Donkey X

I think you really do have to be a fan of the Quixotic world of Cervantes to get much from this, otherwise it may just come across as a series of modern-day anachronisms that could stick in the throat if taken on face value. Instead of hearing tales of the famous knight's derring-do from himself or from his faithful retainer "Sancho Panza", we hear it from the unlikely perspective of their put-upon donkey "Rucio" and he proves to be quite effective at conveying just how random and incoherent their adventures could be after his boss had finished tilting at windmills. Indeed the "Don" in this film appears to have stabilised just a touch from his bonkers days and is now more focussed on a traditional good vs. evil scenario that I found to be quite characterful and mischievous. Now the dialogue isn't the best, though to be fair that might be down to some fairly uninspired subtitle interpretation, but the imagery and the underpinning messages of friendship, loyalty and mischief are little different from those peddled by Disney and Pixar, only here it bases it's theme on it's own Spanish cultural history rather than craft something entirely from the imagination of something altogether more designed to sell tickets, music and merch. It's an amiable family adventure film that won't linger long in the memory, but's still quite good fun.