"beautifully animated, it is a CGI feast with rich colours, gorgeous landscapes that do the classic series justice"

For many of us, who grew up watching Postman Pat, a classic stop-motion animated series that ran for nine seasons in England, we can be forgiven for thinking that a film adaptation would taint what we know and love, however Mike Disa and the creative team have done a stellar job at crafting something new, whilst also remaining faithful to the original.

So we are introduced to Pat Clifton, a senior Postman in the fictional village of Greendale, where he goes about his rounds with his faithful black and white cat Jess, the story revolves around Pat entering a talent competition, with the intention to win a trip to Italy to give his wife Sara the honeymoon they never had, whilst he is occupied with his new found fame, a nefarious plot is revealed to change the postal service forever.

Postman Pat: The Movie is beautifully animated, it is a CGI feast with rich colours, gorgeous landscapes that do the classic series justice. Similarly, the voice cast are phenomenal; leading the cast is Stephen Mangan as Pat, bringing the sensibilities and heart to the character following in the footsteps of Ken Barrie, Mangan makes Pat his own, whilst also preserving what came before.

Jim Broadbent is fantastic as always as the head of the Special Delivery Service, Rupert Grint is awesome as Josh; Pat's rival in the talent competition, that is not really all that competitive, he just wants the best man to win and spends most of his time glued to a portable gaming console. His manager, Wilf (the amazing David Tennant) is the complete opposite. Pat's sensational singing voice is provided by the multi talented Ronan Keating, who also cameos as himself in the film.

Rounding out the cast are Parminder Nagra as the local shop keeper, Susan Duerden as Pat's wife Sara, who adds another layer of emotional depth to the film and no film would be complete without the villain of the story - Peter Woodward as the maniacal Carbunkle, whose plan for World domination starts with the Postal Service.

All in all, Postman Pat: The Movie, is a fun and fantastic addition to the franchise, Mike Disa has to be commended for his treatment of the series and source material giving lifelong fans something they'll love, whilst also giving new fans something to enjoy and fall in love with, it ticks all the right boxes and will hopefully open the doors for further Pat endeavours on the big screen.