The Little Vampire (film)

Did You Know?

• Parts of the film were shot on farmland near Cockburnspath in Berwickshire, Culross and Dunimarle Castle in Fife, and several other locations in Scotland.
• The school Tony Thompson attends is Low Port Primary School in Linlithgow, West Lothian.
• A soundtrack album titled Music from and Inspired by The Little Vampire was released on October 17, 2000, by New Line Records, including the Vengaboys song 'Shalala Lala'.

Plot

Nine-year-old Tony Thompson moves with his family from California to Scotland, living in a small castle while his father Bob works on a golf course for Lord McAshton. Tony has nightmares about vampires and a comet, and is bullied at school by Lord McAshton's grandsons Flint and Nigel. One night, dressed as a vampire, Tony is mistaken for one by the young vampire Rudolph Sackville-Bagg, who is fleeing the vampire hunter Rookery. Rudolph tries to attack Tony but is too weak; Tony helps him feed from a cow, and they become friends. Rudolph explains that his family drinks only animal blood and wants to become human using a magical amulet, which Rookery also seeks to send all vampires to Hell. Tony meets Rudolph's family—Frederick, Freda, Anna, and Gregory—and after helping repel Rookery, Frederick allows Tony to assist them. Tony and Rudolph get revenge on Flint and Nigel. Rookery tells Lord McAshton about the vampires; Lord McAshton reveals his family's history with them, including that his ancestor Elizabeth loved Rudolph's uncle Von, the amulet's last holder, and both were killed by the McAshtons. Tony, Rudolph, and Anna find Elizabeth's tomb, where Tony has a vision showing the amulet is in his bedroom. Tony and Rudolph race Rookery to the amulet while the vampires and Tony's parents head to the ritual site. After a chase, Tony and Rudolph escape with the amulet, and Rookery drives his truck off a cliff after getting tangled in a blimp.

Reception

The Little Vampire didn't perform well at the box office, earning $28 million on a $35 million budget. CinemaScore audiences gave it a B+ average. Lawrence Van Gelder of The New York Times offered a positive review, describing it as literate, clever, mischievous, and just plain fun. Roger Ebert gave it two out of four stars, praising the director, writers, and cast but felt the pieces didn't come together. Michael Thomson of the BBC gave three stars, noting the tone was questionable but that the core idea and Jonathan Lipnicki's charm were sometimes nearly enough. Jan Stuart of the Los Angeles Times liked most of the cast but criticized Lipnicki, suggesting older viewers would have to settle for a vampire cow gag that could have been funnier. Angela Sommer-Bodenburg, who wrote the original book series, thought the film was beautiful, atmospheric, funny, clever, and well-made, but objected to the ending where the vampires turn human, since in her books their tragedy is that they cannot. In 2001, the film won the German Film Award for Best Children's Film. Lipnicki was nominated for Best Performance by a Younger Actor at the 27th Saturn Awards, and both Lipnicki and Rollo Weeks received nominations at the 22nd Young Artist Awards.