I only know the really obvious works of Roald Dahl, i.e. James and the Giant Peach, Willy Wonka, Fantastic Mr Fox, The BFG, The Witches and Matilda, so when I saw this TV made film was coming to television at Christmas time, and the two cast members in it, I was most looking forward to it, written by Richard Curtis. Basically lonely ageing bachelor Mr. Hoppy (Dustin Hoffman) lives in a London flat, he has two loves in his life, the garden on his balcony, and the widow who lives in the flat below him, Mrs. Silver (Dame Judi Dench), the only time he usually sees her up close or talks to her is going in the elevator, but over the years he has always been too shy to express his feelings for her. Mr. Hoppy tries to tell her sometimes from his balcony, but she is too fond of her new tortoise Archie to respond, and his opposite neighbour Mr. Pringle (About Time's Richard Cordery) is just a massive bore, too focused on talking about himself. But Mr. Hoppy sees an opportunity to make Mrs. Silver happy and show how much he cares, in conversation she tells how she wishes her tortoise would grow bigger, he convinces her that he knows a Bedoiun chant that if she speaks it will make her tortoise grow bigger within a month, she says if that happens she will be eternally grateful to him. Next day Mr. Hoppy hatches a secret plan, he buys dozens of tortoises, he hears Mrs. Silver read the chant he gives her, Esio Trot ("tortoise" spelt backwards), with the help of a special fishing rod he creates he swaps Archie for one ever so slightly bigger tortoise, while Mrs. Silver is away, when returns she is overjoyed to see that this chant is working. As the gradual "growing" of the tortoise continues, Mr. Hoppy and Mrs. Silver talk much more often from their balconies, Mr. Pringle is the one who helps them get together for dinner, but the neighbours do not have much opportunity to talk while he is being boorish, and worse comes when it looks like Mr. Pringle is trying to win her affections, Mr. Hoppy is almost about to give up his plan, but she continues to be happy with her "growing" tortoise, so he continues. It comes to the point when, after a month of the secret swapping, the tortoise in its box has become so big it can no longer fit through the doors of its house, Mrs. Silver is so happy that she invites Mr. Hoppy to come to her flat to celebrate, Mr. Hoppy excited rushes downstairs, and unknowingly leaves his door open for the real tortoise Archie to escape, just as Mr. Hoppy proposes marriage to Mrs. Silver, Mr. Pringle knocks and shows Archie was wandering around, Mr. Hoppy's plan is rumbled. Thinking he no longer can win the heart of Mrs. Silver, Mr. Hoppy returns all the tortoises to the pet shop and sits alone and crushed in his flat, finding two tortoises left behind hiding he gives them to the children of his neighbour, the Narrator (James Corden), telling the whole story to him, he understands and feels for Mr. Hoppy, maybe there will be no happy ending in this story. However, Mrs. Silver knocks on Mr. Hoppy's door, firstly to tell him that she has no interest in Mr. Pringle, he is such a bore, and secondly to tell him that, in fact, she has had feelings for him for the many years that have lived opposite each other, and she answers his earlier proposal question with a "yes", a few weeks later they are married and live happily ever after. Also starring Big School's Jimmy Akingbola as Keen Pet Shop Keeper, Psychoville's Lisa Hammond as Mrs. Desmond and Derek's Salo Gardner as Mr. Mavrokoukoudopolous. Hoffman is fantastic being the polite and longing neighbour, Dench is sweet as the woman who loves her tortoise and maybe has affection for her neighbour also, the two are perfectly cast, the way this film is made perfectly encapsulates the feel of Roald Dahl stories that have gone before, the characters are great, the story is simple, funny and sweet, it is just a must see family treat, a fabulous romantic comedy. Very good!
Review of Roald Dahl's Esio Trot
