Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper (1980) note that Grandad Rudd demonstrates a clear shift away from the original Dad and Dave/Steele Rudd humour. 'The softening of the rustic caricatures,' they write, 'was perhaps at the expense of their energy and warmth [while] the film's emphasis on Grandad Rudd's overbearing and parsimonious nature seemed to destroy much of the sympathy that he once had from the audience' (p. 224). The Rudd family is also transformed into prosperous farmers, while several newcomers appear in the family to give the film greater dramatic variety.