla’s adventurous spirit is crushed as she adopts the role of Charlie’s sole caregiver. The siblings argue and Charlie runs away from home during a thunderous downpour to a toy fair. When Marla and Charlie are eventually reunited, they are magically miniaturised into Playmobil figures...