Roald Dahl's Esio Trot


Roald Dahl's Esio Trot is a British made-for-television comedy film that was first broadcast as part of BBC One's 2015 Christmas programming. It is an adaptation of Roald Dahl's children's novel Esio Trot in which a retired bachelor falls in love with his neighbour, a widow, who keeps a tortoise as a companion after the death of her husband.
Featuring Dustin Hoffman and Judi Dench as the couple, with James Corden as the narrator, it was broadcast on 1 January 2015. It was seen by 7.86 million viewers, making it the ninth-most watched programme on BBC1 and across all UK TV channels for the week ending 4 January 2015. It was repeated on BBC1 on 31 December 2015 and on BBC2 on 30 December 2016.

Cast

The musical score is by composer Tim Phillips. All the commercial music used in the show is that of New Orleans jazz legend, Mr. Louis Armstrong and his All-Stars; which include Edmond Hall, Trummy Young, Billy Kyle, Arvell Shaw & Barrett Deems.

Differences from Dahl's novel

announced the television film at the Edinburgh International Television Festival on 22 August 2013. It was produced by Hilary Bevan Jones and directed by Dearbhla Walsh. Bevan Jones said: "To bring together two of the world’s favourite actors in Dame Judi and Dustin is a dream come true. Richard and Paul have captured the magic of Roald Dahl’s wonderful tale and I am thrilled that Dearbhla is to direct it." It was adapted by Richard Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer, and filming took place in May 2014 in London. The apartment block featured in the film is Adelaide Wharf in Haggerston.

Reviews

The adaptation received acclaim, with Lucy Mangan in The Guardian writing, “an utterly, completely, inescapably beguiling adaptation of Roald Dahl’s book by Richard Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer, directed by Dearbhla Walsh, narrated by James Corden and starring Dustin Hoffman and Judi Dench. You could argue that with a pedigree like that nothing could have gone wrong, but it doesn’t work like that. Although you can maximise your chances of being able to conjure it, charm is ineffable, alchemical. You can’t measure it out by the yard and cut it off when you’ve got enough. You can’t splash it on to a scene and then stopper it to make sure you’ve got enough for the next take. It just … appears, if you’re careful and if you’re lucky. And then it ripples through your film, or your play or your book, animating all and subtly transforming everything from a prosaic good – or even great – into a thing of wonder.”

Awards