Riddle of Fire

2023
PG-13
1h 55m

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

1.6K

YOUR RATING

Phoebe Ferro, Skyler Peters, Lorelei Olivia Mote, and Charlie Stover in Riddle of Fire (2023)

Play trailer2:04

1 Video

99+ Photos

Action Adventure Comedy

Three mischievous children embark on a woodland odyssey when their mother sends them on an errand.Three mischievous children embark on a woodland odyssey when their mother sends them on an errand.Three mischievous children embark on a woodland odyssey when their mother sends them on an errand.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

1.6K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 7 wins & 9 nominations

Trivia
In a 2024 interview with Sci-fi Now, Weston Razooli spoke about his influences for the film: "In terms of filmmakers, one would be François Truffaut, and I wanted to create my version of The 400 Blows (1959), set in the mountains of Wyoming! I also wanted an Akira Kurosawa grandiose adventure quality, sort of like The Hidden Fortress (1958), with a freewheeling, enchanted adventure of sorts, where these characters seem almost lost in the forest. I was also inspired by... The Little Rascals from the 1920's, just shows about funny kids doing funny things. Then I'd have to name the film Where Is the Friend's House? (1987) from Abbas Kiarostami. It's the simplicity of a kid trying to return a friend's notebook to his house that he can't find, and the plot of Riddle of Fire is very similar to that. I am often inspired by the literature of Robin Hood and his merry men kind of just frolicking in the forest on adventures, and Brothers Grimm as well. There's also a board game called The Enchanted Forest which I grew up playing, it has a mysterious and slightly scary quality to it. My brothers, cousins and I used to say it was sort of like Jumanji (1995) where you have to keep playing the game, or else terrible things will happen! I guess it created this thing in our imaginations, bigger than the game itself."

Soundtracks
Riddle of Fire Theme
Written by Hole Dweller
Performed by Hole Dweller
Licensed Courtesy of Tim Rowland

User reviews20

Review

Featured review

7/10

Riddle of Fire

This reminded me of the films produced in the UK by the Children's Film Foundation. It all centres around the adventures of three paintball-armed kids who meticulously plan a raid on a warehouse that holds games consoles. They manage to pinch one and get it home, but there they find that the television needs a password! That requires their mother - poorly with flu in bed upstairs. They manage to get her to agree to release the code if they go get her a blueberry pie. Snag? Well the baker's don't have any and the baker is on holiday. Then they decide to try to make one themselves, so coax the recipe out of "Miss Celia" (Colleen Baum) and head to the supermarket to "borrow" the ingredients. The last, most vital, speckled eggs is stolen from under their nose by "Redrye" (Charles Halford). They're not having any of this so follow him home so they can pinch them back, only to find he is part of a gang led by "Anna-Freya" (Lio Tipton), a witch of sorts, who is determined to kill the 'Prince of the Forest" (a grand and majestic old stag). Luckily for our intrepid trio, her daughter "Petal" (Lorelei Olivia Mote) had snuck out on the hunting trip and soon the four children are using all of their guile to thwart the plans of her mother whilst still getting that elusive egg for the pie! The four children deliver engagingly here with "Alice" (Phoebe Ferro - or maybe a young Dame Anna Wintour) taking charge, Mote enjoying her spell as the mischievous mini-witch and the scene stealing "Jodie" (Skyler Peters). He's the youngest of the group and the most entertaining. The writing quirkily mixes some modern day language with some fun use of Arthurian style ye, thee and whences and when did you last hear a kid (or anyone) use the word scurries? The story is a bit of a mess at times, and the ending a bit rushed and covenient, but I did quite enjoy this enthusiastic romp with a touch of magic and a gently impressed ecological message too.