''The Ugly Duckling and Me!'' is a 2006 animated film directed by Michael Hegner and
Karsten Kiilerich. Intended for a family audience, it is a modern adaptation of the 1843 fairy tale "
The Ugly Duckling" by
Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales.
Andersen's fai ...
. ''The Yorkshire Post'' described it as a "feel good" film for family audiences. The film follows over a rat named Ratso who strives to become a famous showman. His life changes when an egg falls out of its nest revealing an ugly duckling with brushy grey wings, and he is forced to becomes a father.
Smith, Damon. "Review, The Ugly Duckling and Me!" ''The Yorkshire Post''. 8 February 2008
Online. 23 June 2009. It also won an award at the China International Cartoon and Digital Art Festival. The film initially premiered in Denmark on 6 April 2006.
Plot
Ratso is a success-starved city rat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include '' Neotoma'' (pack rats), '' Bandicota'' (bandicoo ...
impresario who deals with business in the world of entertainment: his assistant is a worm
Worms are many different distantly related bilateria, bilateral animals that typically have a long cylindrical tube-like body, no limb (anatomy), limbs, and usually no eyes.
Worms vary in size from microscopic to over in length for marine ...
named Wesley, who he passes off as the "longest worm in the world" by sticking him through a straw. Ratso's dream is to become a famous showman but his shows are terrible. He plans to take Wesley to a "carnival" where, according to him, his pen-pal cousin Ernie hosts the most acclaimed shows in the animal world. Wesley quits so Ratso takes him by force. Suddenly the two are chased by Phillis and her two brothers, a family of rats who Ratso is on the run from.
After a short train ride, the two fall into a bird's nest, where an egg starts to hatch and knocks them out of it. While Wesley ends up inside a tequila
Tequila (; ) is a liquor, distilled beverage made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila, Jalisco, Tequila northwest of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Guadalajara, and in the Jaliscan Highlands (''Los Altos (Jal ...
bottle, Ratso and the egg fall into a farm full of chicken
The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...
s and duck
Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...
s called the duckyard. When they threaten and accuse him of egg-theft, Ratso lies that the egg is his and his "wife" was a duck from the duckyard. A friendly duck named Daphne back him up. The egg hatches to reveal an ugly baby bird they presume to be a duckling, who now recognizes Ratso as his parent. Ratso is forced to keep "Ugly" and stay in the duckyard. To escape, the latter spends months digging a tunnel to overcome the fence, creating a mound of earth which he passes for a mountain with a stage for the little duckling he has adopted to perform. He attempts to abandon Ugly and find Wesley but, upon seeing how the audience laughs at the ugly duckling's bazare moves, changes his mind and brings him along instead. Phillis finds Wesley and he tells her where Ratso is going.
Following a map Ernie sent Ratso, Ugly and Ratso travel through a wood and encounter a fox, from which they rescue a female goose named Jessie. Ugly drives it off with his face and they take refuge in an abandoned Volkswagen Beetle
The Volkswagen Beetle, officially the Volkswagen Type 1, is a small family car produced by the German company Volkswagen from 1938 to 2003. One of the most iconic cars in automotive history, the Beetle is noted for its distinctive shape. Its pr ...
where they sleep for the night.
The very next morning, Ugly suddenly grows into a teenager and treats his adopted father rudely. The two are joined by Jessie, whom Ugly falls instantly in-love with, much to Ratso's chagrin. Ratso tries to cross a frozen river, failing to notice the bridge, but is attacked by a pike and Ugly saves his father. Upon seeing Ugly's face, the pike spits them out of the river to the other side.
As the three continue, Ugly dances for Jessie but she unintentionally laughs and he pushes her away. Jessie begins to understand Ratso's intentions and tries to dissuade him from humiliating Ugly on stage, but apparently the rat does not listen to her. Once they reach the carnival, which turns out to be an old abandoned amusement park
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...
, they are ambushed by Phillis and her brothers and attacked by a tabby cat
A tabby cat, or simply tabby, is any domestic cat (''Felis catus'') with a Cat_coat_genetics#Tabbies , coat pattern distinguished by an M-shaped marking on its forehead, stripes by its eyes and across its cheeks, along its back, around its leg ...
. The cat however is revealed to be Ratso's cousin Ernie, with a living hand puppet
A hand puppet is a type of puppet that is controlled by the hands that occupies the interior of the puppet.Sinclair, A, ''The Puppetry Handbook'', p.15 A glove puppet is a variation of hand puppets. Rod puppets require one of the puppeteer's han ...
named William. Now Ratso has protection from Phillis, so she plans to lure him to her.
Before starting the show, Ratso begins to doubt his idea, thinking back to what Jessie said. However, Ugly decides to throw himself onto the stage to try to help his father and also prove he is more than he looks. Before Ratso can stop him, Ugly dances and is laughed at by the entire audience. He realizes that Ratso's plan was to become famous by making the ugly duckling look ridiculous, and leaves saddened and embittered. Suddenly the young duck is captured by Phillis, who has meanwhile taken over the duckyard. She tells Ratso to come to the duckyard if he wants to see his friend again. Ratso agrees and, with Jessie, Ernie, and William, comes back for Ugly, but they are all captured by Phillis and her many family members. After being locked up together, Ratso reveals to Ugly that he is not his real father, but Ugly reveals he already knew, and that he does not care anyway, as he considers him as such, and the father and son finally lovingly embrace.
The next morning, Ratso is taken to Phillis. Ugly, fearing that his Dad will face execution, escapes the cage after turning into an adult, revealing himself to be a swan
Swans are birds of the genus ''Cygnus'' within the family Anatidae. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe (biology) ...
. However, it turns out that Phillis is actually forcing Ratso to marry her, because he is the last unattached bachelor rat left. But after finding out that Ratso has an adopted son, she becomes furious with him and starts brutally hitting him, until Ugly punches her into the wedding cake. Ratso awakens in Daphne's arms and a flock of swans arrive at the pond. They say that it is time for Ugly to join them in migrating. After saying goodbye to his father and all his friends, Ugly reluctantly joins his peers and sets off. He has always admired the swans, however, when he realizes that they are actually conceited animals who put beauty first and care nothing for love, he turns back and stays with his real family. In order not to ruin the ceremony, Ratso gives Ugly permission to declare himself to Jessie, so the wedding between the two is celebrated and all the characters dance throughout the end-credits.
TV series
The same year, there was a TV series based on the movie. It takes place during Ratso and baby Ugly's stay in the duckyard.
The TV series' voice cast
* Patrick Van Wagenen – Ugly/Lou/Chick Bully #3
* Christiana Anbri – Egg
* Lloyd Floyd – Ratso
* Emma Weaver – Hen
* Aileen Mythen – Chick Bully #1
* Gracie Sisto – Daphne
* Gabriella Malek – Emmy
* Becca Lish – Brown Hen #1
Reception
TBA
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ugly Duckling and Me!
2006 films
2006 animated films
M6 Films films
Danish animated films
English-language Danish films
English-language French films
English-language German films
British animated feature films
2000s French-language films
Animated films based on The Ugly Duckling
Animated films about rats
Films directed by Karsten Kiilerich
2000s British films
Warner Bros. animated films