Mr. Hoppy's Secret - Blu-ray

Movie: Shy American Mr. Hoppy (Dustin Hoffman) has long had a secret passion: he loves his fun-loving neighbor Mrs. Silver (Judi Dench). Since their first encounter, he would love to marry her right away. But confessing his feelings to his beloved is out of the question for the quiet plant lover. Instead, he adores her from his balcony. When he learns that Mrs. Silver is very sad that her beloved turtle Alfie just won't grow, Mr. Hoppy comes up with an audacious plan to finally win his neighbor's heart. All he needs to do it is a big fishing rod, a magic poem from Africa and over 100 tortoises...

Mr Hoppy's Secret is based on Roald Dahl's bestselling book Otto's Secret. Commissioned by the BBC, this TV adaptation of the book is a small, extremely charming film that thrives on lovingly playful staging and its two wonderful leads. Of course, everything here is over-the-top and a bit quirky - from the colors to the characters to their acting. Alone the way James Corden guides the viewer through the film as a narrator is rather unusual and therefore might not find favor with all viewers. But those who get into it will realize that the narrator part fits perfectly with the tone of the rest of the film and integrates perfectly into the very nice story at the latest at the end.

It may not sound positive to say that everything is kept a bit simpler here. The story is definitely simple in its own way, the humor is harmless throughout and also aspects like camera or equipment seem a bit unspectacular at first glance. But if you immerse yourself in the story, you'll quickly realize that there's power in simplicity here. It's the many little things that make the look of the film and the story so particularly enchanting and worth watching. Dustin Hoffman, for example, becomes so unbelievably endearing, especially through his extremely reduced facial expressions, that as a viewer you actually want to take him in your arms the whole time.

Spiced with a tasty pinch of typical British humour and a sugary sweet finale, Mr. Hoppy's Secret is, all in all, the best home cinema entertainment, which may be aimed primarily at the 50+ generation, but which younger viewers can also really enjoy. Thanks in no small part to the screenplay by Richard Curtis (Love Actually...) and Britcom specialist Paul Mayhew-Archer, director Dearbhla Walsh has succeeded in creating a small but fine romance that exudes a great deal of joie de vivre and love and can therefore easily hold its own alongside major cinema productions. Absolutely worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The film features its very own, deliberately artificial-looking color scheme, whose fairy-tale character comes across very well on the Blu-ray. Otherwise, the image pleases with a pleasing sharpness of detail and well-adjusted contrasts. The sound is overall, quite in keeping with the film, very restrained, but can also unfold a tiny bit of dynamics in some moments. Good!

Extras: Unfortunately, there is no bonus material.

Conclusion: Mr. Hoppy's Secret is a charming romance that thrives on two great leads and playful staging. The small TV production bristles with original ideas and charmingly British humor. Dustin Hoffman hasn't been as lovable as he is here in a long time. A wonderful film that not only the 50+ generation can enjoy. It doesn't bother much that the technically well-made Blu-ray doesn't have any bonus material to offer. Because for the film alone there is already a very clear: Absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp