ROBIN ROBIN
Cert U ★★★★
On Netflix from Wednesday
They may have swapped plasticine for felt but the fingerprints of Bristol-based animation outfit Aardman are still all over this festive charmer.
Misfit Robin (voiced by Bronte Carmichael) fell from the nest when she was an egg. Now, after being raised by a loving fieldmouse dad (Adeel Akhtar), she’s desperate to play a part in her extended family’s food-grabbing raids on “who-man” larders.
But the plucky little bird isn’t built for stealth. After causing a flap while trying to filch an entire sandwich, it looks like the mice will go very hungry this Christmas.
Desperate to make amends, Robin partners up with a loner magpie (Richard E Grant) to pull off a daring heist on a plush house guarded by Gillian Anderson’s cat.
As with the Wallace and Gromit shorts of the 80s and 90s, Aardman cram a lot into a breezy 30-minute running time. We get witty songs, quirky action scenes and a touching message about celebrating differences.