Eco all-creatures-are-sacred message is duly preached, but without a heavy hand, and there's a refreshingly surreal Hayao Miyazaki-quality about the pic's more whimsical flights of fancy.

Kids with short attention spans, trained on the rapid-fire pacing of American animated films, may find the tempo of this Danish feature plodding-but even the most restless could get drawn in by the film's gentle spell.

An animated film that younger audiences will no doubt fall in love with.

Captivating, moving tale with scares; best for older kids.