KENSUKE’S KINGDOM
Directed by Kirk Hendry and Neil Boyle
Certificate: PG
☆☆☆☆☆

EVERY great children’s story has a moral to take on board, and what makes one truly great is the subtle way the message is told.

Michael Morpugo has made a name by writing novels for young people that reverberate through any generation who read his work. He manages to tell clear-eyed tales without being condescending.

His book Kensuke’s Kingdom is the story of a young boy called Michael, washed overboard from his family’s yacht as they attempt to circumnavigate the globe.

He and his dog Stella Artois end up on a beach on a small island in the Pacific. Their chances of survival look slim, and Michael also has to come to terms with knowing he is unlikely ever to see his parents again. That they assume he is dead adds to the spiral of despair.

But then a mysterious elderly Japanese man, called Kensuke, emerges from the jungle. He has been hiding from the world for decades for very good reasons that become apparent, and during his time in isolation he has learned the secrets of the island, and found a new family to love and protect.

What transpires is a fabulous story that draws on history – the nuclear bombing of Nagaskai and the Second World War – and becomes a thoughtful discussion through story-telling of love, family, companionship, selflessness, nature and courage.

It’s a heady mix that in other hands could be disastrously preachy and soppy.

Not so here: with a screenplay written by the great Frank Cottrell-Boyce adapted from the book, and voiced by similarly talented Sally Hawkins, Cillian Murphy, Ken Watanabe and newcomer Aaron MacGregor, this has class all over it.

Add to these production values some stunning modern art and the whole package is faultless.

Using hand-drawn animation mixed with a type of collage from real life photography, it’s simple and beautiful, awe-inspiring and full of quirk, humour and a naturalness that is so much easier on the eye than the usual CGI animation of today.

Kensuke’s home is a piece of architectural imagination that is the stuff of dreams, and life on the island has an ethereal quality through the stunning artwork.

A masterpiece of modern film-making, and one any accompanying adult will enjoy immensely.