MY FATHER’S DRAGON REVIEW

 *MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

The production company, Cartoon Saloon, is known for producing visually stunning animated features that tell meaningful and original stories. These include The Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea, The Breadwinner and Wolfwalkers which have each been nominated for the Best Animated Feature Oscar. Their latest film, My Father’s Dragon, has recently been released on the streaming service, Netflix, after premiering at the London Film Festival where it received a mostly positive response from critics, however, will it see Cartoon Saloon earning their first Best Animated Feature Oscar?

Struggling to cope after a move to the city with his mother, Elmer (voiced by Jacob Tremblay) runs away in search of Wild Island and a young dragon, Boris (voiced by Gaten Matarazzo) who waits to be rescued. Elmer's adventures introduce him to ferocious beasts, a mysterious island and the friendship of a lifetime.

Like Cartoon Saloon’s previous films, My Father’s Dragon features bright and colourful two dimensional animation and tells an entertaining story packed full of adventure. Based on Ruth Stiles Gannett’s children’s book of the same name, which was published in 1948, My Father’s Dragon is directed by Nora Twomey who previously impressed with The Breadwinner which told a serious and thought provoking story about a young girl who lives in Kabul which is ruled by the Talibans and has to disguise herself as a boy in order to earn money for her family after the disappearance of her father. The film proved that the animation genre is more than just immature and silly films that only appeal to children. My Father’s Dragon is more family friendly than The Breadwinner as its premise is simple and focuses on the friendship that forms between Elmer and Boris and the adventure that they go on. As a result, My Father’s Dragon will almost certainly be enjoyed by children, however, there’s no reason why their parents won’t enjoy it. 

My Father’s Dragon features a talented cast who deliver strong performances. After voicing the titular character in Pixar’s Luca last year, Tremblay continues to impress with his portrayal of Elmer and makes him a likeable character. His co-star, Gaten Matarazzo, is best known for his role as Dustin Henderson in the fantasy based series, Stranger Things, and, as the joyful dragon Boris, he delivers a memorable performance. On their adventure, Elmer and Boris are joined by a variety of fun characters including a cat voiced by Whoopi Goldberg, a happy whale voiced by Judy McGreer, a motherly rhinoceros voiced by Dianne Wiest and an intimidating gorilla voiced by Ian McShane.

Since its premiere at the London Film Festival in October and its release on Netflix earlier this month, My Father’s Dragon has been praised by critics, with the majority of them saying that it “has something to offer audiences of all ages”. I couldn’t agree more as, with a runtime of 99 minutes, My Father’s Dragon makes for a quick and easy watch for families looking for a thoroughly entertaining film to watch.

I really hope that next year sees Cartoon Saloon win their first Oscar for Best Animated Feature with My Father’s Dragon as, for over a decade, they’ve been telling original stories through their unique and imaginative animation and that’s still the case with their latest film.

8/10