Why so much hype?

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

Dustin Hoffman obviously did not want to make this movie! He was so detached, bored, and plane boring: Mr. Hopper was his worst act. And him being crazy for the very lovely, but way-too-old Judy Dench was so unbelievable, it hurt. This movie was made after a children's book, but who was to know? Well, after watching it,I told my mother to NOT see this film. The balcony scenes were crass and studio made, the plants made of plastic. Christ, this movie was so bad, how could all this talent be wasted in such a poor production? Certainly this was not even a good movie for children. Luckily got the DVD from a library, so saved a lot of money. In Europe the movie is called "Mr. Hopper's Secret" by the way.

Roald Dahl's 'Esio Trot' is a simple but charming tale about a shy, middle aged man called Mr Hoppy who harbours a crush on his downstairs neighbour, the kind-hearted and glamorous Mrs Silver. When Mrs Silver casually mentions that she wishes her beloved tortoise Alfie would grow a bit faster/larger, Mr Hoppy devises a cunning plan to try to win the woman of his dreams…The difficulty with adapting 'Esio Trot' into a full length feature is that the story is very short and must be 'fleshed out' in order to fill 90 minutes or more. Hence, this adaptation introduces new characters that were not in the original book, including the narrator and his family (the book has no narrator as such), the eccentric pet shop owner (Mr Hoppy does visit a number of pet shops in the book but the owners are not described), and various bit parts that have been added such as Mrs Silver's friends at the dance marathon. Most notably there is the addition of the obnoxious Mr Pringle, the next door neighbour and Mr Hoppy's rival for Mrs Silver's affections; in the original story, Mr Hoppy has no rival other than Alfie but the addition of one does increase the dramatic tension. And with additional characters come additional scenes, some of which do help explain what the book does not cover e.g. how Mr Hoppy can afford to buy all the tortoises, or expands upon what the book only touches on such as Mrs Silver's feelings for Mr Hoppy (in the book she does indicate after Mr Hoppy's proposal that she's always felt the same way about him but this is confirmed in the film when it is revealed that Mrs Silver has been actively trying to attract Mr Hoppy all along).Finally, purists of the book may disagree with the filmmakers decision to change the ending. In the book, Mrs Silver - who accepts Mr Hoppy's proposal straight away - never finds out about the switch and continues to believe for the rest of her life that the larger tortoise is Alfie, while the original Alfie was returned to the pet shop where he was bought by a family (and double in size after many years). In the film version, Mrs Silver discovers the switch (and gets Alfie back) and does not immediately accept Mr Hoppy's proposal. Moreover, Mr Hoppy is led to believe that Mrs Silver has begun a relationship with Mr Pringle. But perhaps the filmmakers felt that it was too dishonest for Mr Hoppy to forge a relationship with Mrs Silver after having lied to her and – effectively – stolen her tortoise! But personally it didn't really bother me and meant that the story could have a more dramatic ending with Mrs Silver finally realising the lengths that Mr Hoppy would go to for her.All in all, an enjoyable adaptation, beautifully acted by Dustin Hoffman and Judi Dench and while mainly aimed at children, there is still plenty for adults to enjoy.

This absolute wonderful story of love between two 'older' people will have you spellbound from start to finish. Dustin Hoffman nails perfectly the shy, retiring Mr Hoppy who until his neighbour moves in has only one love his Babylonian balcony garden. Whilst Mrs Silver played by Judi Dench, becomes the new object of his affections the day she moves in to the flat below his, is ideally cast. Mr. Hoppy although he is to shy to tell her how he feels gets the chance to make her dreams come true when he learns she wishes her pet tortoise Alfie, would grow from his very small 13 ounces. To do this he comes up with an ingenious and very daring but funny plan. However their is a complication in the form the very boorish Mr. Pringle who lives in the flat next to Mr. Hoppy he also has his eye on Mrs Silver.If you enjoyed your romances gentle but bitter-sweet with a happy end you will love this. The entire story of their budding romance is humorously narrated by James Corden the man with the first floor flat.

Oh dear.The BBC's most hyped Christmas programme turns out to be an absolute disaster.What were they thinking of? Big name actors in a sweet little story by a big name writer - what's not to like? Well,it could and should have been a two - hander. But we have extra characters and a most inappropriate narration by an extremely irritating "hot" actor who flounders with some truly appalling dialogue(Not Mr Dahl's). Mr Hoffman appears throughout in a trance - like state as if handling tortoises is absolutely the last thing he would want to do given the choice between that and pulling out his own fingernails. Miss J.Dench is cruelly miscast as the not overly - bright retiree upon whom Mr Hoffman's eye has fallen. Sorry,but she does not convince as either naïve or vacuous.There is too much intelligence and knowingness - she's a retired midwife for heaven'sake,not a novice at a Nunnery. The 3 stars I have awarded this travesty are purely for the sublime Mr Louis Armstrong and "Give me a kiss to build a dream on" where the lyrics say more truth in 4 minutes that "Esio Trot" does in 90.