As you may already know, throughout the Christmas period Lincoln and That are reviewing all the best Christmas films (yes, ALL the BEST Christmas films).

After a long search on YouTube I came across what I was searching for. Second Star to the Left is a film I vaguely remember from being about eight or nine. All I can remember was that it involved a rabbit, guinea pig and hamster who had to deliver a present.

The film itself is only 29 minutes long, so I decided to sit down and see if young Alice had good taste. It turns out it wasn’t too bad…

Second Star to the Left is a film about three household pets. A rabbit, – Archie, a guinea pig, – Duke and a hamster called Babs. The three animals come together after a present from Santa’s sleigh comes crashing through their shed roof. They decide that they must be the heroes and deliver the present to it’s rightful owner: a young girl named Polly.

The film goes on to follow the “heroic three” and their “epic” adventure to deliver said present. Many obstacles get in their way, but they also encounter a few pals who give them some help.

What amused me the most about the film was how every single character (minus our fantastic three) knew who Polly was. I’m not sure whether she was supposed to be the princess of the village or whether she was just an annoying child everyone remembered. You never actually find out which is a bit of a shame.

The second best thing about the film is the actors who voice the characters.  Hugh Laurie plays the voice of Archie which is quite apt, as the rabbit has catchphrases such as “my good fellow”, “ooh I say” and “what is a chap to do?” Half an hour into the film, these phrases do begin to grate on you slightly… Actually no, they grate on you A LOT. Basically Archie the rabbit has the same voice as Wooster from Jeeves & Wooster. Here’s an example for you.

Barbara Windsor voices Babs the hamster. Perhaps the hamster was called Babs because they couldn’t think of any other name and had no creativity? Anyway, Babs comes out with some utter corny crap such as “if we don’t get this to Polly by the morning there will be another broken heart in the world”. Oh it pulled on my heartstrings that line did.

Duke the guinea pig is voiced by Mark Williams. I can tell a few of you are probably unsure of who he is so I’ll tell you a famous character he played. Ron Weasley’s dad anyone? Duke is the one who doesn’t care for adventures, but is persuaded by his friends to come along. He spends most of his time discussing his love of carrots and moaning.

Overall, Second Star to the left is cheesy as hell but a pretty decent Christmas film. If you’re feeling festive and fancy watching a short film it’s perfect for you.