Happy Bank Holiday monday, time to walk into town to see Kensuke’s Kingdom. The book that all 10 year olds read to teach them empathy after i was no longer that age, but as someone from a family who are linked to education, i always was told about this. Its been on my watch list for a long time, & its been out for a month & this is the only showing i can get to thats not in london or at 1pm on a day i am at work. So i have my tissues ready & im ready to do a lot of crying.

I lvoe my local cinema, its actually 125 this week (the week i saw this) however not opening the doors for your film until 1:48 for a film that starts at 1:50 is a bit bad & i know how many people were in the screening before this there wasnt many.

It was mainly families, a few older people but i was definitely the only odd millennial for sure. There were two older ladies who were extremely rude as we waiting patiently to be let into the screening. They sat in a box.

Trailers, is it bad im not quoting Fink from Wild Robot? Probably. Bloody fox. we also had Mufasa, Moana, Wicked & the panto season coming up at the other theatre they own.

& then the film started… it was as beautiful as i hoped it would be.

I cried. I know big shock. I cry at everything, but i couldnt stop at one point. It hurt & my eyes stung alot. I just couldnt get over it & how moving & beautifully it was dealt with. How do adults read this book with kids & not just have a massive breakdown, because that shit hurts a lot.

Both sets of family dynamics were so good & cleverly done. You sat & watched his family & how they were & then you met his new family & that extension & it was so different but so good. It was a different type of survival for sure. Incredible.

The flashback done via a painting he did & how it all moved, fuck that hurt. I mean i knew the story but it had been a while & it jus hit home a lot. Especially as the night before i re-watched Oppenheimer. Yea maybe not the best move on my part. Even more so when you consider that Cillian is his dads voice in this film & then obviously Robert in the film.

All of the illustrations were minimal but so worked. It showed the love & beauty of it all. Yes its been fed through a computer & isnt all hand draw like back in the day, but it really was like a story board you would see in an old school kids book coming to life on the big screen. That being said we only stuck to one real part of the island. In the book from my memory more of it is explored & yes it was draw to give you the feel that you were there, but it would have been nice to have seen more.

The story at points is minimal & does rely on the score at points & lack of the story which a live action would have given more of better pacing than just an animation. Some points the pauses were needed but at some it felt a little long.

I often talk about films hitting you in the feels, this one really really does. Truly beautiful. If youve read the book you will love it, if you havent you can appreciate it for its beauty & simplicity. Heart-breaking in the best way.