Metacritic reviews

The Deer King offers the personal touch of a hero’s journey alongside a more expansive vision of how to live in community. It’s a stunner.

The‌ Deer King may feel familiar to fans of Studio Ghibli, but it’s made with such dedication to the craft and the story that it results in a brand-new experience full of heart and action.

The film is tenderly wrought and brilliantly animated, with transitions that emphasize the communion between the land and the human body.

Visually stunning (as can now be expected from esteemed studio Production I.G.), what truly distinguishes The Deer King is in the narrative, and how it is laid out by the co-directors, Miyaji (Fusé: Memoirs of a Huntress) and directorial first timer Ando.

Although occasionally let down by weak writing and erratic pacing, the film’s visuals are glorious. Unsurprisingly given its creators’ backgrounds, The Deer King is meticulously crafted.

In addition to a story about a found family and the potential for a life-saving vaccine, there are more than four other stories unfolding. It’s a shame too because there’s nothing inherently bad about The Deer King—it’s simply trying to do too much.

The Deer King leaves one with the impression that it hasn’t given itself enough room to truly soar.

These images tantalize, but without satisfying, like a trailer for a narrative that would work better as a long-form series.

Genre fans may eat this up, but it’s not anything I’d call a “must see” film, despite its obvious ambition.

Unfortunately, The Deer King fatally (and repeatedly) stalls as its plot starts winding down and its creators lunge for a character-driven moral to a symbolically freighted parable.