MartinHafer This is a slight little film starring a cute cartoon Nessie and, naturally, it's set in Scotland...and an odd Scotland it is, with plaid-colored mountains and scenery. The cute little Nessie is enjoying its lake when along comes some jerk who takes it away and builds a golf course there instead. Brokenhearted, Nessie then goes in search of a new lake. And, in the end, it has a very schmaltzy solution to its problem.The animation is nice enough but overall it's not exactly a memorable film. You may like the story as narrated by Billy Connelly but I wasn't captivated. Decent and mildly interesting and nothing more.

Horst in Translation ([email protected]) "The Ballad of Nessie" is a 5-minute cartoon from 4 years ago written and directed by Emmy winner Stevie Wermers. It tells us the story of Nessie and how her tears created Loch Ness. I think this was a pretty good watch. There is decent drama in here, nice heart and emotion and also some funny moments, everything an animated film needs and it's usually not so easy to include it all in such a short piece. The narrator is Billi Connolly, fittingly one Scotland's most famous. I believe that this is a must-see if you are from Scotland, almost a national treasure, but it also makes a good watch for everybody else, especially if you love animation. Walt Disney Animation Studios sure showed us they still got it with this one. Highly recommended and if they ever decide to make a full feature based on this very short movie, I'd watch it in a heartbeat. thumbs up.

J-Hunt21 Perhaps drawing a great deal of inspiration from Pixar's 'Boundin'' in its structure and emotion, 'The Ballad of Nessie' follows suit with a traditionally animated short, narrated (affectionately by Billy Connoly) with the same comic poetry that made the former effort so endearing. Coincidentally, the Scottish setting is shared with the upcoming Pixar feature 'Brave', presenting 'Ballad' as a worthy warm-up act for that release and suppressing any disbelief of mine that the location could prove to be hit or miss.Following Nessie's search for a home after her idyllic residence is destroyed, the short is funny, heartwarming and unique in style, unfolding in a manner very much like a pop-up storybook; this makes for beautiful transitions between shots, creating a fluid pace to accompany the quirky visuals, tuned to Michael Giacchino's gentle scoring.'The Ballad of Nessie' is a clear indication that Disney are capable of still being innovative not only with traditional animation, but with the short film format also.9/10

TheLittleSongbird I saw this short before seeing the wonderful new Winnie the Pooh movie. And I for one found it absolutely charming. The animation is beautiful with a real charm to it, whether it was in the character designs, the background art or the colouring. Michael Giacchino's music is stunning as well with a warm, heartfelt and nostalgic feel to it, plus it was careful not to overshadow the narration or the storytelling. The story is swiftly told, is very heart-warming, full of pathos and emotion and I think it would appeal to children and adults, the writing is amusing and poignant and Billy Conolly's narration is note-perfect.Overall, I recommend this short for all, it is absolutely charming. 9/10 Bethany Cox