Elmer (Jacob Tremblay) is a helpful young boy with a knack for finding things at the small family shop run by his mother, Dela (Golshifteh Farahani).  When business dries up and they are forced to close and relocate to Nevergreen City, to keep spirits high, Elmer promises his mother that they will find enough money to buy a new store across the street from their cramped and leaky apartment rented from the crotchety old landlady, Mrs. McClaren (Rita Moreno).  In his search, he meets a talking cat (Whoopi Goldberg) who leads him to the city docks where Soda the Whale (Judy Greer) takes Elmer to Wild Island in search of the magic dragon, Boris (Gaten Matarazzo). 

The latest fairy tale from Cartoon Saloon, My Father’s Dragon, was released on Netflix and comes from the Kilkenny-based studio alumni, Nora Twomey, from a script by Meg LeFauve based on Ruth Stiles Gannett’s book.  The 99-minute film is bursting with magic and imagination sure to capture the attention of younger audiences while the story and style give the more mature crowd plenty to absorb as well.  As with the previous efforts from the studio, there is so much care and love poured into every frame and the stories feel incredibly personal even if they are adaptations of myths or other material.  There is always a message contained within the narrative, though the films never wear it on their sleeve.  It is discovered, almost subconsciously, as the narratives unfold and the characters progress on their wonderous journeys.  My Father’s Dragon is no exception to this expectation as it is a story about the lengths we go to in order to protect the ones we love. 

Tremblay’s Elmer instantly works his way into our hearts as he moves with vigor through the frame with boundless energy as if he is incapable of slowing down, except to watch intently his mother whom he adores as she haggles for the best price on tangerines from a local vendor.  The warmth and joy from this opening sequence makes the juxtaposition of Nevergreen City, with its tall buildings, metal bridges, and smog so upsetting.  The people all pass quickly by and we never see their faces as they rush to their destinations.  Everything is wet and cold and the only thing that keeps Elmer’s spirits up is the promise of buying the storefront across the street to bring back that sense of normalcy and purpose from their old lives. 

The magic quickly returns when he rides on the back of Soda, across the sea, to Wild Island and audiences get their first far-away glimpse at Boris as he pulls the island up from the waves.  It’s a bit of a messy introduction to the second act as Elmer sneaks around a clandestine caucus overseen by Chief Saiwa (Ian McShane) a Silverback gorilla and Kwan (Chris O’Dowd), the fiery macaque monkey who is next in command over the Ape Army, regarding the fate of their island and its menagerie of inhabitants. Once he frees Boris from the vines and they are on the run, the chemistry between Elmer and Boris is immediate as the two tentatively try and figure each other out. Boris is written to be the loveable oddball character present in many animated films, and it is a careful balance between being effective and being grating. Thankfully, Boris is very effective as his lighthearted antics begin to itch at Elmer who has to find creative ways out of a number of situations using only the odds-and-ends collection contained in his backpack.

It sounds like a formulaic setup since we see the boy pack up the broken scissors, an empty jar, and a lollipop before following the cat, but My Father’s Dragon does not follow such a standard Checkov’s gun-style narrative. The film is much more relationship-focused following the growing friendship between Elmer and Boris, the falling out, and the triumphant coming together with a new understanding of one another. Like most of Cartoon Saloon’s films, the message is there for those that want it, and for those that do not, they can still enjoy a fantastic adventure. Here, the message is a poignant one that calls back to an argument Elmer had with his mother when he learned that they were never going to be able to open up the new store in Nevergreen; it was a white lie told to coax the frightened boy out of the taxi. While Elmer and Boris traverse Wild Island, Elmer takes on the role of parent and protector, and unwittingly so finds himself in situations where he must tell small lies to protect Boris. To compare it to the rest of the studio’s output, it is on par with the brand’s poignancy, but it is a bit more cumbersome than those films based more firmly in folklore. That being said, the emotional beats still hit home, and voice acting from Tremblay, Matarazzo, and Diane West who lends her voice to Iris the Rhinoceros really shine through in the film. 

The most confounding part about My Father’s Dragon is its framing device. It is narrated in the bookending sequences by Mary Kay Place, Elmer’s eventual daughter, though we never do see Elmer all grown up. Rather, we can infer that this is a story an older Elmer tells his excited daughter who wants to revel in the amazement of the adventure her father had so many years prior. The scenes in the city do lay some foundation for the message of the film as Elmer learns about the responsibility of caring for someone, but it does feel – just ever so slightly – overcomplicated. It is not enough to derail the film, but it does make for a strange and dangerously close to sluggish first act as we wait for the titularly promised dragon to appear. That first act then ends with a whiplash-inducing change of pace at the introduction of the magic cat, and while once Elmer is off on his adventure the film really finds its footing, those first beguiling 20 minutes or so linger in the back of our minds as we begin to unpack the rest of the film and fit it into context. 

My Father’s Dragon is a film for all ages, much like how it is told to us, we can imagine that both the older Elmer enjoyed recalling this fantasy with his daughter as much as she was excited to hear it time after time. Visually, it adopts Cartoon Saloon’s signature style and watercolor palate bringing about a unique and refreshing look compared to the pure CGI fare that seems to be the standard for animated filmmaking today. Jeff and Mychael Danna provide a whimsical score that perfectly accents the action and the script without overpowering and overmanipulating the scenes. The film unlocks magic and excitement in the audience and the beautiful craft behind every frame quickly transports us to a world of wonder, inspiring imagination which is the whole reason behind animation – and movies – in the first place.