Here Come the Littles
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Here Come the Littles is a 1985 animated film from Atlantic Releasing. Produced in Luxembourg, and directed by Bernard Deyriès, it was DiC Entertainment's first feature film. It was based on both John Peterson's series of books, The Littles, and is a prequel to the ABC animated show that followed it, telling how Henry Bigg first met The Littles.
[edit] Plot
The story opens with Henry Bigg learning that his parents, who were on an archaeological trip in Africa, have been lost; their plane was found, but no sign of them. Tearfully, Henry's housekeeper, Mrs. Evans, tells him that his Uncle Augustus is his next of kin and therefore his legal guardian. As Augustus doesn't want to move to Henry's parents' house (for reasons that will become clear later), Henry is forced to pack his things and move instead.
Meanwhile, in the walls of Henry's house, Tom and Lucy Little snag an apple that Mrs. Evans had left for Henry. With Grandpa Little's help, they get it to their house. As the Littles roll the apple into the house, Frank, who is Tom and Lucy's dad, reminds them that Littles never take anything without doing a favor in return. Lucy wonders what Augustus is like, since Henry had never met him before. Grandpa tells them that he once lived in Augustus' house and that the house was not only very dark and scary, but Augustus was also very mean. Overhearing a conversation between Henry and Mrs. Evans, Tom learns that Henry lost his lucky rabbit's foot and wanted to take it with him. He and Lucy decide to find the rabbit's foot and sneak it in Henry's suitcase as a going-away present. Grandpa goes along to make sure they all stay safe. Unfortunately, Tom and Lucy get trapped in Henry's suitcase.
Mrs. Evans drops Henry off, and while Augustus initially seems polite and cordial, he becomes nasty and ill-tempered as soon as Mrs. Evans leaves. He treats Henry like a slave, ordering him to unpack then perform various chores around the house. As Henry unpacks, he discovers his rabbit's foot and wonders how it got into his suitcase. Henry also discovers that the reason Augustus doesn't want to move to his house is because he wants to bulldoze it and build a shopping center on the land. Meanwhile, Tom and Lucy sneak out and try to escape, but Augustus blocks their only exit. They eventually find their way to Grandpa's old home in Augustus' walls and spend the night.
The next day, the Littles' cousin Dinky arrives with the mail. Helen (Tom and Lucy's mom), Frank and Grandpa try to flag Dinky down, but Dinky thinks they want to see him perform more stunts. After he finally lands, Grandpa climbs aboard, ordering Dinky to fly to Augustus' house. Helen and Frank both want to go too, but Dinky says there won't be enough room for them and Tom and Lucy on the glider. Reluctantly, Helen and Frank agree to stay behind.
When Dinky and Grandpa arrive at Augustus' house, they land on the roof and begin to look for Tom and Lucy. They find the kids and try to leave, only to discover that a cat has wrecked the glider. Tom tries to tame the cat, but it grabs him and runs into the attic. The cat gets a splinter in its paw, causing it to drop Tom. Tom then approaches the cat to pull out the splinter, but it leaps at him. By the time Lucy, Grandpa and Dinky catch up with the cat, they see it licking its paw where it had the splinter, but there's no sign of Tom. When it moves its other paw to reveal Tom's hat, they fear the worst, but Tom emerges and says that kitty is now his friend.
The conversation is cut short, however, when Henry and Augustus enter the attic. The Littles manage to escape to the yard by rigging up Dinky on a swing and using him as bait. Once outside the property, however, a dog chases the cat back to the house. Meanwhile a trunk containing Henry's toys has arrived. Henry opens the trunk, but Augustus slams it shut, saying that Henry has no time to play; he has to finish scrubbing the floors, then mow the lawn. Tom remembers that the trunk, which Augustus put in the garage, has a gas-powered airplane.
While Henry mows the lawn, the Littles make their way to the garage, climb into the plane and take off. Dinky, however, loses control of the plane and crashes, sending everyone tumbling into the grass. Tom and Lucy are unhurt, but Grandpa and Dinky are caught in the leaves and Henry is heading directly toward them with the lawn mower. To get Henry to stop, Lucy jumps onto him and bites his ankle. Grandpa and Dinky try to escape, but Henry sees them running away and picks them up. As Henry tries to figure out who -- or what -- Grandpa and Dinky are, Augustus demands to see what Henry has. To avoid discovery, Grandpa and Dinky pretend to be toys. Augustus grabs the "toys", locks them in his desk, and sends Henry to his room. Augustus also shows Henry a letter that Henry's dad supposedly wrote which gives Augustus the right to do anything he wants to Henry's house.
As a distraught Henry sobs on his bed, Lucy takes pity on Henry and persuades Tom to reveal themselves to him, even though they aren't supposed to do so. At first Henry is afraid, but then realizes that they're his friends and joins them to search for Grandpa and Dinky. The search eventually leads them to Augustus' room, where Henry hides behind a chair. As Augustus is on the phone making arrangements to tear down the Biggs' house, he opens his desk, revealing Grandpa and Dinky, who are still pretending to be toys. However, the dust in the area is making Dinky sneeze, which in turn makes Augustus suspicious. Henry creates a diversion so Tom and Lucy can rescue Grandpa and Dinky. Augustus finds Henry, grabs him and locks him in his room.
The Littles run out to the yard to grab the plane so they can get home and warn Frank and Helen. They manage to find the cat, but when they tie it to the plane, it won't move. Meanwhile, Augustus, seeing that Henry didn't put the lawn mower away, goes outside to get it. As Augustus approaches, and gets close to discovering the Littles, Tom gets the idea of barking like a dog in the cat's ear, since the dog was the only thing that got the cat moving -- and quickly. The cat runs toward the garage, pulling the plane with it and knocking over Augustus in the process.
Augustus puts the lawn mower away, but it knocks against a stone, cutting loose its fuel line and causing fuel to drip from the mower. As Dinky and Grandpa get to work fixing the plane, using a candle for light, Tom and Lucy set out to find food. Their search takes them to the kitchen, where they see bread and honey. Tom uses the "old spoon trick" to catapult himself to the top of the jar, but slips and falls into the honey. Lucy runs to get Grandpa and Dinky, but when they are unable to rescue Tom, Lucy suggests getting Henry to help, explaining that Henry already knows about them.
Lucy, Grandpa and Dinky head to Augustus' room, where Augustus falls asleep with his diary on his lap. Lucy goes back to check on Tom. Grandpa and Dinky get the key, but Dinky, having seen some stationery with varying letters on it while in Augustus' desk, wants to get a closer look at the diary, against Grandpa's wishes. As Augustus moves in his sleep, the diary falls to the floor. Dinky pulls out a page, which he says proves that he knew what he was talking about. Grandpa pulls Dinky away and they head to Henry's room with the key.
Henry rescues Tom, who, covered in honey, is hugged by Lucy. Henry washes the two off in the sink. Grandpa hands the diary page to Henry so he can dry off Tom and Lucy, but Dinky says that the page has evidence of a plot. Henry looks at the page and discovers that Augustus neve had legal custody of him and had even forged his dad's signature. Henry and the Littles head to the garage, where Henry grabs a bicycle and the Littles climb aboard the plane. Just as Henry leaves the garage, however, the candle ignites the gasoline leaking from the lawn mower. The Littles escape the flames, unnoticed by Henry. Henry douses the flames and calls for Tom and Lucy, but only finds a piece of Dinky's scarf. He then tries to go to the police, but gets lost and stops a car for help. The driver, however, turns out to be Augustus, who had woken up at Henry's cries. Augustus grabs Henry and takes him back to the house.
Meanwhile, the Littles, who haven't gotten very far from the yard, get Augustus tangled up in some rope. Grandpa tells Henry which direction to go to get to the police station, and Henry runs off. Augustus' phone rings, and he awkwardly makes his way to the phone, where he tells the bulldozer crew to start tearing down the Biggs' house without him. Dinky drops off Grandpa at the base of the house so he can warn Helen and Frank, then drops off Tom and Lucy at the bulldozer. Grandpa, Frank and Helen escape the house only to be greeted by the bulldozer's scooper. Dinky, who has crashed the plane into the bulldozer's windshield and landed in front of the scooper, tries to stop the bulldozer. The bulldozer finally stops when Lucy pulls the main spark plug wire.
Augustus arrives at the house and discovers the plane just as Henry arrives with the police. Augustus tries to escape, but is taken into custody.
Henry is reunited with Mrs. Evans and learns that his parents have been found. As Henry gets ready to meet his parents at the airport, he comments that if he hadn't had his lucky rabbit's foot, he doesn't know what he would have done... and casts a knowing wink at the grate, where the Littles watch.
