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Ethel & Ernest (2016)

Name: Ethel & Ernest
Genre: Animation, Drama, History, War
Released: 2016-10-15
Duration: 94 min
Rating: 7.5
Cast: Jim Broadbent, Brenda Blethyn, Luke Treadaway, Roger Allam, Virginia McKenna

Ethel & Ernest (2016), directed by Roger Mainwood, starring Jim Broadbent and Brenda Blethyn.

10 10/15/2016 BR Animation, Drama, History and War 1h 34m

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Forty years of change. One enduring love.

Synopsis

This hand drawn animated film, based on the award winning graphic novel by Raymond Briggs, is an intimate and affectionate depiction of the life and times of his parents, two ordinary Londoners living through extraordinary events.

Fraser TaggartCinematography
Roger MainwoodDirector, Screenplay
Richard OverallEditing
Camilla DeakinProducer

About the film

Ethel & Ernest is a 2016 British animated biographical film directed by Roger Mainwood. The film is based on the 1998 graphic memoir of the same name written by Raymond Briggs, and follows Briggs' parents, Ethel and Ernest, through their period of marriage from 1928 to their deaths in 1971. It was broadcast on television on BBC One on 28 December 2016.

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Plot

The film details the marriage of Ethel and Ernest Briggs from the 1920s to the 1970s, as they live through extraordinary events occurring in that period.

Cast

Jim Broadbent as Ernest Briggs

Brenda Blethyn as Ethel Briggs

Luke Treadaway as Raymond Briggs

Harry Collett as young Raymond Briggs

Roger Allam as Doctor Trotter

Pam Ferris as Mrs. Bennett and Aunt Betty

Virginia McKenna as Lady Foxworthy

Peter Wight as Detective Sergeant Burnley

June Brown as Ernest's Stepmother

Simon Day as Alf

Production

The film was originally to be produced by John Coates, notable for producing The Snowman. When Coates died in 2012, Camilla Deakin and Ruth Fielding (Lupus Films) were then hired to help complete the film. The voice cast for the film was revealed on 3 August 2015. The film was made of 67,680 hand-drawn individual frames.

The film's soundtrack has a score by Carl Davis, but also uses songs of the period featured relevant to scenes of the film by Bert Lown, Al Bowlly, Ambrose and his Orchestra, Joe Daniels and his Hotshots, Florence Desmond, Jack Hylton, Gracie Fields, Charles Penrose, Juliette Greco, The Shadows and Dave Berry, and closes with an original song "In The Blink Of An Eye" written and performed by Paul McCartney.

Release

The film made its official debut in the 60th BFI London Film Festival. The film made its theatrical premiere in the U.S. at the Nuart Landmark Theatre in Santa Monica, California, on 15 December 2017.

Reception

Critical response

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an average rating of 97%, with an average score of 7.5/10, based on 35 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "Gentle, poignant, and vividly animated, Ethel & Ernest is a warm character study with an evocative sense of time and place." On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating, the film has a score of 72 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

References

External links

Ethel & Ernest at IMDb

Ethel & Ernest (film) at Discogs

Text from Ethel & Ernest (film) on Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethel_&_Ernest_(film)

Trivia

It premiered on October 15, 2016, a Saturday.
It runs 1h34 — a typical feature length.
It won 0 award(s) and received 2 nomination(s) on record at Wikidata — European Film Award for Best Animated Feature Film among them.
As of September 20, 2026, it is on no subscription service in Brazil — only to rent or buy on Claro video, Apple TV Store, Amazon Video.
This film's quiz has 13 questions — enough to play more than once without repeats.

Production

StudiosLupus Films, Cloth Cat, BFI, BBC, Melusine Productions, The Little Film Company
CountriesUnited Kingdom
LanguagesEnglish
StatusReleased

More about this film

Nominations

European Film Award for Best Animated Feature Film 2017
Annecy Cristal for a Feature Film 2017

Based on

Ethel and Ernest

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Cast

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Crew

Fraser Taggart Cinematography
Roger Mainwood Director
Richard Overall Editing
Camilla Deakin Producer
Ruth Fielding Producer
Stéphan Roelants Producer
Carl Davis Original music
Roger Mainwood Screenplay

Questions about this film

What is Ethel & Ernest about?

Ethel & Ernest: This hand drawn animated film, based on the award winning graphic novel by Raymond Briggs, is an intimate and affectionate depiction of the life and times of his parents, two ordinary Londoners living through extraordinary events.

Who directed Ethel & Ernest?

Ethel & Ernest was directed by Roger Mainwood in 2016.

Who stars in Ethel & Ernest?

The cast of Ethel & Ernest includes Jim Broadbent, Brenda Blethyn, Luke Treadaway, Roger Allam and Virginia McKenna.

How long is Ethel & Ernest?

Ethel & Ernest runs for 94 minutes, or 1h34.

Where can I watch Ethel & Ernest?

Ethel & Ernest is available on Claro video, Apple TV Store, Amazon Video and Google Play Movies. Availability changes often: the list on this page is the most recent we received.

What is Ethel & Ernest based on?

Ethel & Ernest is based on Ethel and Ernest.