Horrid Henry: The Movie

Plot

Horrid Henry uses his magnetic yoyo to steal cookies from Moody Margaret's Secret Club. Before he can eat them, his mother tells him to do his homework. The next morning, Henry searches for his homework, only to find that after he left it on the dining room table, the other members of the household variously spilled milk on it, stepped on it, and squashed it into the couch, leaving it a mess. He leaves it behind and has his friend Brainy Brian forge a note from his mother saying his cat ate it. His teacher, Miss Battle-Axe, realizes the note is forged and that Henry did not do it himself, since Brian spelled "homework" correctly, something Henry is incapable of doing. With Henry in detention, his friends join him to practice for a talent contest. Miss Oddbod, the headteacher, and a pair of school inspectors walk in on their rehearsal.

Vic Van Wrinkle, headteacher of the exorbitantly expensive Brick House School, has been bribing the school inspectors to put pressure on Ashton Primary, the school Henry attends, in order to justify closing the school. Van Wrinkle stands to make a fortune from the resulting influx of pupils. Horrid Henry and Moody Margret's misbehavior prompts Miss Oddbody to fire Miss Battle-Axe and Miss Lovely for failing to enforce discipline, and the school inspectors encourage Henry's pranks.

With Ashton Primary on the brink of closing, Henry's Great Aunt Gretta volunteers to put up the money to transfer Henry to an all-girls school (since she thinks Henry is a girl) and his younger brother Peter to Brick House. Miss Lovely gets a job at Brick House, where she notices the school inspectors. Peter distracts the staff and pupils by performing numerous arrangements of "Frère Jacques" so that Miss Lovely can spy on Van Wrinkle and the inspectors. She is caught by Van Wrinkle, but covertly passes notes about his plan to Peter. Meanwhile, Henry's new schoolmates immediately realize he is a boy and begin hunting him. Margaret, who has also been transferred to the school, comes to Henry's aid, and the two escape. The traumatic experience motivates them to work together to save Ashton Primary. Henry decides to win the talent contest with his 'Zero Zombies' band, in the naive hope that this will make them famous enough that they won't shut the school down.

After the band wins the contest, Miss Oddbod informs Henry that fame is irrelevant in this case. Henry is later invited onto TV programme '2 Cool 4 School', where he can win a cash prize, which Margaret points out that they can use to bribe the school inspectors to leave Ashton Primary alone. In the final round of the competition he is confronted with Miss Battle-Axe, who challenges him to spell "homework". Recalling Miss Battle-Axe's early admonitions and using "Oh Henry, you horrid boy" as a mnemonic device, he correctly spells "homework" with two "o"s for the first time.

Peter and his friends try to rescue Miss Lovely, but are captured by Van Wrinkle. Miss Lovely tricks him into explaining his plan while Peter has her mobile phone call the school so that Miss Oddbod can hear. Miss Oddbod calls the police, who proceed to Van Wrinkle's office. Vic attempts to escape but trips and falls since Peter tied his shoelaces together. Henry returns and offers the cash prize to Miss Oddbod, who declines it. At Margaret's suggestion, the money is used for the party of a lifetime instead.

Release

Horrid Henry: The Movie was theatrically released on 29 July 2011 in the United Kingdom by Vertigo Films. Phase 4 Films and Entertainment One released the film in theatres in the United States and Canada on 22 December 2012. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 9 November 2012.

Critical reception

The film opened at #5 in the box office in the United Kingdom with £1.3 million, in a top ten led by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 and Captain America: The First Avenger. It was knocked down the next week to #7, by Super 8 and Mr. Popper's Penguins.

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 10% of 21 critics have given the film a positive review; the rating average is 3.6 out of 10. Common criticisms included the unfunny, juvenile humor, stuttering plot, and unimaginative use of stereoscopy. The bright color palette was widely praised, but generally said to be wasted given the overall low quality of the movie.

Leslie Felperin of Variety stated, "Thinly scripted, even for a kidpic, but luridly colored enough to keep even nap-needing tots (or parents) awake, this sophomore effort by Brit helmer Nick Moore (“Wild Child”) reps something of a waste of its impressive roster of supporting-thesp talent, while its use of 3D is likewise less than imaginative."

Derek Adams offered the film mild praise in Time Out: "‘Horrid Henry’ is indelibly flawed and disorderly in tone but not devoid of rambunctious charm." What Culture named it the number 3 worst film of 2011. When interviewed on Desert Island Discs by Kirsty Young, Horrid Henry book author Francesca Simon stated that "I haven't seen it (the movie)...I had nothing to do with it."

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was released on January 1, 2011, New Year's Day, by Universal Music TV.