Director Richard Bracewell
Starring Mathew Baynton, Simon Farnaby, Martha Howe-Douglas
Rated PG
Score 3.5/6

What really happened during Shakespeare’s ‘Lost Years’? Hopeless lute player Bill Shakespeare leaves his home to follow his dream.

Bill is the first film to be made by the Horrible Histories team, Horrible Histories is a children’s sketch comedy series based on the Horrible Histories books written by Terry Deary. I’ll admit that watching (when I come across it while channel surfing) Horrible Histories is small guilty pleasure of mine, so I was kind of familiar with Bill when I came across it at the friendly neighbourhood DVD store.
Even though there are some laughs, this is definitely something that is aimed at a younger audience so you might not find yourself laughing along with any children you might have to watch this with (though you won’t find yourself planning some sort of Broccoli related vengeance if you find yourself being forced to watched this).
Fans of the series might find it fun trying to spot the lead actors as pop throughout the movie in additional smaller roles. Even though I wasn’t overly familiar with all of the history that was dealt with in the movie, I liked the overall tone that the filmmakers took with the movie and the lesson that Marlowe taught Bill.