Young Michael, shipwrecked on a remote island, must adapt to life alone. Over time, he feels another presence, learning that this world is home to both unimaginable danger and beauty.

Based on a Michael Morpurgo novel, ‘Kensuke’s Kingdom’ is a new British animation, directed by Neil Boyle and Kirk Hendry, and written by Frank Cottrell-Boyce. It follows an adventurous young boy called Michael (a fictionalised version of novel author Michael Morpurgo) who finds himself stranded on what appears to be a deserted tropical island after him and his dog fall off his families sailing boat during a storm. The island appears to be deserted aside from a few animals, however Michael (Aaron MacGregor) soon discovers a Japanese man called Kensuke who has built an idyllic looking place to stay amidst the trees and the thick jungle foliage.

Michael is initially a nuisance to Kensuke, who looks after him nonetheless, but over time a bond begins to form as they learn more about each other and Kensuke teaches Michael how to adapt to his surroundings and interact with the animals that live besides them. I liked that Michael felt like a real child with all the naivety that entails, as opposed to the typical quasi-genius protagonists you often find in children’s movies, and it made his growth over the course of the movie all the more touching. The themes explored included loss, the fragility of nature and the cruelty of man, and I found myself really swept up and even dare I say, shedding a tear at a couple of moments.

The animation is superb, bringing the tropical landscape beautifully together, and the voicework from Ken Watanabe in particular (as Kensuke) is terrific. His words are not translated via subtitles, so unless you speak Japanese, you learn about him at the same pace as Michael and purely through the visual medium. There’s been some terrific animated movies this year from ‘Robot Dreams’ to ‘Transformers One’, with ‘The Wild Robot’ also getting rave reviews (out this weekend), and ‘Kensuke’s Kingdom’ is another excellent one to add to the list.

Rating: 4/5

Directed By: Neil Boyle & Kirk Hendry

Starring: Aaron MacGregor, Ken Watanabe, Cillian Murphy, Raffey Cassidy and Sally Hawkins

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5674658/