Franklin and the Turtle Lake Treasure[1] (Franklin et le trésor du lac in France and Benjamin et le Trésor du lac in Canadian French) is a children's animated adventure drama film which was released on September 6, 2006 direct-to-video, based on the TV series Franklin. The first Franklin film shown in theaters in Canada and France, it was the last production in the Franklin series to be traditionally animated.
The film centres around Franklin's granny falling ill during a visit from Franklin's Aunt Lucy, an archaeologist. Aunt Lucy knows about a special talisman that may cure the illness and joins Franklin on a quest to find it, with his friends Bear, Beaver and Snail. They are also accompanied by Aunt Lucy's goddaughter, Samantha (Sam), whose personality clashes with Franklin's.
The film, released to direct-to-video in the United States by HBO, has had occasional TV airings on the Nick Jr. Channel. Writer John van Bruggen said, "This film will take Franklin on a much greater adventure than any of the past Franklin films, including Franklin and the Green Knight." The film, written by van Bruggen and directed by Dominique Monfrey, was distributed by Mars Distribution. StudioCanal distributed it internationally. It also had the working titles Franklin and the Secret Talisman and Franklin and Granny's Secret.
The film was the finale of the 1997 series, since no new episodes were produced after its release. It was Patricia Gage's final performance before her death in 2010.
The Turtle family visit Franklin's grandmother with Aunt Lucy and her goddaughter, Samantha (Sam). Despite their efforts, Franklin and Sam find it difficult to get along.
Granny flashes back to when she was a child in Turtle Lake and spent mornings fishing with her father and afternoons picking berries with her mother. She found a secret hiding place and buried her valuables inside a painted tin box, but never got the chance to open it again. A few nights after she buried it, a forest fire began. She escaped, but her house was destroyed, the location of the box was obscured, and her parents died. She went to live with her aunt's family, and has not been back since.
The turtles get a call from Lucy that Granny is sick, and they check on her. Thinking that the box may be their only hope, Franklin, Sam, Lucy, Beaver, Bear, and Snail head to Granny's old, ruined home. A flock of butterflies appears, following the team for no reason, and they meet an old turtle who gives them something. When they leave, Sam pulls a prank on Beaver which angers him. They reach the lake, and Franklin agrees to follow Sam; Bear storms off and begins throwing stones into the lake. Franklin and Snail join Bear at the lake, where Bear accuses Franklin being in love with Sam. Franklin denies it, and convinces Bear to rejoin the group. The next day they meet Little Crow, an orphan bird, who shows them where the box used to be. Someone has taken it.
Franklin and Sam clash again until she slips while climbing a cliff to rescue Snail from two birds and Franklin saves her. While resting and waiting, the turtles apologize to each other and admit that their personality clash had gotten the best of them. They soon reach the top, but the chicks refuse to let them take Snail. Little Crow saves Snail, but gets into a fight with the chicks. Sam saves him, but they all fall; the mother of the chicks appears, and saves them from falling to certain death. Little Crow decides to stay with the falcon family, and the others continue their search for the treasure.
They arrive at a chasm, where they meet Grizzly and help him. Grizzly says that he had dug up Granny's box, and gives it to them. They thank him and leave for home, with Grizzly giving them his canoe. They return home and give Granny the box, which is contains her father's fish hook, a hand-drawn picture of her house, and a picture of her as an infant with her parents. She smiles, and finally recovers. Later that evening, Franklin and Sam say goodbye and hope to meet again someday. Sam kisses Franklin, and Aunt Lucy says that life is full of surprises.
Franklin and the Turtle Lake Treasure is available in French and English versions, which have different case covers. The film's French title is Franklin et le trésor du lac, and it was released in Canadian and French theaters in 2006. On May 22, 2007, HBO Video released the film on DVD in the United States. It received a G rating from the MPAA although it was not theatrically released in the US.
