This adaptation is a lovely look at the lives of 2 'average' London folks who happen to be the parents of the author Raymond Briggs who is best known for The Snowman, a Christmas favourite for nearly everyone. The story takes you from the couples marriage to their deaths and on it's way, takes you through the history of England from pre World War II on through to the 1970s. On it's way. the atmospheric animation of the second world war is beautifully and tastefully done, and gives one a real taste of what life was like. Anderson shelters, Morrison shelters, The Blitz, the docklands on fire, Spitfires, Doodle Bugs and more. I'd recommend this film to anyone from 9 to 90 and past.

I saw this cartoon film advertised in the paper, and I searched for an image of the graphic novel it is based on, I sort of recognised it, I loved the films The Snowman and Father Christmas, so I was looking forward to another Raymond Briggs adaptation. Basically it tells the story of Briggs parents, Ethel (Brenda Blethyn) and Ernest (Jim Broadbent), from their meeting in 1928 until their deaths in 1971. London milkman Ernest courts and marries housemaid Ethel, they have son Raymond in 1934, during the breakout of the Second World War. Raymond must be evacuated to the countryside, Ethel tearfully allows him to leave to live with his aunts in Dorset, while Ernest joins the fire service to tackle to shocking carnage from various bombings and attacks on the city. Eventually hostility ends ans Raymond returns home, Ethel and Ernest are concerned of his choice to enter a grammar school to study art, he goes on to from National Service to art college and a teaching post. Ethel and Ernest meanwhile continue to live their lives together mostly at home, Ernest is easygoing and has an interest modern progress and technology, while Ethel does her duties and concerns, this includes her worrying for adult Raymond (Luke Treadaway) when he marries schizophrenic Jean (Karyn Claydon). Ethel and Ernest listen to the radio and watch television to overhear and watch the most momentous social and political developments of the 20th century. The Briggs family is struck by tragedy when Ethel slips away, developing Alzheimer's, she dies and leaves Ernest to grieve, but then he passes away later the same year, Raymond mourns, but goes on to have a successful career as an author and illustrator. Also starring Pam Ferris as Mrs. Bennett / Aunty Betty, Roger Allam as Middle Aged Doctor, Peter Wight as Detective Sergeant Burnley, Virginia McKenna as Lady of the House, June Brown as Ernest's Step Mother and Simon Day as Alf. Broadbent and Blethyn are well chosen to voice the real- life characters of the story, they are very pleasant people with nice normal lives, it is mostly just them talking about the recent events of the time, and doing household things, there is no real story as such, it just works well as a great look at social interaction and how the world around you can affect you, and it has splendid animation, it is a wonderfully simple and enjoyable animated drama. Very good!

Thanks to them being shown every Christmas on TV,I can't remember an X-mas where I've not seen at least one of the classic adaptations of Raymond Briggs's books. With the films that were shown during the holidays about to be removed,I looked out for anything I missed,and found out about a brand new Briggs adaptation,which led to me going to meet Ethel and Ernest. The plot: Meeting in the 1920's,Lady Maid Ethel falls in love with a milkman called Ernest. Settling down in London,Ethel and Raymond Briggs have a child called Raymond. Whilst going about their daily lives, Ernest hears on the radio that Hitler has gained power in Germany. View on the film: Opening with a live action intro from Briggs,writer/director Roger Mainwood gives the title an incredibly warm,intimate atmosphere,drawn from immaculate animation painted with an expert mix of detailed designs for the house that the couple spend their life in,and light watercolours, emulating the melancholy of a fading photo. Witnessing the couple go from the fears of WWII to the swinging 60's,Mainwood delicately plays the score/background noises to land on each era,from the radio announcement of the UK being at war with Nazi Germany,to the feel-good anthems of the post-war years. Staying close to Briggs's original book,the screenplay by Mainwood gives Ernest & Ethel an exquisite sense of humour,with gentle one liners displaying how relaxed,and loved up they are with each other. Ending on an incredibly heart wrenching moment,Mainwood finds a Poignancy in the earthy daily life of the couple, shining from Ernest having to black out the windows during air raids,to Ernest and Ethel (brilliantly voiced with a rustic grit by Brenda Blethyn and Jim Broadbent ) becoming aware of the passage of time,as they see their only son Raymond leave for art collage,from where he would later pay tribute to his parents:Ethel and Ernest.

If imitation really IS the sincerest form of flattery then Noel Coward is wallowing in it wherever he may be. Having pioneered the idea of telling a story of real people seen against the backdrop of changing times between the Boer War and 1930 in Cavalcade he refined it to tell the story of the Gibbons family of Clapham 'between' the wars'. taking in the Wembley Exhibition of 1924, the General Strike of 1926, the Abdication in 1936, Chamberlain's Peace In Our Time and the outbreak of World War Two. Against this backdrop the Gibbons', mother, father, their three children, Reg, Vi and Queenie, lived and loved, married, died, ran away from home, returned, all depicted by a master craftsman. Now Raymond Briggs 'borrows' the formula and employs it to tell the simple, yet tremendously affecting story of his own parents, from their meeting, courting, marriage, his own birth, evacuation, return, time in college, marriage and death of his parents. There will, of course, be those with no knowledge of Cavalcade or This Happy Breed who may credit Briggs with inventing this method of storytelling. No matter, Coward would probably not begrudge him his moment in the sun and it is a film choc full of both charm and sentiment, one that can stand multiple viewings.

I was totally absorbed by this film throughout. No film since has won me over with its warmth and gritty reality of how life was for many during that era. Buy it for the kids. Buy it for yourself. But watch it with love.

Illustrator Raymond Brigg's linear account of his parents' lives shows the ordinary story of a family as it moves through the century. While the animation is decent, these characters who speak while describing the world quickly become unbearable. One has the impression of being in the head of old people who are attached to the smallest material details. The story suffocates under its description.

ETHEL & ERNEST is the latest screen adaptation of a Raymond Briggs graphic novel, following on from the age-old classics like THE SNOWMAN and FATHER Christmas. While this outing can't hold a candle to the best of the Briggs productions, it's well worth a look for fans of the author. The interesting thing about ETHEL & ERNEST is that it's a true story, an autobiographical account of the lives of Briggs's parents in the middle part of the 20th century. The story is kept deliberately small scale and charts everyday life in a realistic way. I liked the way that it's deliberately set in a single house for the most part, but in this house we witness the great events of the 20th century play out, mostly thanks to the newspapers and wireless. The characters of the married couple are kept very realistic and down to earth, and I suppose that's what counts. I didn't care for the casting of Broadbent or Blethyn in the roles: these are two overexposed actors whose voices are so recognisable that they spoil the effect; unknown voice actors would have been much better. The animation of the characters is also very modern, although the backgrounds are excellently detailed.

This is based on British graphic novelist Raymond Briggs' parents. It's 1928 London. Ernest Briggs (Jim Broadbent) rides his bike to work every day and he catches the eye of a Lady's maid Ethel (Brenda Blethyn) in her 30s. She's surprised when he shows up at the door asking for a date. It's the start of a life long love affair. This reminds me of the first five minutes of Up. It's a poignant portrayal of a love that is built over a lifetime. It's not a happily ever after riding into the sunset. It's a life of living together, loving together, and working together. There are personal struggles and living under world struggles. It always hits me when a husband or wife can't survive after the death of the other. It's a good tissue movie.

Ethel & Ernest is a tribute by author Raymond Briggs to his working class parents. Both meet in 1928, Ethel who is older, is a maid to a wealthy family. Ernest, a milkman who is 5 years her junior waves at her every day and then one day brings her flowers and asks her out. Ernest is a Labour supporter, Ethel believe that the toffs are born to rule and is a Conservative. They get married and Ernest saves enough money to put down a deposit for a house and get a mortgage. Eventually little Raymond arrives but they could not have anymore children. When war breaks out Raymond is sent to the country where he would be away from the bombing raids. After the war, Ernest cheers on the creation of the welfare state but ongoing rationing places a strain. As Raymond gets older, he does his bit in National Service and later goes to art school and insists on having long hair. The film becomes more episodic as we go through the swinging sixties and eventually to their old age. Ernest, ever the optimist, although it dawns on him that as a manual worker, he was always relatively low paid (he finds out that Raymond could earn just as much as him by working one day in art school) but he did manage to buy a house in London and eventually purchased a car. A charming animated film of two people in love and coping with events but also a social history of the twentieth century. Lovely voice work from Brenda Blethyn and Jim Broadbent.

I suspect that most viewers of "Ethel & Ernest" - especially those who hail from the United Kingdom - will find this movie extremely charming. I thought it was charming as well, though I did have a few issues with it. The movie does manage to do enough things right to make it worth a look. The animation and art design is extremely well done. It captures the look of Raymond Briggs' drawing, and it's appropriately detailed right down to the shadows the characters make. The movie moves from vignette to vignette fairly quickly, so there are no slow spots. And all the characters in the movie (especially the title characters) have that aforementioned charm that always engages the viewer. Still, while I thought that the movie was GOOD, I didn't find it to be GREAT. The main weakness with the movie is with its storytelling style. Although the narrative of the movie is never boring, it is all the same very rushed. I often wished the movie would slow down significantly so we could soak in the color and feeling of a particular moment. The rushed style also weakens the title characters quite a bit. They could have been better developed, letting us know more about what they were feeling or thinking. As it is, they are somewhat weak, so much so that at the (rushed) ending, there isn't the emotional feeling from the movie that you would think there is. Despite the weaknesses, the movie is still worth a look, and it manages to be entertaining enough. Just keep your expectations a little subdued, and you should find the movie enjoyable.