''The Great Land of Small'' (french: C'est pas parce qu'on est petit qu'on peut pas être grand!) is a 1986 Canadian fantasy children's film. It was written by David Sigmund and directed by

Vojtěch Jasný Vojtěch Jasný (30 November 1925 – 15 November 2019) was a Czech director, screenwriter and professor who has written and directed over 50 films. Jasný made feature and documentary films in Czechoslovakia, Germany, Austria, USA & Canada, and ...

. The film starred Michael J. Anderson in one of his first roles. The film is the 5th in the '' Tales for All (Contes Pour Tous)'' series of children's movies created by Les Productions la Fête.

Plot

Two children, Jenny and David, meet a

leprechaun A leprechaun ( ga, leipreachán/luchorpán) is a diminutive supernatural being in Irish folklore, classed by some as a type of solitary fairy. They are usually depicted as little bearded men, wearing a coat and hat, who partake in mischief. ...

-like creature called Fritz in the woods; however, his gold dust is being stolen by a wicked hunter. Only Mimmick the Indian knows that the creature is in our world. As the hunter becomes mad with power, he attempts to capture Fritz and the children. With Mimmick's help, they escape to the Land of Small, a mystical, magical land.

Cast

* Michael J. Anderson as Fritz and the King * Karen Elkin as Jenny * Michael Blouin as David * Ken Roberts as Flannigan and Munch * Rodrigue Tremblay as Mimmick

Reception

The reviewer at the Canuxploitation website, which is devoted to Canadian B-movies, thought that ''The Great Land of Small'' was "a real oddity", labelling it "a half-baked fantasy". Although praising the inclusion of

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Ju ...

, he thought of ''The Great Land of Small'' as one of Demers' least successful films. They thought that the film could be rated "W" for "What the Hell?", thereby reflecting the idea that it was " ird" but "not trippy enough to be interesting". Arguing that the beginning of the film was "tediously padded", they thought that the subplot based around Mimmick and Flannigan was unnecessary, and that the actual Great Land of Small – while envisioned as a place like the

Land of Oz The Land of Oz is a fantasy world, magical country introduced in the 1900 children's novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by William Wallace Denslow, W. W. Denslow. Oz consists of four vast quadrants, th ...

or ''

The Neverending Story ''The Neverending Story'' (german: Die unendliche Geschichte) is a fantasy novel by German writer Michael Ende, published in 1979. The first English translation, by Ralph Manheim, was published in 1983. The novel was later adapted into several ...

s Fantasia – was "a distinct disappointment" due to its "embarrassingly low-budget production design, and cheap editing tricks".

References

External links

* 1986 films 1986 independent films English-language Canadian films Canadian independent films Films shot in Montreal Canadian children's fantasy films 1980s children's fantasy films French-language Canadian films 1980s Canadian films {{fantasy-film-stub