Why you can trust 12DOVE
Britain’s favourite literary brat gets his first big-screen outing, which is manic with primary-coloured mayhem but little else.
Henry (Theo Stevenson) and his Purple Hand Gang try to save their sinking school from the machinations of rival headmaster Vic Van Winkle (elegantly evil Richard E. Grant).
Kids will enjoy the gobby tween attitude and energy, but the paper-thin plot and extraneous 3D antics don’t provide the solid laughs of, say, Diary Of A Wimpy Kid.
There’s little for the adult cast to chew on, but Anjelica Huston’s glowering gargoyle of a teacher is eminently enjoyable.
Kate is a freelance film journalist and critic. Her bylines have appeared online and in print for GamesRadar, Total Film, the BFI, Sight & Sounds, and WithGuitars.com.