Horrid Henry

Bearable adaptation of the unbearable book series. The biggest difficulty with Francesca Simon's original Horrid Henry – aside from the abundance of snot / poo jokes (because that's what boys like, of course) and the irritating, Stan Lee-esque alliteration – is the absence of a single likeable character. Teachers are by turns downtrodden and unremittingly steely, classmates are an amalgamation of awkward stereotypes, younger brother is a sickening sycophant and Mum and Dad are hopeless – while Henry himself is an obnoxious, irredeemable brat. The TV series counters this by turning him into an anti-hero, frequently holding the moral high ground through underhand techniques, much like the new Dennis the Menace. It shouldn't work, but it does. Could do without the grungy theme song, though. — James

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