The rodent in charge of the rescue mission explains that picking up the scent of their missing comrade was easy: “He was widdling all the way.” Just one of the many hilarious lines in this family animation adapted from the Terry Pratchett children’s novel about a crew of scam artist rodents. My favourite moment involves a rat at death’s door coming face to face with the grim squeaker.

The film is a riot of silliness from start to finish, featuring top dollar actors hamming it up nicely, making up for some not especially dazzling animation. The setting is ye olde bubonic times, where Maurice (Hugh Laurie) is a conniving ginger tom, and the brains behind a Pied Piper racket. He is working in cahoots with a pack of rats and a gormless boy called Keith (Himesh Patel). Of the supporting cast David Tennant is wonderful as the rats’ spiritual guru Dangerous Beans, an ageing crusty in a holey jumper. On a typical operation, Maurice sends in the rats, who overrun a village, whipping up fears of a plague. Then in comes Keith playing a flute pretending to be the piper of yore. Voila, the rats exit and the locals pay up. It’s a nice little earner, but Maurice and the gang come unstuck in a village called Furry Bottom.

This is a film with a lot of charm, and gives cinema its most lovable rats since Ratatouille. But I did wonder at points who the audience is. Little ’uns may be puzzled by the sophisticated wordplay – in particular the meta commentary of Emilia Clarke’s character Malicia, the clever clogs bookworm daughter of the mayor of Furry Bottom, as she pokes fun at plot cliches. And older kids may feel too grown up for cute fluffy talking animals.

• The Amazing Maurice is released on 16 December in UK cinemas and on Sky Cinema, and on 12 January in Australian cinemas.