The Highway Rat (2018)

Well he is a rat, after all, so we ought to expect him too be a bit of a terror. He sits astride his horse doing his own version of Dick Turpin - only maybe that should be "Nick" as he usually, and sometimes quite threateningly, steals the food from the mouths of just about everyone he encounters. He thinks his luck is truly in when he encounters a duck, but she's no fool. She tells him of a place were there are cakes and chocolates galore and his greed soon gets the better of his common sense with rather parable-esque consequences for just about everyone. It's the horse that steals this for me, but the other characters each have their part to play in demonstrating the merits of share and share alike, especially when faced with a bully. It's quite funny at times, and the style of animation is detailed and engaging - if perhaps just a little linear. This is enjoyable family fayre that effortlessly passes half an hour without labouring the points it's quite powerfully making.