O Dragão do Meu Pai

Few things are harder than bringing a well lived kids book to film. People who love the source material won't be happy. But they are forgetting---its based on an idea or book or adapted from source material. Being able to see another person's vision requires an open mind. That seems rare around here.

This was fine. It told a good story and showed kids that it's OK to be scared. Some action didn't mange perfect sence, but that's OK. The voice acting was good and I liked this style of animating. It's a nice change from extreme cgi. I loved the ending song, too. I knew the book, and I still liked the film. Nothing wrong with that, if you think wth an open mind.

Really enjoyed My Father's Dragon. A story of bravery with two likeable characters. Everyone is going to adore Boris the Dragon. He puts a smile on your face! Gaten Matarazzo is the perfect choice to voice him. Great talent behind the other voices as well from Jacob Tremblay, Whoopi Goldberg, Rita Moreno and Ian McShane to name but a few.

Animation from Cartoon Saloon is always going to be special and this new film from Nora Twomey keeps with this tradition. Colours and textures are so lovely. Cartoon Saloon also never shy away from some intense scenes and some very young viewers might find this so. The story does feel a bit disjointed in places.

Overall a very enjoyable film with a fantastic score from Mychael and Jeff Danna.

From the creators of Song of the Sea & Wolfwalkers comes another family-friendly delight that retains the simple, charming & childlike animation that Cartoon Saloon is best-known for but is lacking on the narrative front this time around, for My Father's Dragon packs a kid-friendly plot that will keep the young viewers invested but there isn't much in store for the grown-ups.

Directed by Nora Twomey (The Breadwinner), the story has all the magical charm & innocence that's expected from the studio but unlike their previous works, there isn't a complexity & layer to it that made those films enchanting for viewers of all ages. What unfolds in the city had more promise than where it journeys into, plus the execution is also lacking the emotional resonance.

The rich animation remains visually appealing and the characters are gorgeously rendered too with simple designs & colourful brushstrokes. However, the premise is generic, devoid of depth and doesn't have enough to engage the adults. And it's only coz of our own familiarity with the studio's earlier efforts that we continue to stay aboard, expecting more than what it has in store.

Overall, My Father's Dragon has its moments and isn't entirely without merit either but it definitely falls short on the expectation scale and is the weakest film in the Irish animation studio's canon. Crafted with affection yet missing the allure & originality evident in their best-known works, this adventure fantasy may fail to exude the warmth of its predecessors but Cartoon Saloon's latest can still surprise some.

Set in the early days of The Great Depression, the narrator (Mary Kay Place) tells us the story of her father Elmer (Jacob Tremblay) as a child. While Elmer and his mother Dela (Golshifteh Frahani) run a successful General Store together serving the communities needs thanks to Elmer's ability at finding things, this idyllic life is short lived as the depression hits and the store is closed with Dela and Elma relocating from their home and move to an apartment in Nevergreen City where Dela looks for work but promises Elmer they'll one day have a store of their own again. While Elmer fastidiously claims to this dream, Dela becomes more pessimistic as she struggles to keep both their heads above water. When a cat follows Elmer in, Elmer in an act of kindness gives it a saucer of milk which frustrates Dela and the resulting exchange sends Elmer running away in tears. The cat follows Elmer and reveals it can talk (voiced by Whoopi Goldberg) and rewards Elmer for his kindness by telling him of an island where a magical fire breathing dragon is waiting that Elmer could use to solve his problems. The cat summons Soda the Whale (Judy Greer) and Elmer embarks with his yellow backpack filled with odds and ends to Wild Island. Once on the island, Elmer learns that It is continually sinking and that the wild animals lead by Saiwa the Gorilla (Ian Mcshane) have captured the dragon in order for it to repeatedly pull their island up from sinking which is happening with increasing regularity. Elmer helps free the Dragon, named Boris (Gaten Matarazzo) but in the process Boris' wing is twisted and the two embark on a journey to find Aratuah the Tortoise who might have the answer to awaken Boris' true power and save Wild Island as the animals attempt to recapture Boris.

My Father's Dragon is the latest film from Irish based animation studio Cartoon Saloon which in the past 15 years has become an internationally recognized and prestigious producer of animated films with critical successes in The Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea, The Breadwinner, and 2020's Wolfwalkers in addition to their work on various TV series and specials. The film is an adaptation of the 1948 children's novel of the same name by Ruth Stiles Gannett which has won a Newbery Medal and continues to be a staple of Children's libraries and classrooms to this day. The project was announced in 2016 with Nora Twomey serving as director having previously helmed Secret of Kells and The Breadwinner with the project soon gaining traction in 2018 with Netflix coming on board to produce the film for their streaming service. Featuring the unmistakable style Cartoon Saloon is known for and adapting a legacied and time honored children's classic, My Father's Dragon will be a welcome treat for fans of both the studio and the book as it's an undeniably charming modern classic that harkens back to the best in family filmmaking.

The movie features some wonderfully produced animation done in Cartoon Saloon's distinct style with the designs made from comparatively more simple shapes but free and expressive movement that does a good job of translating Ruth Stiles Gannett's illustrations to animation. As with other productions of this studio, the movie creates vibrant and colorful worlds that while stemming from a real life basis are undeniably magical and wonderous. The visual identity of the film with its depiction of era America both in the Dust Bowl ravaged middle America and the more dower urban environments gives these environments a unique visual identity with the layout and design of Nevergreen City rich in detail. The designs only get more elaborate and visually exciting once Elmer embarks on his journey to Wild Island with both the island and the wild animals thriving with details in design and animation.

While the plot is very simple as it's sort of a mash-up of Wizard of Oz by way of Where the Wild Things Are, the well-trodden plot is put to good use with the moral ambiguity of the situation once we get to Wild Island. While Boris the dragon is captured by the wild animals of the island, the animals aren't malicious in nature and are motivated by desperation and helplessness so despite being "antagonists" in this story, they aren't painted as "villains" and Elmer's motivation for why he's even saving the dragon is initially to save his own desires so there's a good thematic subtext about fear and self interest leading to morally complexed or compromised actions. The film's an ensemble piece and features a wide array of noted actors doing great voice-over work. Jacob Tremblay continues to be impressive in this kind of role and serving as a solid audience proxy for us as Elmer, and the emotional core provided in the initial interactions between him and his mother Dela played by Golshifteh Frahani are rich in emotion thanks to the performances and chemistry between the two. The movie also features some solid supporting work from Whoopi Goldberg, Ian McShane, Dianne Wiest, Chris O'Dowd and many others and you can tell they're giving their all in their performances. The one performance I was kind of mixed on was Gaten Matarazzo as Boris the Dragon, and while I'd say he's good for much of it, there were points were the characters high energy absent-minded exuberance kind of grated on me and flirted with becoming annoying, but he never really falls over that edge and does dial it back as the film goes on. This isn't a major criticism, but it's something I felt I should point out.

My Father's Dragon is a welcome treat for both families and animation fans and if you remember being read the book as a child by your parents at bedtime you'll get a nostalgia kick as the movie for the most part translates the novels contents pretty well (some minor changes here and there). I really liked this movie and while I loved Cartoon Salon already, this just reinforces that love.

The director studied the source material thoroughly, visited the author and discussed the story at length before the resulting movie was made. The book alone doesn't make a full movie, but what they've added was inspired by that meeting at Ruth Styles Gannett's house. The voice cast in this are excellent, in particular Jacob Tremblay and Gaten Matarazzo who bring so much soul to their roles. The design work maintaining an illustrated book quality through out and the last act really packs an emotional punch. I see some people referring to this as a Netflix movie, like it's part of some soulless machine. It's made lovingly by Nora Twomey and her team at Cartoon Saloon, who made this during lockdown from their homes. To produce such a beautiful film where all deviations from the source was carefully considered is incredible. It took real craft and artistry to make every frame on that screen and these armchair critics need to think about that.