The Little Vampire

I’m quite surprised at the mediocre rating of this film. “The Little Vampire” has been with me since my childhood, and, at the risk of sounding hyperbolic, this is a truly unique kids’ movie. It’s not profound or morally complex. But it’s incredibly charming, unabashedly silly, unexpectedly scary, and utterly, gleefully bonkers. The film performs some spectacular tonal acrobatics, jumping effortlessly from the dark and tragic history of its hauntingly beautiful vampires to the silly shenanigans of the present, complete with flying vampire cows and occasional cartoonish sound effects. It’s surprising, but never whiplash-inducing. As it goes on, the action becomes increasingly chaotic, ending in a delightfully daft and, ultimately, emotional climax. The costume design is gorgeous too. The film gives us wonderfully eerie vampires with an Elizabethan flair to replace the more commonplace Victorian one. Their clothes are frayed and tattered and yet all the more impressive for it. On the other hand, you have the mad dieselpunk aesthetic of the vampire hunter and his cluttered factory of a truck, both lurching, steaming and smoking their ways through the film respectively. In terms of acting, there isn’t a single phoned-in performance. Jonathan Lipnicki is adorable as Tony Thompson, the movie’s incredibly diminutive protagonist with the guts of ten grown men. Tony’s improbable displays of Pippi Longstocking-like courage are both endearing and hilarious, especially when his guts don’t match his physical strength (picture this tiny child getting ready to throw hands at a 6-foot-tall vampire hunter). Rollo Weeks as Rudolph is well-spoken and a little wooden at times, but it perfectly fits his role as a 300-year-old boy rediscovering childhood for the first time. He is also surprisingly menacing at his first appearance. Richard E. Grant and Alice Krige, who play Rudolph’s parents, were both born to be vampires. Grant especially makes the best of what might have been a one-dimensional role as the stern, strict Frederick Sackville-Bagg. He is elegant and intimidating, eccentric and, at times, unexpectedly funny (like chomping his jaws like a crocodile when in the vicinity of a biteable human). And let’s all give a big hand to Jim Carter, who absolutely kills it as the gleeful vampire hunter Rookery, and who, to my knowledge, has never again played a role this wild. Like the movie as a whole, he flips effortlessly between funny and threatening – and his confusion at being thwarted by a tiny kid leads to some truly hilarious reactions. So, if you want an unusual vampire movie with a wicked sense of humour, this is the film for you. And for the love of Dracula, don’t confuse it with the 2017 animated film, whose attempt to resurrect the source material led to a disaster of Frankensteinian proportions.

I was looking on a new platform I got called hoopla install the movie, the little vampire, I remember loving this movie as a kid decided to watch it again. Wow what did I just watch? I wish I can get the One and a half hour back, I spent watching this movie.

If you came into this movie as an adult expecting to see anything other than a kids movie than this isn't for you. I watched this movie as a child and I loved it then just as I do now, dripping with nostalgia. Wonderful movie.

This was my favorite movie watching growing up. I always was so excited when october started and we could watch this almost every day. My kids love it just as much. It's really weird seeing the reviews from older people and how they critique it. It's for kids, they don't care about the plot or if the acting was good or not. It's a fun movie for halloween 🎃

A cute little Vampire comedy movie for children. It has so many things that feel like it's right on the edge of being good but it's not. The kids being dubbed over without them moving their lips in so many scenes was confusing as there were moments when I wasn't sure which kid was doing the talking. It wasn't really good but it was sweet and cute enough I guess.

A super cute family feel good movie. There are some scary scenes for younger kids but a great family halloween movie non the less.

my childhood. love it

Aggressively bad even for this kind of thing.

The greatest 01 hour: and 37 minutes ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Starring Jonathan Lipnicki!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A pleasant diversion for little kids. Stuart Little actor is cute in this film.