Kensuke’s Kingdom offers an emotional edge over Disney’s slick and song-filled mega-flicks

Even in the current unpredictable cinema landscape, animated movies for kids can be reliable money-
spinners. Inside Out 2 (somehow not subtitled ‘All the Feels’) is easily the biggest film of 2024 so far. It is not even a close race. With $1.4bn at the global box office and counting, Pixar’s emotional release has already racked up more than twice as much cash as second-place Dune: Part Two.

It helps that Pixar has raised the bar for US kid flicks across the board: even the most reluctant adult chaperone will find a chuckle or two among sturdily constructed 2024 sequels like Kung Fu Panda 4 or Despicable Me 4. But in the spirit of pick-and-mix it feels like it would be nice to have some viable non-Hollywood options for a family movie outing. Something like a classic British boiled sweet just to offset all the colourful American candy on offer.

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So summer’s the ideal time for castaway adventure Kensuke’s Kingdom to bob into view like an enticing Kola Kube. With its hand-drawn 2D animation it might look less flashy than the computer-generated polish of Pixar. But with the greatest respect to the multiple credited screenwriters of Kung Fu Panda 4, Kensuke’s Kingdom can claim to be a true black belt when it comes to the literary pedigree involved. Based on Michael Morpurgo’s beloved 1999 novel for younger readers, the film has been adapted by Frank Cottrell-Boyce so represents a sort of superhero-style team-up between children’s laureates past and present. 

It begins on the open sea, with a young family industriously attending to the nautical needs of a homely sailboat. We learn mum and dad (voiced by Sally Hawkins and Cillian Murphy) have taken their two kids on a character-building year-long voyage. Older sister Becky (Raffey Cassidy) is clearly happy to be an active part of the crew; her younger brother Michael (Aaron MacGregor) is less enthused, perhaps because his main role is swabbing the deck.

Michael’s hopes of being entrusted with more responsibility take a hit when the rest of the family discover he has smuggled Stella the family dog on board. But by the time they have passed the Cape of Good Hope and are scudding into the Indian Ocean – depicted rather beautifully by a paper sailboat gliding down a map – he is beginning to enjoy the voyage, keeping track of notable sights with doodles in the ship’s logbook.

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Then: disaster. A fierce tropical storm sweeps Michael and Stella overboard. He awakens on a foggy, imposing beach on a remote island. Stella also survives but even she cannot sniff out any supplies. It looks like the exposed Michael will be consumed by ants before he can find anything to eat. 

But when he awakens to find a tray of sushi and fresh water by his side, he realises he is not alone. Eventually he meets old man Kensuke (voiced by Ken Watanabe), a Japanese hermit who has been the sole inhabitant of the island for decades.

At first Kensuke wants nothing to do with this young interloper beyond issuing him daily rations like a prisoner. But despite the language barrier, the two slowly develop a cautious affinity, particularly bonding over their shared interest in art. (As well as constructing a working shower out of bamboo cane and a waterfall, Kensuke can also fashion watercolour paints from local flowers.)

With minimal dialogue and a close observance of wildlife – particularly the orangutans who populate the interior of the island – Kensuke’s Kingdom draws you into its unhurried rituals and rhythms like an effective mindfulness app. But the energy levels remain impressively high thanks to a stirring and unashamedly old-fashioned soundtrack by Stuart Hancock.

Presumably kids still fantasise about what they could do if there were no parents around to impose and enforce rules. Kensuke’s Kingdom offers a glimpse of how frightening and yet exhilarating that existence could be, while also suggesting that it is OK to sometimes miss the overbearing oversight of mum and dad. 

Later this year, there will be the chance to embark on a slick, song-filled but undoubtedly poignant voyage with Disney’s similarly nautical sequel Moana 2. But for all its hand-drawn beauty there is an emotional edge to Kensuke’s Kingdom that is likely to persist with anyone who watches it, whatever their age.

Graeme Virtue is a film and TV critic. Kensuke’s Kingdom is in cinemas from 2 August.

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