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SummaryStruggling to cope after a move to the city with his mother, Elmer runs away in search of Wild Island and a young dragon who waits to be rescued. Elmer's adventures introduce him to ferocious beasts, a mysterious island, and the friendship of a lifetime in this animated adaptation of the award-winning children’s book from author Ruth Sti...
Directed By: Nora Twomey
Written By: Meg LeFauve, John Michael Morgan, Ruth Stiles Gannett
My Father's Dragon
74
6.9
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SummaryStruggling to cope after a move to the city with his mother, Elmer runs away in search of Wild Island and a young dragon who waits to be rescued. Elmer's adventures introduce him to ferocious beasts, a mysterious island, and the friendship of a lifetime in this animated adaptation of the award-winning children’s book from author Ruth Sti...
Directed By: Nora Twomey
Written By: Meg LeFauve, John Michael Morgan, Ruth Stiles Gannett
Where to Watch
Not available in your country?
ExpressVPN
Get 3 Extra months free
$6.67/mth
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally FavorableBased on 21 Critic Reviews
74
81% Positive
17 Reviews
17 Reviews
19% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
- All Reviews
- Positive Reviews
- Mixed Reviews
- Negative Reviews
Metascore
Generally FavorableBased on 21 Critic Reviews
74
81% Positive
17 Reviews
17 Reviews
19% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
- All Reviews
- Positive Reviews
- Mixed Reviews
- Negative Reviews
Even if a wonder feels minor, it reminds us that everything that Cartoon Saloon invests their talents in results in open-hearted, warm, and affecting art that’s never saccharine but thematically matured in essential drops of wisdom.
Against this enticing, enigmatic backdrop, the odd sops to mainstream taste – some comic shrieking, a sprinkling of toilet humour – feel unnecessary, but forgivable. It’s the sort of film you’re relieved to discover still exists.
User Score
Generally FavorableBased on 17 User Ratings
6.9
71% Positive
12 Ratings
12 Ratings
24% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
6% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
- All Reviews
- Positive Reviews
- Mixed Reviews
- Negative Reviews
User Score
Generally FavorableBased on 17 User Ratings
6.9
71% Positive
12 Ratings
12 Ratings
24% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
6% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
- All Reviews
- Positive Reviews
- Mixed Reviews
- Negative Reviews
Director Nora Twomey (The Breadwinner, The Secret of Kells) and screenwriter Meg LeFauve (Pixar’s Inside Out) have rebuilt the Gannetts’ fragmented, surreal little parable into something that’s more like a conventionally structured kids’ movie, but they’ve also made it more exciting and resonant. It’s a lovely film.
The deep fondness for the source material comes through, and the painterly hand-drawn aesthetic is enchanting.
If this weren’t a Cartoon Saloon movie, it would probably fall apart long before Meg LeFauve’s screenplay arrives at its touching finale, which trusts kids to confront some of the more difficult truths that childhood forces you to intuit. But good news: My Father’s Dragon is a Cartoon Saloon movie, and the open-hearted sincerity of the studio’s work breathes singular life into even the least engaging scenes of its most anonymous feature.
It all remains refreshingly and unusually old-fashioned. A gentle film aimed at the younger end of young audiences that will also find the approval of those that much older.
My Father’s Dragon abandons a truly heartfelt storyline with complex layers in favor of a generic adventure with vague threats, vague solutions, and predictable outcomes.
By Erick MassotoFULL REVIEW
Based on a children's book, this movie about adversity and friendship lacks, for some mysterious reason, the charm of previous Cartoon Saloon works. If it is saved from capsizing, it is because of its own originality and magic. Better luck next time.
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Não temos nada de novo sob o sol aqui: uma jornada de autoconhecimento do menino junto ao dragão, com aquele velho ensinamento para ter coragem. O dragão é chatíssimo, mas o menino é realmente muito carismático, o que segura a atenção até o final, e sua relação com a mãe, o drama social pelo qual eles passam, pesa muito a favor do filme (os minutos iniciais me ganharam). Entretanto, no decorrer da história, e principalmente as cores que usaram no mundo mágico, ficou visivelmente instável, por exemplo, tinha momentos que eu confundia o que era fundo do mar ou não, de tão ruim que ficava. Ainda bem que os personagens secundários também ajudam, e o arco se fecha bem redondinho.
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Weakest Cartoon Saloon film to date; still, quite enjoyable and great for children.Although the film may feel too childish at times, the themes about realizing you're not always right, friendship, and overcoming the harsh reality with the help of your family will give kids something to think about. Animation, as the Irish studio has accustomed us, is top-notch. The 2-D environments are breathtaking, and the character design is simple yet cute. Unfortunately, the story becomes stuck for a while, making its duration feel a little tiresome. And, honestly, Boris, the dragon, is very annoying. For a couple of moments, I wished he just shut up. Some of his jokes never land.'My Father's Dragon' is more adult-oriented towards the beginning, but once Elmer reaches Wild Island, the story becomes kid-friendly and very colorful. Cartoon Saloon's new movie may not be as engaging and relevant as 'Wolfwalkers' or "The Breadwinner," but it proves once again the versatility of the studio and its ambition to tread new ground.
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It baffles me that Cartoon Saloon can make a few good movies and then so many awful ones. Their track record is all over the place, and this new film is sadly their worst to date.It's dull, plodding, aimless, boring, annoying, stupid, shallow, constantly at odds with itself, and the ending is staggeringly stupid. Absolutely do not waste your time.
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