Swallows and Amazons is a classic read for children and the Arthur Ransome book has been adapted into a rather wonderful film which is released on DVD, Blu-Ray and digital download tomorrow through StudioCanal.

We follow the Walker children as they go on holiday to the Lake District with their mother in the late 1930’s.  War is imminent and their father is far away in Singapore.  Monkey was hooked from the start of the Swallows and Amazons DVD as the family start their adventure aboard a steam train.  They encounter a few strange men on their journey, could they be spies!

Once John, Susan, Tatty and Roger arrive in the Lakes they are desperate for some adventure and learn to sail for the first time aboard Swallow. They convince their mother to let them go on a camping adventure to the island in the middle of the lake and so the real fun begins.

They set up their camp, try their hands at fishing and find out how to make their own camp fire.  But they soon discover that their island, isn’t quite their own, the Amazons have already laid claim to it. Could the Walker Swallows outwit the Blackett Amazons and take control of the island?

Whilst all this action is going on, we also discover that one of the men on the train is Jim Turner, the uncle of the Blackett girls.  He lives aboard a houseboat and is being tracked down by two other men.  Messages are sent back and forth, the children become involved and they are certain a spy is at work.

Can the children save the day?

This is such a charming film and a great first introduction to the story for my son.  Monkey loves being outdoors and has already learnt how to make a camp fire. The film really works on the message that children love creating their own adventures, running around and enjoying being outside.  Simple pleasures, that children still enjoy today. We’ve made our own Swallows and Amazons but had slightly less space to sail them!

Swallows and Amazons runs for just under 100 minutes, is PG rated and includes the following extra features:

Bringing a Classic Tale to Life
Deleted Scenes
Clappers
Sailing With Crew
Interviews with Kelly Macdonald, Andrea Gibb and Rafe Spall

It would make a wonderful gift this Christmas and is perfect family viewing.  We give it a big thumbs up and I’ve included my Amazon Affiliate link below for your reference.

disclosure:  we were given a DVD and some merchandising and craft sets in exchange for our honest review