Kensuke's Kingdom

Giving this an 8/10 rating

Another great animated film based on another book, and this film shows how a good family film should be done. This time the book is written by Michael Morpurgo, it's an adventure story set at sea and land. Frank Cottrell Boyce helps adapt the book, Neil Boyle and Kirk Hendry are the directors who have done a great job and give us a great different looking animated feature.

This is a film that shows that action, speaks louder than words, as there is more done, than said, so the cast done really have much on script, so everything is left up to the visuals and sound design, and it's a nice treat, a simple story of island life that is seen by two points of view, driven by circumstance.

Also the island and wildlife are characters in their own right. A very thoughtful movie.

If you don't want to cry your eyes out.

I must admit I got bored at the beginning with the main character, and was thinking of giving it up, but I'm a completionist so I had to see it through. And boy am I glad I did!

Everything is amazing - animation, the story, music... one of the best animated movies I've ever seen, especially because it tackles world issues that wound my heart - and the world - the most: animal poaching (leading to species extinction and ecosystem disbalance), stupid wars, but it also shows what a small paradise we could have if we only learned to live within the nature's world, instead of considering ourselves above it, and treasure what it gave us.

I'm sorry that I haven't even known about the book before watching this (there are so many amazing ones, it's impossible to know and read them all! T_T ), but I'll be sure to find and read it!

Michael Morpurgo's children's story was adapted as an animation by Frank Cottrell-Boyce. At its' heart is ecological issues with inspiration from Robinson Crusoe.

Set in the late 1990s. Michael is a young boy whose family go on a round the world sailing trip after his parents lose their jobs.

Michael has naughtily smuggled his dog Stella onboard. When the boat hits stormy weather. Michael and Stella find themselves stranded in a remote island.

They are not alone. In the island is an elderly Japanese second world war veteran, Kensuke (Ken Watanabe.)

He can only speak Japanese but he provides food for the Micheal.

Eventually young Michael learns to appreciate the beauty of the island environment and how it is in peril.

Especially when hunters arrive to shoot or take the wild animals.

Kensuke has been protecting the animal kingdom.

The animation is good, the story is simple with hope and sadness. It was unexpectedly charming and moving.

It's not very often that a movie hits me on an emotional level, but this really did. This is a stunning story bought to life with incredible passion. The score is magnificent and wouldn't be out of place in a AAA Hollywood movie, but it works phenomenally well in this intimate animation. The visual effects are stunning and bring the world of Kensuke's Kingdom to life before our eyes. The details of the story which I won't go into are both utterly heartbreaking and uplifting at once. I wish there were more films of this calibre being made on a regular basis and not just the same old remakes and sequels being churned out year upon year.

This movie would really tries to be simple and effective in that regard. Which it succeeds in quite well.

Very good scenery at nature and whatnot, characters are not deep, as again it's trying to be simple and effective.

Seeing a 2D movie in this day and age being made is a relief to my heart especially one that is clearly using its 3D assets right. It reminds me of tarazan and treasure planet but I'd argue it is doing a better job than both of them. The art styles pretty nice all the characters are very distinct in drawings and have very good features for you to discern that they are different people.

Very much worth watching. And please do this movie does a lot of traditional things which are dying out nowadays in the animation world.