In the greatest spirit of generosity, summoning all the magnanimity one can muster toward movies, one might say that any CGI and animation to present before us at times (especially the, uh, opening scene, and the climax) is a conscious choice, and one way or another not truly any better or worse than the styles that have been employed here, there, and everywhere at one time or another. In that same spirit might one be able to abide the abject, unswerving simplicity and directness of the writing, and the otherwise ham-handedness from top to bottom of this family-friendly adventure, including performances from the child actors that are more "endearing" in a patronizing way (think juvenile sea turtle Squirt in 'Finding Nemo') than earnestly admirable. Speaking of juvenile, much of any attempted "humor" is so childish that if I had seen this when I was a little kid, it strikes me as the type of picture I'd have been embarrassed to watch; this applies mostly to any instance of the title character, unknowing of the real world, discovering what Life on Earth is like, but to most everything else as well. In other regards 'Veritas, Prince of truth' is much the same as any other feature of its kind; it's certainly not the only example of a tale about a fictional character coming to life and interacting with real people, especially kids. However - it is, perhaps, an especially excruciating iteration. Truthfully, I'm not sure who the ideal audience is for this, because it's too condescending for the young ones in the audience, and surely too overbearing for the adults who might watch it with them.
The cast try. Bret Loehr and Tyler Posey, playing the youngest characters, can't help that their diction and skills are undeveloped, or maybe even a conscious choice of directed Arturo-Ruiz Esparza, resulting in among other things some dialogue that's kind of unintelligible. Sean Patrick Flanery, playing the title character, does his best to be one part bumbling fool, one part stalwart Champion of Good. Kate Walsh isn't given much to do as villain Nemisii except sneer imperiously; would that she had a more active role. Amy Jo Johnson seems to be the only actor portraying a character that benefited from sincere writing, which is fortunate as she has a chance, unlike her costars, to actually act. None of them are helped by Billie Letts and Deborah Ruiz-Esparza's screenplay that aims to give us a kids' movie, and succeeds, but rather seems to go too far in making this so cartoonish, and the most stripped down, rudimentary form of any concept for the benefit of the youngest possible viewers. As has been remarked again and again over time, kids are a lot smarter than we give them credit for - which sadly doesn't bode well for 'Veritas' as it treats youths like someone that needs to be talked down to.
I appreciate the cast. I appreciate the contributions of those behind the scenes, including even the animators and post-production effects artists. The visual design of Nemisii, Veritas, and their comic book world is pretty swell. The idea of the picture at large is just fine, even if it's familiar. I don't know how much any of this matters when the movie seems to be so casually - and presumably unwittingly - dismissive of the intelligence of those it is most likely to appeal to. I mean, I get it, I don't know how to talk to kids, either, but if one is making a feature that's geared toward them, maybe you should have a consultant on hand. Too simple and gauche for adults and young people alike, that doesn't leave much room for 'Veritas, Prince of Truth' to tell his story. I'm glad for those who like this more than I do, but the fact of the matter is that I just really don't know how many folks might be able to get on board with it in the first place.
