Oink: Movie Review

Vocal cast: Hiba Ghafry, Kees Prins, Jelka van Houten

Director: Mascha Halberstad

At its core, Oink is a very simple film that's aimed at families and has a message of tolerance embedded deep within.

Knor is the tale of a pig gifted to Babs (Ghafry) by her errant grandfather (Prins) after he left his family behind. Encouraging her to rear it and seemingly supportive, Babs soon falls in love with the pig - but dark clouds are gathering as the annual sausage contest rears its head.

It may be simply told with the sort of twee animation that Aardman would vaguely be proud of, but Oink is a film that will hit a younger audience and imbue them with the message of veganism and love for all animals.

With some cutesy voicework and a stop motion animation that's seamless but unique, it does exactly what it sets out to do and no more. Blessed with brevity, Oink's central pig will appeal to those who like the odd fart and poo gag which forms most of the porcine punchlines when he appears on screen.

There's not quite the timeless quality to this animation unfortunately and while the film's watchable enough while it's happening, the low-scale nature of its tale and its ambitions make it a film that's worth a watch, as well as a discussion after about what animals deserve out of life.