HORRID HENRY (U).

Children/Comedy/Action. Theo Stevenson, Anjelica Huston, Mathew Horne, Siobhan Hayes, Ross Marron, Scarlett Stitt, Richard E Grant, Parminder Nagra, Rebecca Front, Prunella Scales, Noel Fielding, Kimberley Walsh, Jo Brand. Director: Nick Moore.

Rarely has a film title been more fitting than Nick Moore’s woefully misjudged caper based on the mischievous character created by award-winning author, Francesca Simon.

Horrendous Henry would be closer to the disappointing truth because it’s hard to find any joy in this explosion of garish colour, slapstick and scenery-chewing that passes for family entertainment.

Danny DeVito’s magnificent rendering of Roald Dahl’s Matilda seems to be an inspiration but neither Lucinda Whiteley’s script nor Moore’s direction are sufficiently elegant to chart the same ebbs and flows between uproarious and dark comedy.

Instead, Horrid Henry: The Movie starts off silly and becomes increasingly dull and soulless, culminating in an excruciating TV game show presided over by Dick & Dom at their most buffoonish and grating.

The film’s sense of humour trades in groans of disgust.

The troublesome child at the centre of the destruction is Henry (Theo Stevenson), a lazy boy with dreams of pop stardom, who runs rings around his Mum (Siobhan Hayes) and Dad (Mathew Horne).

While Henry wreaks havoc, his annoying, goody-two-shoes brother Perfect Peter (Ross Marron) does everything he is told and is a model student for teacher Miss Lovely (Parminder Nagra).

Horrid Henry: The Movie is a long slog, even at 92 minutes and Moore’s film won't bring him the success he craves.