Short Animated Film Review: ‘Piney: The Lonesome Pine’

Review by David Ferguson

Greetings again from the darkness. The Christmas movie genre is a tough one to break into, and co-directors Todd Edwards and Timothy Hooten bring to life (well, animated life) the children’s book “The Lonesome Pine” by Jane West Pakerink. The film is 25 minutes long and it’s a charming little story kids can follow, with characters they will care about.

5 year old Georgie is excited to be making her first trip to Grandpa Sid’s tree farm. He lets her pick out seeds, and for the next 4 years she nurtures one special little sapling into a full grown Christmas tree. Along the way, she and the tree she has named Piney become best friends. When the time comes to take Piney home as a Christmas tree, the two are accidentally separated. A frantic adventure follows as Georgie, Grandpa Sid, and their trusty dog Jackster, search the countryside for their favorite tree.

Piney just wants to be a Christmas tree, and most kids watching will be rooting for everything to work out. Grandpa has an ingenious idea to mark Piney’s legacy in their most uniquely named Welsh hometown … more than 50 letters long! The voice actors here include Jonathan Pryce as Grandpa, Lillian James as Georgie, Jason Anthony as sweet Piney, Parminder Nagra as the helpful bus driver, and Simon Pegg as Jackster. It’s quite an adventure and Christmas magic plays its part.