Likeable youth, veteran actors carry 'The Velveteen Rabbit'

THE VELVETEEN RABBIT — ★★ — Matthew Harbour, Una Kay; and starring the voices of Ellen Burstyn, Tom Skerritt and others; rated G (violence); Carmike 12 and Ritz 15

These days, even employing the traditional, 2-D cel style of animation seems like a quaint notion.

And admittedly, the quality of the animation in "The Velveteen Rabbit" does pale in comparison to the computer-generated wonders of Disney/Pixar's Academy Award-winning "WALL-E" and the stop-motion magic of next year's surefire Oscar nominee "Coraline."

Yet for a modestly budgeted production, this live-action/animation hybrid has a few things in its favor that its competition does not. For one thing, it's nearly completely free of objectionable material (it was co-produced by Utah's Feature Film for Families, which is pretty diligent about such things).

And it's a little more strident in its message about the importance of family togetherness, which isn't a bad thing.

Inspired by the classic Margery Williams tale, this family fantasy/drama follows Toby Morgan (Matthew Harbour), a lonely youngster.

Toby's father (Kevin Jubinville) is still in mourning over the death of his wife and feels too overwhelmed to take care of his son. So, he's sent Toby to stay with his rather strict grandmother (Una Kay).

At first, it's a drastic, unpleasant change for the boy. But then he discovers the supposed, "magic attic" where his father played when he was a boy.

Among the things Toby discovers in there is a stuffed rabbit toy, which was apparently meant to be a gift from his mother. So the imaginative boy becomes convinced the toy has come to life — and it becomes his most trusted "friend."

Director Michael Landon Jr. ("The Last Sin Eater") and screenwriter Cindy Kelley spend considerably time exploring this somewhat unusual friendship, and the wishes of both characters — Toby desperately wants to have a close-knit, loving family, while the rabbit wants to become a real-life animal.

The animated fantasy sequences are more memorable than the live-action ones.

But Canadian actor Harbour is pretty likable and is aided by the veteran performers in the supporting cast.

Ellen Burstyn voices a toy swan that comes to life in similar fashion; Tom Skerritt is the voice of a rocking horse.

(And Jane Seymour is heard from, albeit briefly — as the voice of Toby's late mother.)

"The Velveteen Rabbit" is rated G but does feature some mild, child-in-peril elements and a brief snowball fight. Running time: 90 minutes.

E-mail: jeff@desnews.com