User reviews

I honestly was about to turn this one off when I looked over and my cat was SUPER into it. And who am I to argue with his expertise?

Half-documentary/half-fantasy on the life cycle of a female squirrel named Perri, surviving the seasons in the forest, even falling in love! This superb family film was initially to be part of Walt Disney's continuing True-Life Adventures series, yet is (arguably) improved upon with the additions of plot, comedic effects, and a beautiful squirrel-dream sequence. The photography is superb, the bemused narration enjoyable, and (as always) Disney underscores the rote stretches with blissful music. Perhaps a bit lengthy for some viewers, but bright children should really enjoy it. Quite entertaining! *** from ****

A Walt Disney TRUE-LIFE FANTASY.

This is the story of PERRI, a female forest squirrel. We follow her life through the seasons of one year, learning the incredible struggles her kind must make to survive. We watch her deal with fierce predators & a devastating wildfire, before eventually finding a mate.

This is a splendid family film, based on the book by Felix Salten, the author of `Bambi'. (In fact, Bambi makes a live-action appearance). Using great nature photography - and a little bit of Disney special effects magic - it is a heart warmer that is sure to stay in the viewers' memory.

Highlight: Perri's wintertime dream. The story, told entirely in verse, is narrated by Winston Hibler.

Perri is a beautiful movie. It features wonderfully developed characters and some excellent cinematography. What makes Perris stand out above the newer Disney movies is that all of the animals are real. No animation here! Instead we get an intimate look into the life of a cute little squirrel. Who knew squirrels got into so much trouble?!?

This was gripping. Always wanted to watch a film about a squirrel. Can finally tick that one off! Disney's "true life fantasy" was quite effective in its portrayal of the life of Perri and her lover, Porro. After all, who doesn't create their own stories and narratives when watching wildlife documentaries?

It has a bit of everything:

• Squirrel romance and dodgy 'home' renos
• Beaver chewing down a tree with a squirrel in it
• Raccoons and skunks brawling
• A skunk joining a raccoon family by mistake
• The cosiest squirrel den ever
• A psychedelic dream sequence
• A magpie poking a squirrel on the ass
• Raccoons fishing
• "The face of death"

It definitely showcases the cycle of life and was a bit sad in parts. There's certainly a lot of bad things out to get you in life and Perri doesn't shy away from it. It also features a wildfire sequence sure to trigger fellow Australians after we lost 1 billion animals to our bushfire crisis earlier in 2020.

Ultimately, I really liked this and found myself smiling and laughing throughout. Go Perri!

Having collecting older 16mm movie films, i have recently come across an old forgotten Disney film called "Perri". having heard of it in my childhood , i was courious and asked to borrow it , to my surprise i was very impressed with it. this is truly a forgotten treasure of a film,it brings back the old glory days when disney was king. it is similar in part to walt disney "bambi", but still very impressive. unfortunately to my knowldege this film is not on video, and will thus largely remain unknown or forgotten.

Filled with mega cute images, with even more mega cute pets, and the fight for food, safety, survival, all beautiful, although sad in some aspects, the various moms in the movie, each defending their puppies in their own way...

Our cat, who never pays any attention to the television, watched this film with great interest for about the first hour! He even moved to sit right in front of the TV. It dragged a bit near the end, but was worth watching.

Perri, one of Disney's finest examples of "true life fantasy" nature movies is best described as a purely cinematic experience. Few films demonstrate the potential of motion pictures, but Perri does. Contained within this masterpiece of film is a hibernation/dream sequence that cannot be described in human terms. I don't know what God is, but I know it when I see it; and Perri is divine revelation .

There are a lot of very interesting nature shots in this movie, some quite beautiful. It is not an animated movie, like Bambi, and does not approach the truly remarkable beauty of that movie. But there's a lot to enjoy here, if you ignore the one musical number about couples, which is not at the level of the rest of the movie.

I would say that this might not be appropriate for small children, but then, as I still remember almost 60 years later, seeing Bambi was very frightening for little children as well. There are a LOT of scenes of animals hunting other animals, and sometimes they catch them. There is no focus on limbs being ripped off corpses or anything gruesome like that, of course, but you do see wildcats carrying off rabbits, etc. If you feel this would unduly upset your child, you might want to have a talk about nature's ways before letting your child see it.

Squirrels are lovely looking and cute animals, if also pests at times (like scurrying loudly across a not so sound proof house roof at night for instance). They are not focused upon enough in documentaries and there are not an awful lot of documentaries centered solely around squirrels around. Granted, in terms of factual information and detailing strengths and challenges there are more interesting animals, but the True Life Adventures series did manage to make insects interesting in 'Secrets of Life'.

Part of me as a result thought that there was a very strong chance of 'Perri' doing for squirrels, in terms of making animals/species that aren't focused upon a lot compelling, what 'Secrets of Life' did for insects. 'Perri' did just that, it did make squirrels interesting and relatable with one of the True Life Adventures series' most easily investable lead characters. And it did make me feel that it is a shame that they are under-estimated and that documentaries don't focus on them enough. For the most comprehensive and most accessible documentary on squirrels, it doesn't get a lot better than this.

Is 'Perri' perfect? No. Like with the other True Life Adentures feature films (actually didn't feel the same way oddly enough with the short subjects in the series), there is some occasional awkward over-jokiness though it was done worse in some of the other feature films in the series, including the best known ones.

Would have liked for it to have been longer too perhaps.

However, so much is good about 'Perri'. It looks absolutely beautiful, with very vivid photography capturing the majestic beauty yet at times uncompromising cruelty of the scenery. Especially the unforgettable hibernation dream sequence, which is a visual and emotional masterpiece and one of my favourite scenes of the series. The music has energy and atmosphere, not spilling out the emotions too much.

Much is informative here, 'Perri' is one of the ones where a lot of information was pretty new to me and any familiar material felt fresh. Most of it unfamiliar, meaning that as far as the True Life Adventures series and its feature films go 'Perri' for me was one of the more educational ones. It was interesting having a subject very different to what is usually seen in nature documentaries, to focus on a type of animal that is not covered a lot was refreshing. And in a way that made me sad why squirrels aren't discussed enough in documentaries and they are much more interesting than they seem.

Did find it very cute, without it being overly so, and charming and the titular character is loveable and easy to engage with. Winston Hibler is a good natured narrator and have never felt him dull sounding. The narration entertains and teaches, as well as easy to invest in emotionally.

Concluding, very good and well worth watching. Especially if you want to learn more about a very under-explored animal. 8/10.

I saw this as a kid back in the 60s and also had the book! Just found it on Disney but didn't remember anything at all! I have seen many nature documentaries throughout my life but this is truly one of the most beautiful yes maybe because of nostalgia I'm not denying it but still many of the scenes are incredible and one wonders how they were made! It must have required incredible patience to wait for those dramatic scenes to happen! There are many incredible nature documentaries out there but I feel this one must have been a trailblazer for all other documentaries to come! Because it is Disney we are treated with a beautiful squirrel dreaming sequence set in a winter landscape! It's absolutely gorgeous! The other thing I like is the reality shown in life and death situations but we are assured the life will prevail no matter what! A must to suggest to your kids!

When the True-Life nature documentary films coming out of the Disney studio started to get criticism for being too manipulated by the people behind the camera, studio head Walt Disney decided to make one with a decidedly fiction story attached to it. That movie was of course "Perri". It was a promising idea, but it doesn't quite work, at least for adult audiences. The main problem with the movie is that the particular animal that the movie follows - a squirrel - is a species that doesn't exactly exude intelligence or charisma. Its actions, at least those seen in the movie, don't really give it personality. As a result, it's hard to care about this squirrel, who dominates the bulk of the movie. There is some interest here and there, mainly by showcasing other animal wildlife in action, though its easy to see which scenes were shot in a studio instead of the outdoors. But adults who have seen their share of documentaries will probably find the movie for the most part to be not very engaging, though their kids might find it of sufficient interest.