Napoleon (1995 film)

Napoleon
Directed by	Mario Andreacchio
Produced by	Michael Bourchier Mario Andreacchio
Written by	Michael Bourchier Mario Andreacchio Mark Saltzman
Starring	Jamie Croft Philip Quast
Music by	Bill Conti
Cinematography	Roger Dowling
Edited by	Edward McQueen-Mason
Production company	Blink Films Adelaide Motion Picture Company Australian Film Finance Corporation Nippon-Herald Films Pony Canyon
Distributed by	The Samuel Goldwyn Company
Release dates	26 December 1996 (1996-12-26)
Running time	81 minutes
Country	Australia Japan
Language	English
Budget	A$4.3 million

Napoleon is a 1995 Australian family film directed by Mario Andreacchio, and written by Michael Bourchier, Mario Andreacchio and Mark Saltzman about a golden retriever puppy who runs away from his city home to the wild dogs.

Plot summary

The story begins in Sydney, Australia, where Napoleon aka "Muffin", is living with a human family and his own mother. Napoleon wishes to be with the wild dogs he can hear howling in the distance. The family has a birthday party and one of the decorations is a basket with balloons strapped to it. Out of curiosity, Napoleon hops inside, but the basket, untied from its tether, begins to float away.

Napoleon flies out high above the city heading out to sea. Terrified of the water, Napoleon panics but suddenly a galah named Birdo, drops down on the side of his basket and offers to help him get down. Birdo's idea of help is to pop the balloons suspending the basket, causing Napoleon to land unharmed on a beachhead.

Napoleon thinks he can finally seek out the wild dogs and heads into a nearby forest, ignoring Birdo's suggestion to return home.

At night, Napoleon starts to fear being alone. A mopoke in the forest warns Napoleon of terrible things that can happen to pets in the wild, Napoleon ignores him as well and continues on his way. He discovers a large tree that appears to have been used as a home for someone, a small patch of food. A psychotic cat spots Napoleon and thinking he is a mouse chases him. Napoleon narrowly escapes when the mopoke pushes the cat into a pond. The mopoke then warns Napoleon that the cat won't rest until he is dead. As Napoleon runs off, the cat pulls herself from the pond angrily swearing revenge.

Morning finds Napoleon at his next challenge--a river. Passing a group of annoying rainbow lorikeet mimicking everything he says, Napoleon crosses rather proud of himself. Meeting Birdo again, Napoleon reveals his nickname 'Muffin' but is overheard by the annoying birds and a green tree frog who all begin to sing and make fun of him. Embarrassed and ridiculed, Napoleon walks out onto a log near the water when he starts drifting. Birdo persuades him to swim and successfully does so. Afterward, Birdo decides to help teach Napoleon to live in the wild.

Napoleon learns hunting by practising on a group of rabbits; but is unable to catch one and ends up to eating moss. Birdo's next lessons about friendly and dangerous animals and snowy weather are also ignored. Napoleon is nearly killed when a herd of wild horses stampede towards him but unharmed he goes off on his own again. Smelling sugar and thinking it to be candy, he finds a tall sugar cane field and proceeds inside. Suddenly a brush fire burns the sugar cane, threatening to burn him as well, but with Birdo's help, he manages to escape. As the two are talking, the cat returns attempting to attack Birdo, but fails. Birdo reunites with his lost flock but the cat has found them too. Napoleon notices and saves them with a warning of the cat.

After encountering a rude lizard, Napoleon hears the howls again and Birdo again suggests that Napoleon go home. The two sadly part ways as Napoleon wants to seek the wild dogs and Birdo wants to rejoin his flock.

While resting under a tree, Napoleon sees a perentie and hears loud barking coming from it. When he speaks with it, it reveals that it makes many different noises, including the howls leading Napoleon to believe that the howling he's been hearing was just the lizard. Napoleon is heartbroken and saddened. As the area begins to flood, he runs for shelter and discovers two dingo puppies inside a damp cave and assumes they are lost like him. The water floods in and sweeps away Nancy, one of the pups. Napoleon dives into the water and rescues her out. The pups' mother returns and Napoleon realises that he has found the wild dogs. Surprised, he faints.

When he awakes he asks to live with the mother and her pups and she agrees. While out together; the mother asks why Napoleon wanted to be with the wild dogs. He explains his disappointments, but confesses he always wanted to feel brave by going on his journey. The mother comforts him by reminding him it was his courage that led him out here and helped him save her children, which represents the true spirit of the wild dogs. Wanting to go home, Napoleon has a rather bumpy return in an eccentric kangaroo's pouch. After briefly standing up to some of the animals who ridiculed him before, he returns to the shore and discovers his basket inhabited by a feisty penguin who resembles his past self; wanting to be a wild and brave creature. Night falls and Napoleon readies to sail back to the city with the basket but his plan is interrupted by the cat's final return. A battle ensues and Napoleon tries multiple times to stop the cat but the cat comes back again and again. Before she can kill Napoleon, the cat becomes distracted by the penguin, who shouts at her with taunts. Napoleon takes advantage of the distraction and knocks the cat into the basket and she disappears over the waves as she's carried away. Napoleon looks up to a cliff side to see an image of a wild dog howling, symbolising Napoleon's understanding his bravery of being a wild dog inside.

Napoleon, still needing a ride back to the city is saved when Birdo reappears with a turtle who takes Napoleon back to the city. He returns home to open paws from his mother, who consents to calling her boy Napoleon and no longer Muffin. After a fade-out and before the credits, the cat reappears one last time, seemingly have regained some of her sanity, climbing over a wall and saying "Ahh, not a mouse, a dog... dog must die!"

Voice cast

• Jamie Croft as Napoleon, a Golden Retriever pup.
• Philip Quast as Birdo, a Rose-breasted Cockatoo.
• Carole Skinner as the Cat
• Mignon Kent as Nancy
• Michael Wilkop as Sid

Production

Napoleon was the most expensive independent production to be made in South Australia at the time of production. Director Mario Andreacchio was inspired to make the film after watching The Adventures of Milo and Otis with his children. During the shoot, 64 different dogs played the title role.

Release

Napoleon grossed $2,051,855 at the box office in Australia during 1995. In Japan, the film opened on 87 screens during late February under the name Kulta, Finnish for "gold". According to Andreacchio, the Japanese public mistook the original English title for a kind of brandy.

It was released on VHS in the United States, with a different dub, on 11 August 1998 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Reception

In the US, the film received no advance screenings for critics. It however received three stars out of four from the New York Daily News. It has received positive reception from minor critics for its beautiful direction, and setting, but is panned by others for its use of songs.

See also

• Cinema of Australia
• South Australian Film Corporation

External links

• Napoleon at IMDb
• Napoleon at Rotten Tomatoes