There's a charming old-school element to the animation, the character design reminiscent of vintage Magic Roundabout, but the history lesson aspects of the narrative are perhaps a little too advanced for younger viewers.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 8, 2024

The animation, reminiscent of the '60’s Rankin/Bass Christmas specials, serves to reinforce a sense of innocence and sweetness. And it offers children a real-life super-hero who never stopped asking questions.

| Original Score: B-plus | Apr 22, 2024

It's a role written for Stephen Fry... it's perhaps harder to know exactly who the audience is.

| Mar 12, 2024

Charming and informative as it is, the film may struggle to engage younger audiences accustomed to more overt comedy in their animated movies and less grave-robbing.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 10, 2024

There’s little to hold the attention of younger watchers. And even a cameo from the Mona Lisa can’t raise a smile.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Mar 8, 2024

It’s a bit of a bore and a chore, and feels like the kind of “educational” film that will be foisted on kids in class during wet playtime on rainy days.

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

The story doesn’t portray da Vinci as some type of intellectual anomaly... Capobianco includes all those elements, but his film is a reminder that the incredible brain was housed in a very human body.

| Original Score: A- | Feb 2, 2024

The animators do a good job of illustrating the way Leonardo's active mind works. The story is a bit flat because you never really believe that Leonardo is in any kind of jeopardy. The mood is light and the stakes are low.

| Original Score: C+ | Jan 17, 2024

The Inventor doesn't do anything groundbreaking in animation, but it's a charming option for viewers who want to see an adventure story about Leonardo da Vinci. The movie has positive messages about reaching for our best potential.

| Dec 18, 2023

It is creatively gifted just like da Vinci, but narratively jumbled, while lacking the sense of danger that makes such movies great.

| Dec 17, 2023

It asks big questions about life and meaning that might compel adults, but it’s ultimately hard to see this landing anywhere outside of a niche audience. If you appreciate stop-motion as an art, it’s a must. If you want a good story, maybe not.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Nov 28, 2023

There is nothing bad about The Inventor, but it would have been better if it had settled on a tone.

| Nov 28, 2023

While The Inventor does not wholly work, it is still ultimately worth seeing.

| Nov 28, 2023

It has an interesting concept but a very meandering narrative that makes it feel like it might have been better off as a tightly executed 30-minute short — even at just over 90 minutes long, The Inventor is creative but has a tendency to drag.

| Original Score: 6/10 | Nov 20, 2023

All the things that I thought were outrageous inventions of the filmmakers turned out to be real when I checked the history. It's really quite dazzling in that way.

| Oct 4, 2023

The biggest problem is the story. Although I think of Capobianco as a very talented story man, this just rambles, fumbles and stumbles its way along.

| Oct 4, 2023

Perhaps this could have worked better as a short but I grew tired of it even with the enchanting animation.

| Original Score: 5/10 | Sep 22, 2023

A visual treat (and a great history lesson), “The Inventor” shows how valuable following one’s passion truly is. Seeing is believing.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Sep 22, 2023

What emerges is a witty celebration of innovative thinking, sifting truth from accepted lies. The script makes its point over and over again, but the story is so imaginatively told that it's frequently dazzling.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Sep 19, 2023

Even though Leonardo learns a profound lesson in the end, in this film, his quest to find the human soul doesn’t have much heart.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Sep 19, 2023