Robinson Crusoe (PG) 90 mins. Animation featuring the voices of Yuri Lowenthal, David Howard, Colin Metzger, Lindsay Torrance and Sandy Fox.

THIS version of Daniel Defoe's famous novel, Robinson Crusoe, is a resolutely child-friendly edition, told from the perspective of birds and animals which befriend the title character during his tropical isolation.

Cuteness and gentle humour trump sophisticated storytelling and harsh realism throughout.

The feathered and furred critters speak to each other and trade one-liners - although Robinson can't understand their grunts, growls, purrs and squawks.

The wildlife is extremely tame.

Robinson (voiced by Yuri Lowenthal) heads to sea with his shaggy dog Aynsley (Doug Stone) and quickly falls foul of the ship's gnarly cats, May (Debi Tinsley) and Mal (Doucette again).

A violent storm shipwrecks Robinson on an island, which is home to a macaw called Mak (David Howard) and his friends: a chameleon called Carmello (Colin Metzger), a feisty kingfisher called Kiki (Lindsay Torrance), an echidna called Epi (Sandy Fox), a pangolin called Pango (Jeff Doucette), a tapir called Rosie (Laila Berzins) and a doddering old goat called Scrubby (Joey Camen).

Mak has always been a dreamer and believes the glittering treasures, which sometimes wash up on the sun-kissed idyll, indicate a brighter future over the horizon.

The other denizens of the island reject the bird's fantasies.

"My dear macaw, you must wake up and smell the papaya," wearily intones Carmello.

Robinson's unexpected arrival adds fuel to Mak's suspicions that the world doesn't begin and end on the island.

Unfortunately, Machiavellian moggies May and Mal also avoid a watery grave and they plot revenge from nearby Curse Island, flanked by their army of hungry kittens.

Robinson Crusoe is a simplistic and sporadically entertaining journey of self-discovery.