''Roald Dahl's Esio Trot'', or simply ''Esio Trot'', is a British

comedy drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

television film directed by

Dearbhla Walsh Dearbhla Walsh is an Irish film and television director who has worked on drama series for several television channels in Ireland and the United Kingdom, including episodes of ''EastEnders'', '' Shameless'' and ''The Tudors''. She won the 2009 ...

and written by

Richard Curtis Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis (born 8 November 1956) is a British screenwriter, producer and director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known for romantic comedy-drama films, including ''Four Weddings and a Funeral' ...

and

Paul Mayhew-Archer Paul William Mayhew-Archer MBE (born 6 January 1953Find The Comp ...

, based on the 1990 novel, ''

Esio Trot ''Esio Trot'' is a 1990 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. The title is an anadrome of "tortoise". It was the last of Dahl's books to be published in his lifetime; he died just two months later. Unlike other Dahl works (which ofte ...

'', by

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British author of popular children's literature and short stories, a poet, screenwriter and a wartime Flying ace, fighter ace. His books have sold more than 300 million copies ...

. In the film, a retired bachelor (

Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for Dustin Hoffman filmography, his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable charac ...

) falls in love with his neighbour, a widow (

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Widely considered one of Britain's greatest actors, she is noted for her versatility, having appeared in films and television, as well as for her numerous roles on the stage ...

) who keeps a

tortoise Tortoises ( ) are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin for "tortoise"). Like other turtles, tortoises have a shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, and like o ...

as a companion after the death of her husband. ''Roald Dahl's Esio Trot'' debuted in the United Kingdom on 1 January 2015, on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

. It was seen by 7.86 million viewers, making it the ninth-most watched programme on BBC One and across all United Kingdom TV channels for the week ending 4 January 2015.

Cast

as Mrs. Lavinia Silver *

as Mr. Henry Hoppy *

James Corden James Kimberley Corden (born 22 August 1978) is an English comedian, actor, writer, producer, singer, and television host. In the United Kingdom, he is best known for co-writing and starring in the critically acclaimed BBC sitcom '' Gavin & S ...

as The Narrator *

Richard Cordery Richard Cordery is an actor from the United Kingdom. Career Film and television Cordery's television credits include ''Rumpole of the Bailey'', as a prosecution Barrister (Series 5 Episode 6 - 1988), ''Doc Martin'' as Dennis Dodds, ''Whitechape ...

as Mr. Pringle *

Pixie Davies Pixie Love Davies (born 9 December 2006) is a British actress. Born and raised in England, she began her career in 2012, starring in the BBC's '' The Secret of Crickley Hall''. After making her film debut in '' Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger'' ...

as Roberta *

Geoffrey McGivern Geoffrey M. McGivern is a British actor in film, television, radio and stage, as well as a comedian. He is best known for originating the role of Ford Prefect in ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Career He played Ford Prefect in the ...

as the Pet Shop Owner *

Jimmy Akingbola James Olatokunbo Akingbola () (born 7 April 1978) is a Nigerian-British television, theatre and film actor. He rose to fame playing PC Neil Parker in '' Holby Blue'', and subsequently Antoine Malick in its parent series ''Holby City''. He has su ...

as the keen Pet Shop Owner * Lisa Hammond as Mrs. Desmond *Anna Cannings as Mrs. Court *Joseph West as Philip *

Katie Lyons Katie Lyons (born 18 August 1981) is an English actress, most noted for her performance as Naughty Rachel in the Channel 4 sitcom ''Green Wing''. She has also appeared in ''Doc Martin'', ''The Bill'', ''EastEnders'', ''The Catherine Tate Show' ...

as Philip's Mother *Polly Kemp as the woman on Bus *

Pik-Sen Lim Pik-Sen Lim (, 15 September 1944 – 9 June 2025) was a British actress. Of Chinese ancestry, Lim was born in British Malaya and migrated to Britain to pursue a career in acting when she was 16. According to the British Film Institute, Lim was ...

as Mrs. Wu *Salo Gardner as Mr. Mavrokoukoudopolous *Emily Ralph as the Little Girl

Music

The musical score is by composer Tim Phillips. All the commercial music used in the show is that of

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

singer and trumpeter

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

and his All-Stars, which includes

Edmond Hall Edmond Hall (May 15, 1901 – February 11, 1967) was an American jazz clarinetist and bandleader. Over his career, Hall worked extensively with many leading performers as both a sideman and bandleader and is possibly best known for the 1941 cha ...

Trummy Young James "Trummy" Young (January 12, 1912 – September 10, 1984) was an American trombonist in the swing era. He established himself as a star during his 12 years performing with Louis Armstrong in Armstrong's All Stars. He had one hit with his ...

Billy Kyle William Osborne Kyle (July 14, 1914 – February 23, 1966) was an American jazz pianist. He is perhaps best known as an accompanist. Biography Kyle was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. He began playing the piano in school and ...

Arvell Shaw Arvell Shaw (September 15, 1923 – December 5, 2002) was an American jazz double-bassist, best known for his work with Louis Armstrong. Life and career He was born on September 15, 1923, in St. Louis, Missouri. Shaw learned to play tuba in high ...

and

Barrett Deems Barrett Deems (March 1, 1914 – September 15, 1998) was an American Swing music, swing drummer from Springfield, Illinois, Springfield, Illinois. He worked in bands led by Louis Armstrong, Jimmy Dorsey, Red Norvo, and Muggsy Spanier. In ''Hi ...

Differences from Dahl's novel

*Mr. Pringle (Hoppy's rival for the affections of Mrs Silver) does not appear in the novel. *In the novel, Mr. Hoppy's ruse of switching tortoises to fool Mrs. Silver into thinking that hers is growing is successful, and she never discovers the truth. In the movie, she discovers Mr. Hoppy's plan, but eventually marries him anyway.

Production

Charlotte Moore announced the television film at the

Edinburgh International Television Festival The Edinburgh International Television Festival is an annual media event held in Edinburgh, Scotland, each August that brings together delegates from the television and digital world to debate the major issues facing the industry. The Festi ...

on 22 August 2013. It was produced by

Hilary Bevan Jones Hilary Bevan Jones is a British television producer. In 1994 she started Endor Productions, choosing the name from that of the novel ''The Road to Endor'' by E. H. Jones, her grandfather.Dearbhla Walsh Dearbhla Walsh is an Irish film and television director who has worked on drama series for several television channels in Ireland and the United Kingdom, including episodes of ''EastEnders'', '' Shameless'' and ''The Tudors''. She won the 2009 ...

. Bevan Jones said, "To bring together two of the world's favourite actors in Dame Judi and Dustin is a dream come true. Richard and Paul have captured the magic of Roald Dahl’s wonderful tale and I am thrilled that Dearbhla is to direct it." It was adapted by

and

Paul Mayhew-Archer Paul William Mayhew-Archer MBE (born 6 January 1953Find The Comp ...

, and filming took place in May 2014 in London. The apartment block featured in the film is Adelaide Wharf in

Haggerston Haggerston is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Hackney. It is in East London and part of the East End of London, East End. There is an Haggerston (ward), electoral ward called Haggerston within the borough. H ...

Reviews

The adaptation received praise, with

Lucy Mangan Lucy Mangan (born 1974) is a British journalist and author. She is a columnist, features writer and TV critic for ''The Guardian'' and an opinion writer for '' i'' news. Early life and education Mangan was born in 1974 and grew up in Catford, ...

in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' writing, "An utterly, completely, inescapably beguiling adaptation of Roald Dahl's book by Richard Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer, directed by Dearbhla Walsh, narrated by James Corden and starring Dustin Hoffman and Judi Dench. You could argue that with a pedigree like that nothing could have gone wrong, but it doesn’t work like that. Although you can maximise your chances of being able to conjure it, charm is ineffable, alchemical. You can't measure it out by the yard and cut it off when you've got enough. You can't splash it on to a scene and then stopper it to make sure you've got enough for the next take. It just … appears, if you're careful and if you're lucky. And then it ripples through your film, or your play or your book, animating all and subtly transforming everything from a prosaic good – or even great – into a thing of wonder."

Awards

References

External links

* * {{Richard Curtis British television films Films based on British novels Films based on children's books Films based on works by Roald Dahl Films about turtles Films shot in England Films about pets British English-language television shows Films with screenplays by Richard Curtis 2015 television films 2015 films 2010s English-language films