Kensuke's Kingdom | |
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Directed by |
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Screenplay by | Frank Cottrell-Boyce |
Based on | |
Produced by |
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Starring |
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Edited by | Richard Overall |
Music by | Stuart Hancock |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Modern Films (United Kingdom) Le Pacte (France) Tarantula Distribution (Luxembourg) |
Release dates |
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Running time | 85 minutes |
Countries | United Kingdom Luxembourg France |
Language | English |
Budget | €10,945,388 [2] |
Box office | €2,964,000 [lower-alpha 1] |
Kensuke's Kingdom is a 2023 animated adventure film based on the children's novel of the same name by Michael Morpurgo. The film debuted at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on 11 June 2023. [3] The UK premiere was at the 67th BFI London Film Festival on 14 October 2023. On general release in France from 7 February 2024, under the title Le Royaume de Kensuké.
A boy (Aaron MacGregor) swept overboard during a storm on a worldwide sailing trip with his family washes ashore on an island in the Pacific Ocean. While there, he realises someone (Ken Watanabe) is nearby, aiding him with his survival.
It was announced in February 2019 that an animated film adaptation of the children's novel Kensuke's Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo was in development, with Sally Hawkins, Cillian Murphy, Ken Watanabe and Raffey Cassidy set as part of the voice cast, like the novel following a fictionalised version of Morpurgo himself as he is stranded on a desert island as a child. [4]
In September 2020, the film entered production after securing new financing. [5]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 97% of 29 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.3/10.The website's consensus reads: "Remaining loyal to its source material, Kensuke's Kingdom is a quietly engaging story with meticulous 2D animation that's more profound than average offerings" [6] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 68 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. [7]
Studio Ghibli, Inc. is a Japanese animation studio based in Koganei, Tokyo. It has a strong presence in the animation industry and has expanded its portfolio to include various media formats, such as short subjects, television commercials, and two television films. Their work has been well-received by audiences and recognized with numerous awards. Their mascot and most recognizable symbol, the character Totoro from the 1988 film My Neighbor Totoro, is a giant spirit inspired by raccoon dogs (tanuki) and cats (neko). Among the studio's highest-grossing films are Princess Mononoke (1997), Spirited Away (2001), Howl's Moving Castle (2004), Ponyo (2008), and The Boy and the Heron (2023). Studio Ghibli was founded on June 15, 1985, by the directors Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata and producer Toshio Suzuki, after acquiring Topcraft's assets.
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Sir Michael Andrew Bridge Morpurgo is an English book author, poet, playwright, and librettist who is known best for children's novels such as War Horse (1982). His work is noted for its "magical storytelling", for recurring themes such as the triumph of an outsider or survival, for characters' relationships with nature, and for vivid settings such as the Cornish coast or the trenches of the First World War. Morpurgo was the third Children's Laureate, from 2003 to 2005, and is President of BookTrust, a children's reading charity.
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Sally Cecilia Hawkins is an English actress who began her career on stage and then moved into film. She has received several awards including a Golden Globe Award in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards and two British Academy Film Awards.
Kensuke's Kingdom is a children's novel by Michael Morpurgo, illustrated by Michael Foreman. Following a fictionalised version of Morpurgo as he is stranded on a desert island as a child, it was first published in 1999 by Egmont UK. It was subsequently released by various other publishers, such as Scholastic.
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