The Pebble and the Penguin: Family Fun Edition

The Pebble and the Penguin is a 1995 animated musical comedy adventure film directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman. The film stars the voices of Martin Short, Jim Belushi, Tim Curry, and Annie Golden. Based on the true life mating rituals of the Adélie penguins in Antarctica, the film focuses on a timid, stuttering penguin named Hubie who tries to impress a beautiful penguin named Marina by giving her a pebble that fell from the sky and keep her from the clutches of an evil penguin named Drake who wants Marina for himself.

Towards the end of production, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer significantly changed the movie, forcing both Don Bluth and Gary Goldman, who were unsatisfied with the changes made by MGM on their film and the overall end product, to leave their film and demand to have their names taken off the film. The two would start working at Fox Animation Studios.

The film was released in the United States on April 12, 1995, by MGM/UA Communications Co. (and by Warner Bros. Pictures under the "Family Entertainment" banner internationally), originally receiving extremely negative reviews and bombed at the box office. This is the last film to be produced by Sullivan Bluth Studios before the studio shutdown due to bankruptcy. On March 27, 2007, it was released on DVD, restoring and fixing up some issues.

This "director's cut" version of the film was released on Blu-ray for the very first time on October 11, 2011. Both Family Fun Edition DVD and Blu-ray versions, received extremely positive reviews, finally became one of the best animated movies ever made, with many considering it to be an improvement over its original theatrical version.

Why BOTH The Family Fun Edition and Blu-Ray Versions Rock

 * 1) Brilliant animation for the 1995 standards, which is proudly fixed.
 * 2) Like the infamous theatrical release, the voice acting sounds so good. However, Martin Short, Jim Belushi and Tim Curry does the most dramatic and grandest voice performances.
 * 3) It wonderfully gets color-correction.
 * 4) It re-fielded scenes to hide missing effects and correct other errors from the theatrical and LaserDisc releases and the VHS and un-restored 1999 print of the DVD releases.
 * 5) Great marketing.
 * 6) Best soundtrack, especially its theme song, Now and Forever, which has a pleasant atmosphere (due to Barry Manilow's composition).
 * 7) *The musical number, "The Great Ship Misery" is pure surrealism.
 * 8) *Cartoon TV composer, Mark Watters, does the film score, for the very first time.
 * 9) Like the theatrical version, it received traditional cel-painted animation its first-ever digital presentation, and officially presented in 5.1 surround sound.
 * 10) It’s a slight improvement over A Troll in Central Park.
 * 11) Rocko teaches Hubie how to fight, as well as man up, which is very lovable.
 * 12) The ending scene is pure heartwarming and very touching.
 * 13) The opening sequence was great, as it feels like a music video.
 * 14) The CG-animation in some scenes is superb, months before Toy Story was released in the same year.
 * 15) While not as well-regarded as some of Don Bluth's earlier works, it was Don Bluth's most beautiful swan song, for a very great way to close down the Don Bluth studio.
 * 16) Despite its infamous theatrical release, it spawned tons of great merchandises.
 * 17) Memorable characters, including the most lovable protagonist, Hubie, despite their individual flaws.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Before this, its theatrical release wasn't well-received.
 * 2) Like Hopper's gruesome death in A Bug's Life, Drake's demise (crushed by a huge boulder from his tower) is too harsh for a G-rated film, even without blood.

Videos
>6YpiKU44VSY