Night of the Zoopocalypse

you’re a fan of old-style sci-fi movies then you might get a bit more from this quite enjoyable animated feature. It all happens when a mysterious asteroid lands amidst an urban zoo and from it emerges a critter that likes to absorb any life forms it finds. Ergo, a bit like in “Gremlins” (1984), we soon have a multitude of these glowing bug-eyed animals ranging from the smallest frog to a giant gorilla marauding all over the place. Luckily, plucky Wolf “Gracie” had got herself into an altercation earlier in the evening so was safely incarcerated in the vet’s office alongside a large mountain lion and a sagely French monkey who seems determined on providing us with a commentary of events comparing what now ensues with the plots of the aforementioned movies. In keeping with that spirit, we just know that the only way to thwart this expansive alien will be something as plain as the noses on their faces, but can the team stay in absorbed long enough to discover just what that is? This is quite good fun, fairly action-packed and has the best cable car contretemps since Richard Burton’s in “Where Eagle’s Dare” back in 1968! I know it’s a bit cheesy, but I also couldn’t help liking the Pygmy hippo ”Poot” whom, ordinarily, I’d just want to roast but here I found her to be quite friendly. You’ll probably never remember this film, but if you do recall those pesky “Triffids” and their other pals from the “Outer Limits”, then it might make you smile.