Penelope [2007]

The dvd worked, arrived quickly and was in good condition. So no problems there. As a film, not my favourite.

Heart-warming and quirky. One of our go-to favourites for a feel-good film.

The tale of 'Penelope' is an interesting modern twist on fairy story romances... with an emphasis on 'noses' rather than 'tails', as the title character (the first-born female in her bloodline since an ancestor betrayed a witch's kin) is the luckless recipient of a generations-old curse: and has the snout of a pig in place of a nose. To break the curse upon herself, Penelope must find and marry a blue-blood. But, much to her parents' consternation, Penelope - who, because of her deformity, has been hidden away from the world for her whole life - is more interested in forming friendships than she is in breaking the curse.When a con-man turned suitor (McAvoy in dishevelled splendour) breaks her heart, Penelope sets out to discover the world for herself.This is a charming film, with endearing performances from Christina Ricci, James McAvoy and Reese Witherspoon (as Penelope's friend in exile). However, although it is pitched as a fairy tale story and has a PG rating (and certainly doesn't merit anything more in regards to content), 'Penelope' is not ideal for the 6-10 year old audience I bought it for after seeing it advertised. I thought the film, though slow-moving and at times quite sophisticated (e.g. in some scenes 'Penelope' is shown implicitly getting rapidly drunk in a bar... using a straw under her face-concealing scarf) was enjoyable, but aimed more at over 10's/teenagers than younger kids.

"Penelope" is the story of a high society girl, born with a pig's snout due to a curse. She is kept isolated by her excentric mother, who desperately tries to break the curse by finding a blue blood suitor for Penelope. This isn't easy, every man runs away after seeing Penelope's snout, until Max that is. Penelope and Max hit it off, but Max will not marry Penelope. After this rejection, Penelope breaks free into the world and goes exploring - and much follows..."Penelope" is a sweet, little fairy tale about accepting yourself despite your pig's snout. The movie feature excellent actors and magnificant performances from all of them. The dialogue is rich and humorous. All in all, "Penelope" is the kind of movie that makes you sigh and smile and the kind of movie that will remain on my dvd-shelf for a long time and be watched again and again.Louise

It took me years to actually watch it as I really didn't know what it was like and was scared to waste my time. When I did, I was pleasantly surprised, it is a fast paced story and has a lot of humourous moment. It's the story of a girl born with a pig nose (because of a curse) and needs to be loved by a blue blood to lift the curse. It's not a rom com, trust me, I can't stand rom com, they are so cliché, it winds me up, this one is more of a morale, feel good story and the guy in the story is cute.

The film was one I had seen before and wanted my kids to see it. I think it was an interesting movie

This is a wonderfully charming fairytale with great performances from all the leading players, but especially Christina Ricci as Penelope, James McAvoy as Max and Peter Dinklage as Lemon the reporter. Reese Witherspoon's role is disappointingly small but she had to juggle her time with being a producer as well.When Penelope and Max finally kiss, it is to the music of Sigur Ros's magnificent Hoppipolla, which fits the scene perfectly.This is a U certificate and suitable for everyone.

I had forgotten just how many big names are in this fun little movie,