| Close Encounters Of The Herd Kind | |
|---|---|
[[ | |
|
Air Date |
25 December 2007 |
|
Preceded by |
|
|
Followed by |
N/A |
Close Encouters Of The Herd Kind is the third Robbie The Reindeer film. It was first shown in the UK on 25th December 2007 on BBC1.
Robbie and Donner's wedding is disrupted by the arrival of a mysterious alien crystal. When Donner is abducted by the planet-eating Nargathrons it's up to Robbie to save the day.
Sypnosis
Robbie the Reindeer is back and it's the biggest day of his life as he prepares to marry the lovely Donner. But strange lights in the sky and the appearance of a curious crystal could spell trouble for The North Pole's daftest residents.
Plot
The film begins with Robbie and Donner lying out watching the stars the day before their wedding but Donner doesn't want Robbie having a stag night because last time they had cancel the wedding despite him saying it won't happen again. After Donner leaves a green crystal falls out of the sky and lands in Robbie's hands and drops it due to it being hot just before a large ball of fire lands and the pressure of it landing causes Robbie to fall over and fall unconscious before waking up in his bedroom and remembers that it's the wedding day.
Meanwhile Prancer who is the best man is getting everything ready just before a female reindeer enters the reindeer's cabin who takes over preparations, she introduces herself as Em the bridesmaid whom Prancer takes a liking to, which Old Jingle finds hilarious. Robbie is getting ready for the wedding when the crystal starts glowing which he hangs onto his bow tie unaware that he is being watched by an unseen person who beginnings to go over to him until his bow tie shoots out of his hand into hallway and goes after it. He is able to catch it and also meets Em and asks if she anything about bow ties and she is revealed to be Donner's sister. Em warns Robbie that if he does anything to hurt Donner she will remove every hair on his body with tweezers just seconds before Donner appears wearing her wedding dress happy that Em made it but when she sees Robbie she goes back into her room as he isn't supposed to see her before the wedding as it's bad luck. Em then erases Robbie's memories of seeing Donner in her dress right back to the moment he asked Em about bow ties to which she fixes his before leaving.
The time for the wedding arrives just then Prancer realises that he has forgotten the rings and goes to find them. He gets back in time for Donner to enter with Em and Old Jingle who is giving her away and the Vicar starts reading out the vows. Then Robbie hears a voice telling him that he is in grave danger and that it's the end of the world causing him to flee the cabin causing Donner to faint, luckily Em catches her but gives an angry stare in Robbie's direction. Robbie feels guilty about leaving Donner just then he hears a noise behind him making think that it is Em, but it is revealed to be a blue alien wearing a gold thought amplifier (which allows him to talk without moving his mouth) panicking Robbie. The alien says he means Robbie no harm who realises that it was the alien who was speaking to him at the wedding, the alien apologises saying that he needed to get Robbie's attention and introduces himself as Gariiiiiii which Robbie shortens to Gary and tells Robbie that he is an Earth Guardian who protect Earth from outside interference. When asked by Robbie why he is here Gary says that he intercepted a craft belonging to the Nargathrons who want to destroy Earth and reveals that the crystal Robbie has is The Nargathron Crystal which is the power source of their ultimate weapon. A very weak Gary tasks Robbie with taking the crystal and says that if the Nargathrons get it, it will be the end for Robbie and those he loves before fading away and Robbie leaves taking the crystal and Gary's head device.
Back at Reindeer Lodge, Donner wonders where Robbie has got to just before a large spaceship lands on the lodge's roof. The door opens and a group of orange aliens enters along with a larger female one revealed to be their queen Vorkana who approaches Donner and freezes Em who tries to defend her. The aliens are revealed to be the Nargathrons and Vorkana wants to know Robbie's whereabouts because he has the crystal though Donner claims not to know him, Vorkana discovers that she lying when she sees photos of her and Robbie in the room and takes back to her ship. Robbie is wandering through the woods when he sees three lockers run by him who are actually Prancer, Old Jingle and Tapir who find Gary's spacecraft and hears from them about Donner's capture. The group then enter the ship and tries to contact the other Earth Guardians but finds that the microphone is broke but when he places the crystal on the desk it repairs the ship and it lifts off the ground.
On the Nargathron's ship Donner is imprisoned, while on Earth Robbie prepares to go off and find her and gives the crystal to Prancer and tells him to find a way to contract the Earth Guardians. Gary's spirit appears and tells Robbie about a instruction manual to control the ship but then a hologram of Old Jingle appears and starts arguing with Gary over who should give Robbie advice but both leave because Robbie is trying to read the manual and he presses a big red button which causes the ship to fly into space. He manages to arrive at the Nargathron's ship and is brought on board and is put in the same cell as Donner then Vorkana demands the crystal but Robbie claims to nothing about it and says if he did he wouldn't tell her. But Vorkana then hypnotises him into drawing a picture of him giving the crystal to Prancer.
Back on Earth Prancer, Old Jingle and Tapir arrive back to the cabin and find the guests operating machines, where Em reveals that she works for a top-secret government agency that monitors alien activity on Earth. She also reveals that she has rigged up the wedding band's keyboard up to a transmitter (made out of the wedding cake) to contact the Earth Guardians by musical code but then Nargathron troopers arrive and try to break down the door. Em believes the plan to get the Earth Guardians has failed but then notices Prancer got the crystal and places it in the transmitter which makes Earth light up. Back on the Nargathon ship Robbie finds that the others have been taken hostage by the troopers and the crystal is brought up to the ship by Vorkana who puts it in the computer and prepare to destroy Earth. Robbie puts on Gary's thought amplifier and tricks a trooper into freeing him and Donner and uses the trooper to knock away Vorkana. More troopers arrive so Donner tears off a part of her dress and throws it in the troopers path causing them to fall over and Robbie sends her back to Earth in Gary's ship whilst he goes back to stop the destruction.
The Earth Guardians arrive to everyone's happiness, where Em throws the cake on a trooper for ruining the wedding. Back on the Nargathron ship Robbie to tries to stop the countdown but Vorkana arrives attacks him but Robbie uses The Nose Jump to over to a control pad and teleports Vorkana off the ship and onto Earth and gets a punch in the face from Em just as Donner arrives back and tells the others that Robbie is still up in the ship and tells them to call off the Earth Guardians attack on the ship. Robbie still struggles to find away to stop the countdown but then an Earth Guardian appears on one of the ships screen waring to prepare for meltdown and the Earth Guardian ships destroy the ship with Robbie apparently still on board causing everyone to think that Robbie is dead. Suddenly the Vicar hears a voice tell him to continue with Robbie's vows just as Robbie himself arrives alive and well wearing the thought amplifier and parachutes down uses the part of Donner's dress and gives the device to the Vicar and he and Donner kiss now as husband and wife.
At the reception, Em comes over to Robbie who thinks she's going to give him another warning but in fact she asks why hadn't he told her that he had such a hunky best man before going off to dance with Prancer. The film ends with Robbie hearing Donner's voice in his head saying that now they are married they should think about getting a place of their own, he looks down and sees the Vicar with the thought amplifier and asks him who he how he did it perhaps because of him and Donner being married as fireworks that make a Earth Guardian shape go off.
Cast
Ardal O'Hanlon as Robbie, Rudolph's son who goes to save his fiancée Donner and save Earth from the Nargathrons. At the end of the film, he marries Donner.
Jane Horrocks as Donner, Support Crew to the sleigh team and Robbie's fiancée. She is kidnapped by the Nargathrons but is rescued by Robbie whom she marries at the end of the film.
Paul Whitehouse as Prancer, A member of the sleigh team, a friend of Robbie's and served as best man at his and Donner's wedding. In the film, he develops a crush on Donner's sister Em and becomes her boyfriend at the end of the film.
Harry Enfield as Old Jingle, An elderly reindeer and a friend of Robbie's. In the film, he gives Donner away at her wedding to Robbie.
Sean Hughes as Tapir, A member of the sleigh team and a friend of Robbie's.
Gillian Anderson as Queen Vorkana, The leader of the Nargathrons and the main antagonist. She wants the Nargathron Crystal in order to destroy Earth. At the end of the film, she is arrested by the Earth Guardians.
Shane Richie as Trooper 1, A member of the Nargathrons and one of Vorkana's soldiers.
Ross Kemp as Trooper 2, A member of the Nargathrons and one of Vorkana's soldiers.
Michael Palin as Gariiiiiii, An Earth Guardian who warns Robbie about the Nargathrons.
Russell Brand as Unnamed Earth Guardian
Graham Norton as Computer, the computer on Vorkana's ship.
Keira Knightley as Em, Donner's agent sister and the bridesmaid at her and Robbie's wedding. At the end of the film, she becomes Robbie's sister-in-law and starts a relationship with Prancer.
Ozzy Osbourne as Vicar, the vicar at Robbie and Donner's wedding.
Gallery
Trivia
- The film's name is a play on the 1977 film Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Both films feature aliens.
- This is the only adventure without Blitzen.