Here Come the Littles

"Here Come the Littles" is a 1985 animated film from Atlantic Releasing. Produced in Luxembourg, and directed by Bernard Deyriès, it was DiC Entertainment's first feature film. It was based on both John Peterson's series of books, "The Littles", and is a prequel to the ABC animated show that followed it, telling how Henry Bigg first met The Littles.

Plot

Henry Bigg learns that his parents, who were on an archaeological trip in Africa, have been lost; their plane was found, but there was no sign of them. Henry's housekeeper, Mrs. Evans, tells him that his Uncle Augustus is his next of kin and therefore his legal guardian. Since Augustus doesn't want a housekeeper, and doesn't want to move to Henry's house (for reasons that become clear later in the movie), Henry moves to his uncle's house alone.

Meanwhile, in the walls of Henry's house, Tom and Lucy Little snag an apple that Mrs. Evans had left for Henry. To repay Henry for the apple, Tom and Lucy decide to find Henry's lucky rabbit's foot, which he wanted to take with him but couldn't find, and sneak it in Henry's suitcase as a going-away present. Unfortunately, Tom and Lucy get trapped in Henry's suitcase, and Grandpa, along with Cousin Dinky, are forced to go to Augustus' house to look for them. They soon learn that Augustus is ill-tempered and mean-spirited, treating Henry more like a slave than a nephew. Augustus also wants to tear Henry's house down so he can build a shopping center on the land and make money.

Grandpa and Dinky find Tom and Lucy, but a cat wrecks Dinky's glider before they can escape. Tom tries to tame the cat, and eventually succeeds, but an attempted escape from Augustus' house with the cat fails. A second attempt to leave, this time with a gas-powered toy plane, also fails. During this attempt, Henry discovers Grandpa and Dinky but doesn't know who -- or what -- they are. Augustus also discovers them, but believing them to be toys, grabs them from Henry and locks them in the desk drawer in his study.

To rescue Grandpa and Dinky, Lucy persuades Tom to talk to Henry -- a bold move considering that the Littles had lived in the Biggs' walls for many years without the latter knowing that they even exist. Henry agrees to search for Grandpa and Dinky, eventually finding them in Augustus' study. He also creates a diversion to allow Tom and Lucy to rescue Grandpa and Dinky. This results in Augustus locking Henry in his room.

The Littles unsuccessfully make a third attempt to escape, this time with the plane tied to the cat. By this time Lucy has gotten hungry, so she and Tom go off in search of food. Tom gets caught in a jar of honey, forcing everyone to delay their plans so they can get Henry out of his room to rescue Tom. At first Grandpa resists, but after learning that Henry already knows about the Littles, consents.

A fourth attempt to escape with the plane finally succeeds, but causes a fire in the garage which wakes up Augustus. Henry attempts to go to the police but gets lost and is eventually caught by Augustus. The Littles, however, distract Augustus long enough for Henry to run to the police station. Meanwhile, Augustus calls the demolition crew to tell them to begin tearing down the Biggs' place without him.

When the Littles get to Henry's house, they split up. Grandpa looks for Mr. and Mrs. Little while the others try to stop the bulldozer from wrecking the house. Both plans succeed just in the nick of time. Augustus finally arrives but is met by Henry and the police, which in turn arrest Augustus.

Henry is reunited with Mrs. Evans and learns that his parents have been found. As Henry gets ready to meet his parents at the airport, he comments that if he hadn't had his lucky rabbit's foot, he doesn't know what he would have done... and casts a knowing wink at the grate, where the Littles watch.

ee also

*List of animated feature-length films

External links

*imdb title|id=0089272
*mojo title|id=herecomethelittles
*bcdb title|id=20618