Indeed, a video game is what Pets on a Train mostly resembles – treating a whimsically arbitrary, blatantly derivative plot line as the basis for a series of logic puzzles, which the characters must band together to solve before time runs out.

The concept and the main character have a lot of potential, but they are overwhelmed by a cluttered storyline.

Alongside playful nods to Die Hard and witty parodies of disaster-chasing reportage, the result mixes fast-moving fun and train-based peril with breezy charm.

While the movie has some sweet moments and funny bits, much of the plot concocted by directors Benoit Daffis and Jean-Christian Tassy is peppered with some scary action that might be frightening for some smaller kids in the audience.