WFG RATING: A-

Kaleidoscope Entertainment presents a Studio100 Film. Directed by Tobias Schwarz. Produced by Thorsten Wegener and Mario Sanchez. Written by Rob Sprackling. Edited by Tobias Schwarz and Sebastian Jansen. 

Starring the voices of Lilly Graffam, Tom Zahner, Leonard Lucero, Michael McCown, Andrea Dewell, Lily Held, Mike McAlpine, and Phil Lewis. 

The Alpine heroine is back in an all new adventure from the creators of Maya the Bee and Mia and Me.

Heidi is a young girl who lives in the Swiss mountains with her grandfather. She has a best friend in neighbor Peter, who also treats Heidi like family. When the two hear a strange noise one day while going for a walk, they discover a baby lynx in a trap. They decide to rescue the lynx and call her Pepper. However, when Heidi’s grandfather discovers about the lynx, he tells Heidi that she did a good thing but eventually she will have to go back to the wild.

Heidi decides to trek back to the wilderness to bring Pepper to her family. Peter tags along and the duo come across many obstacles. In the meantime, unscrupulous Mr. Schainttinger, the one who trapped Pepper in the first place, is attempting to convince the village that he can make the area prosperous. However, underneath the surface is something more sinister. When Heidi’s grandfather successfully helps her and Peter bring Pepper back to her family, they now have to find a way to stop Schainttinger. 

This animated feature brings the iconic novel character back in a new adventure. The script, written by Gnomeo and Juliet scripter Rob Sprackling, has Heidi become a hero in more ways than one. She goes from a naive Alpine girl to the village heroine by doing not one, but two things. It is understandable that despite the title, the rescuing of the lynx isn’t enough as that took not even an hour but to add to the fact there is a real villain of the film, it makes complete sense and connects it very well. 

Peter is quite the supporting character as he is like the mischievous but kindhearted brother you see in these types of films. He kind of resembles that troublemaker Randy from Pee Wee’s Playhouse, but when it all comes down to it, he does have a heart of gold and sees Heidi as a little sister, protecting her when it’s needed. Their adventure with the lynx Pepper is great to watch, but it’s the last 20 minutes that make it more exciting when Heidi discovers the true nature of the evil Schnaittinger, who not only is looking to hunt down Pepper and her family for game but also take over the village for his own personal profit. The epitome of corporate greed. 

Heidi: Rescue of the Lynx is a fun adventure for the whole family that sees the classic character go from naivety to heroic with her attempting to rescue a lynx and stop an unscrupulous businessman to save her village. This is definitely one for the family.

The film will be released in UK and Irish cinemas on August 1.