Every so often a movie comes along that is really everything a family could hope to enjoy together, especially near the holidays. Nora Twomey's My Father's Dragon (now streaming on Netflix) is such a film, bringing together a stellar cast (more on them soon), whimsical hand-drawn 2D animation, and a story that will have everyone in the room completely invested.
My Father's Dragon is based on the 1948 book by Ruth Stiles Gannett and produced by Cartoon Saloon, the Irish company behind the lush Song of the Sea. The story begins and ends with Elmer Elevator (deftly voiced by Jacob Tremblay), a young boy who finds himself on a journey with a dragon (Gaten Matarazzo) to previously unknown depths.
The movie begins with Elmer and his mother, who have been hit by hard times after being forced to close their shop and move to Nevergreen, a city that presents exactly as it sounds. While the original book was aimed at young children, the film offering has something for children of all ages (and even adults).
Actor Jacob Tremblay agrees. He tells LittleThings, "There are so many messages for all ages can connect to. I'm 16 and I really connected to the message of bravery and how it's OK to be scared — it's important to use your emotions as strengths, because emotions are very powerful. If you can channel them to do good, there's a lot of good things you can do in life to use that bravery to encourage others."
These messages of courage and bravery are woven throughout the film, first as Elmer's mother (Golshifteh Farahani) struggles in the fact of difficulty and despair to provide for herself and her son, and again as Elmer embarks on his own journey across the sea to an island that is in need of help.
Perhaps one of the best parts of the movie is its wildly talented cast. In addition to Jacob as Elmer, the film brings on Gaten Matarazzo (Stranger Things), Whoopi Goldberg, Alan Cumming, Leighton Meester, Adam Brody, Ian McShane, Dianne Wiest, and more. While at times it can almost feel like there are too many characters in the movie, each of the actors is so talented it's easy to not mind.
In this day and age of heavy animation, it's refreshing to sit back and enjoy the 2D animated style of the film. Younger children will be enraptured by the bright colors and the relationship between Elmer and Boris the Dragon (who happens to be excellent at armpit farts, for better or worse), while older kids will appreciate the artistic styling of the movie itself.
If you're looking for a sweet film that's unoffensive, artistically imaginative, and a little different from everything else that's out there these days for family movie night, My Father's Dragon is it. As many parents know, every so often it's nice to relax with the family and watch something wholesome, and this movie more than delivers on that.