David Copperfield is a very loose Animated Adaptation of Charles Dickens' famous literary masterpiece. It stars Julian Lennon as both the speaking and singing voice of its protagonist.
Like the novel it was based on, the film starts with David's birth in Blunderstone, England in 1820. His great-aunt Betsey takes great offence to his being born male and storms out, but David's mother and their faithful servant Peggotty dote on him. David (nicknamed "Davey") grows up happy, but his mother is frail and feels they need someone to take care of them. So she marries the wealthy but blackhearted cheese merchant, Edward Murdstone who wastes no time sending Davey to work as a slave in his cheese factory. Now, it's up to Davey to escape Murdstone and his dim-witted minion Grimby and save not just his mother but the other orphans that have been abducted by Murdstone. Oh yeah, and there's a giant vulture mixed in there somewhere too.
Did we mention David is an anthropomorphic cat in this version? Or that it's an Anthropomorphic Animal Adaptation set in a World of Funny Animals?
As you can probably tell, "loose adaptation" doesn't quite do it justice.
It was produced for and first broadcast on NBC during the 1993 holiday season and is now available on DVD from GoodTimes Entertainment.
The film provides examples of the following tropes:
- Abhorrent Admirer: Grimby is one for Peggotty.
- Accessory-Wearing Cartoon Animal: An odd example: the characters all wear full outfits of clothes but losing them and going half-dressed doesn't seem to be a big deal. A lot of the orphans only have hats or scarves and Davey even spends most of the movie without his pants.
- Action Girl: Aunt Betsey proves to be one in the climax when she leads an army of police to arrest Murdstone.
- Adaptational Jerkass: Aunt Betsey's reasons for hating boys aren't explained in this adaptation.
- Adaptational Job Change: Murdstone runs (and David is therefore forced to work in) a cheese factory rather than a wine merchants.
- Adaptational Karma: Murdstone gets his just desserts in this version.
- Adaptational Villainy: Thanks in part to adapting out a lot of the story, Murdstone takes a bigger stage in being a villain, taking all the 90's cartoon movie villain traits like murdering the parents and getting a final battle. In the book, he is horrified at Clara's death, rather than actively trying to encourage it.
- Adaptation Name Change: In the novel, Grimby's name is Grinby. It is unknown if this was an intentional name change or if it was a misspelling that was never corrected.
- Adaptation Personality Change: Clara Copperfield in the novel is more akin to a manchild. In the 1993 film, however, her childish qualities are toned down and her only childish trait that remains is the Fatal Flaw of her being too trusting in others.
- Adapted Out: Tons, since the novel is such a doorstopper and a lot of it wouldn't be considered suitable for young children. Peggotty's family is gone, Dora, Uriah Heep, Steerforth's entire plotline, Murdstone's sister, etc.
- Animated Adaptation: Of the "in name only" kind.
- Animated Musical: The film features nine songs composed by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn, the songwriting duo behind Pete's Dragon (1977).
- Anthropomorphic Animal Adaptation: David and his family are cats, the Micawbers are monkeys and Peggoty is a bear.
- Bad Boss: Murdstone kidnaps orphans to work in his cheese factory and then treats them as actual slaves.
- Black Widow: Murdstone is a rare male example: he marries Clara for her money then refuses to let her see a doctor til it's too late to treat her Incurable Cough of Death.
- Bumbling Dad: The Duke of Wickfield is Agnes'.
- Cats Are Mean: Averted for David and his mother. Played straight for Murdstone.
- Disappeared Dad: David Copperfield Sr. dies before Davey is born.
- Disney Acid Sequence: The songs "Imagination" and the reprise of "Is There Anyone?" are both set to bizarre visuals that come out of nowhere.
- Does Not Like Men: Aunt Betsey. She even has a song about it. She gets better later and even seems to be developing an interest in Agnes' father.
- The Dreaded: The Cheese Monster is this to Murdstone's workers.
- Fat and Skinny: Grimby and Murdstone.
- Fat Bastard: Grimby is overweight and the second worst villain in the film.
- Festering Fungus: The "Moldies"; workers in Murdstone's factory who were exposed to a failed experiment to create a "cheeseless cheese" that then went moldy. Whoever touches the mold is enveloped in a thick crust of fungal yuck, to the point they almost look like Blob Monsters. Worse? They're contagious, so Murdstone keeps them locked up in the basement and uses them as a threat to keep his workers in line; disobey, and join the Moldies.
- Furry Confusion: Despite everyone in the film being anthropomorphic animals, the horses & boars act just like they do in real life.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Agnes has blonde ringlets and is a very good person.
- Horrible Judge of Character: Clara, who ignores her son's warnings that she shouldn't marry Murdstone.
- Incurable Cough of Death: What kills Clara.
- Killed Off for Real: Clara dies halfway through the plot.
- Lean and Mean: The main villain is very skinny.
- Light 'em Up: It turns out that sunlight can kill the mold that creates the Moldies, so at the film's climax, the former fungus-coated freaks are restored to normal when they are allowed to bathe in the sunlight after years in darkness.
- Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: The Cheese Monster betrays Murdstone after she overhears he's going to cook her as a meal for his guards.
- No OSHA Compliance: Murdstone's factory is a death trap even by Victorian standards. Justified since he's too much of a greedy creep to bother with safety measures.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Grimby attempts to sneak out the window during the climax.
- Take That!: The "Moldies" were a failed attempt by Murdstone to invent "a kind of cheeseless cheese", which is clearly a jab at "spray cheese".
- Villain Song: "Welcome to My Warehouse" sung by Murdstone (and Grimby).
- Wanted a Son Instead: Gender-flipped; great-aunt Betsey wanted a grand-niece and came loaded with presents for such... when she learns she got a grand-nephew instead, she sings a musical number literally titled "I Hate Boys" and storms out. She does regret this behavior when she meets the older David, though.
- Wicked Stepmother: Murdstone is an evil stepfather.
- World of Funny Animals: An example. There are no humans and even the few non-anthropomorphisized animals talk, with horses being an exception.
- You Dirty Rat!: Grimby is a rat who's a villainous Dirty Coward.
- In fact, all of Murdstone's security Mooks are rats.
