Magic Beach by Alison Lester

Magic Beach is now a movie BUT ... begin with the book - then see the movie - you and your young child will really appreciate this experience so much more if you are familiar with the book by Alison Lester.

After reading the iconic book by Alison Lester, nine children and a dog find themselves on the titular Magic Beach. They explore caves, build giant sandcastles, poke around rock pools and converse with sea creatures. This is where their animated imaginations begin… James dives with horses in the waves, sandcastles are built and destroyed in terrible wars, pirates smuggle treasure, and dreamtime serpents fly through the sky and shed their scales. The dreams of these children are limitless and reflect the uninhibited nature of being a child at the beach. The children awake from their animated imaginations to find themselves back in real life, but the beach will be in their heart forever. Movie Insider

One of our local cinemas hosted an event this week to launch the movie of Magic Beach. Sadly the advertising was a little misleading. 

Join Alison Lester, author of the classic children’s book Magic Beach and director Robert Connolly (Paper Planes, The Dry) for a special meet & greet preview screening of the new movie MAGIC BEACH. You’ll have the chance to say hello with your family and hear them introduce the film.

I expected a Q&A session between Alison Lester and the movie director - Robert Connolly. They did talk very briefly but I had so many questions and I left with these unanswered. The event was billed as a 'meet and greet' and I wrongly assumed this meant some sort of chat or interview. Here are my questions:

• Were the movie animators given a choice of which page from this 32 page picture book they would like to explore?
• Did the director have a list of animators or a list of animation styles he wanted to explore for this book? The movie uses many different forms of animation - such as digital, Claymation, and stop motion.
• Were the beach scenes filmed at the real 'Magic Beach' which is in Victoria?
• Apart from the general popularity of the book, which was written over thirty years ago, why did the director or screen writer select this book?
• What were the decisions that had to be made considering this book is not a really a narrative - it is just a set of connected scenes explored with gentle illustrations and a lyrical text.
• What went into the decision making to alter the order of scenes in the book?
• Did the director have to compromise or make changes to his original plans so the movie could be given the all-important G rating?
• Was Bigsy paid for his performance? 

Movie description: Take a trip with the ones you love through a unique mix of live action, entwined with extraordinary animated adventures that bring you to a dreamy seaside world where anything is possible. Featuring timeless characters, MAGIC BEACH is a captivating blend of reality and fantasy that inspires people of all ages to feel the sand beneath their toes and find wonder in the world around them.

In this radio interview Robert Connolly talks about Magic Beach. And also in this ABC television interview.

Alison Lester said: Magic Beach, published in 1990, features 10 children playing by the ocean and their rich imaginary adventures that have them fighting dragons, riding horses through the waves and spying on smugglers. Like all Lester’s children’s books, it leaves plenty of room for readers and listeners to use their own imaginations, which was the same approach she wanted in the movie adaptation. “I think generally we tend to fill our kids’ lives up with stuff so that they don’t have any time to be bored and imagine,” she says. “And it’s such a precious thing to be able to do that, just to take the time to be outside and letting it happen instead of everything just being fed into you.” Sydney Morning Herald

You can view the official trailer here.

Ten animators bring Alison Lester’s beloved children’s book to the screen, crafting a magical mixture of live action and animation that is destined to become a family favourite.

Animators credits

Susan Kim Danta        animator/director: Mermaid's Tale

Pierce Davison            animator/director: Castle V Castle

Jake Duczynski            animator/director: Gilay Gabinya

Emma Kelly                 animator/director: The Horses

Anthony Lucas             animator/director: The Smugglers

Simon Rippingale        animator/director: Henry's Dream

Kathy Sarpi                 animator/director: Tangerine Boat

Susie Shapones            animator/co-director: Princess Belinda

Marieka Walsh            animator/director: Princess Belinda

Eddie White                 animator/director: Kingdom of Fish

Lee Whitmore              animator/director: Doggy Day Dreaming

Animation by Marieka Walsh

Princess Belinda

Anthony Lucas

The Smugglers

Simon Rippingale

Henry's Dream

I discovered the child who plays the part of the pirate who finds a treasure box in a cave is the grandson of Bert and Patti Newton and he is making his movie debut.

It is wonderful that young children can now enjoy this book in three formats - as a book (even as a board book for very young children); as a stage play (by Finegan Kruckemeyer) and now as a movie. I love also really appreciate that the movie allows children to experience so many different forms of animation. And this might be a first movie which is more of an experience or a series of vignettes than an actual continuous story or narrative. 

It was interesting to see the response when the movie director Robert Connolly asked these three questions:

• Who has read the book? Nearly every hand went up.
• If you are an adult who heard the book as a child? 
• If you are a child, put up your hand if this is your first movie experience. Note this is a longer movie than I expected at 76 minutes. I would say it is perfect for children aged 5+.

It was good to view the movie with a huge audience of young children. I think everyone gasped when the real Bigsy appeared on screen - but he is looking so old now. 

Read a review here

Image Source: Storybox Library

You can see a full list of all the books by Alison Lester here.

30th Anniversary edition