Horrible Histories: The Movie – Rotten Romans movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Horrible Histories: The Movie – Rotten Romans

RATING: Not rated yet (It will probably be Rated PG or PG 13 in the USA)

LENGTH: 1 hour, 32 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: B

IN A NUTSHELL:

All roads lead to Rome. It was built in a day, you know.

Horrible Histories is a TV show in the UK that’s pretty popular. Not very many Americans know about the Horrible Histories: Season 1-5 . I’ve read a lot of reviews by Britains who say this isn’t nearly as good as the TV show. Americans will think it looks and feels like a TV show.

This movie also feels a lot like the Mel Brooks’ franchise spoof on history starting with Mel Brooks’ History of the World — Part I. The cheesy humor in Horrible Histories also reminded me of the style found in Robin Hood: Men In Tights If you watch the trailer below and thinks it looks like great fun, then you’ll probably get a kick out of it. If it looks totally dumb to you, then you should definitely skip it.

The movie opened in the UK the end of July 2019 but won’t be released in the USA until September 4.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Most kids will think this is funny.
Splattering fake blood.
Some crude references but no profanity
Lots of written gags your kids have to read.
You see people throw up. Gross
Lots of peeing, farting, pooping, and belching (animals and people).
Your kids will learn about Rome, the Celts, and Boudicca’s rebellion
There are a hero and heroine that kids can relate to (played by Sebastian Croft and Emilia Jones)

THEMES:

Open your mind
Learning history can be fun.

THINGS I LIKED:

The opening with Rattus, the mouse, was kind of cute and let you know the movie was going to be really goofy. He also makes an appearance in the middle of the end credits to explain which parts of the film were actually true.
It pokes fun at a lot of pop culture.
Lots of slapstick humor.
The high octane musical numbers don’t feature great voices but pay attention to the lyrics and you’ll learn a thing or two. There is also one “sloshy” song.
The cast is 100% British. Americans might be surprised to learn that Kim Cattrall from Sex and the City was born in Liverpool, England and actually has British, Canadian, and American citizenship.
Brits are pretty excited to see Derek Jacobi reprise his role as Claudius.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

This is not everyone’s cup of British tea…so to speak.
I hear that the reason the TV series is called “Horrible” is because it has lots of gross moments like all of the toilet humor I mentioned above.
FUNNY LINES:

“This is Britain. We don’t have sun.” – Orla (Emilia Jones)
“I’m Farticus. No, I’m Farticus!” – people in the crowd imitating the scene from the movie Spartacus

OTHER MOVIES LIKE THIS YOU MIGHT ENJOY:

Mel Brooks’ History of the World — Part I