Maudlin when it goes directly for the heartstrings, but it’s a pleasant enough coming-of-age fable. It’s hard not to wish for the film to lean a little more on its assured visual craft, especially as its story feels a little by the numbers.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 11, 2024

Though low-stakes for an adventure film, this is nonetheless an engaging, found-family eco-fable that imparts an important conservationist message with considerable, at times impressionistic, style.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 7, 2024

Remaining loyal to the source material, Boyle’s Kensuke’s Kingdom greets fans of the novel with a safe cinematic counterpart... remaining within the boundaries of the original narrative, arriving at set expectations and nothing more.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 7, 2024

The script simplifies Morpurgo’s novel too much to give anyone over eight much to chew on. Still, an essential sweetness shines through — and there’s even a faint late echo of Oppenheimer, for any adult who lasts the journey.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 7, 2024

There are moments of real splendour, especially in the evocations of the seascapes and the island.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 2, 2024

The film is thoughtful, tender and generally quite beguiling, even if Michael’s immaturity makes him an irritating protagonist in the first half.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 1, 2024

It’s rather Spielbergian in its way (Spielberg filmed Morpurgo’s War Horse) but more low-cal.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 31, 2024