Il drago di mio padre

I get bored of movies quite easily nowadays. I think Disney tries too hard sometimes. Watching this movie was rather delightful and exciting, as I didn't know much about the story it was based on in the first place. I like how MFD doesn't incorporate the usual computer-based style of animation, and the voice actors for the film's characters were well-chosen. Of course, both of the main characters were darn lovable! The minimal use of music kept audiences engaged on the central plot and I liked that. I wanted to see more of the supporting characters! They were fun! Overall, I enjoyed My Father's Dragon, would watch it again, and hope it wins some awards!

Really enjoyed My Father's Dragon. A story of bravery with two likeable characters. Everyone is going to adore Boris the Dragon. He puts a smile on your face! Gaten Matarazzo is the perfect choice to voice him. Great talent behind the other voices as well from Jacob Tremblay, Whoopi Goldberg, Rita Moreno and Ian McShane to name but a few.

Animation from Cartoon Saloon is always going to be special and this new film from Nora Twomey keeps with this tradition. Colours and textures are so lovely. Cartoon Saloon also never shy away from some intense scenes and some very young viewers might find this so. The story does feel a bit disjointed in places.

Overall a very enjoyable film with a fantastic score from Mychael and Jeff Danna.

My Father's Dragon may not reach the dazzling heights of Tomm Moore's Irish folklore trilogy, but this is a good movie to watch for younger children and may even entertain older viewers thanks to the gorgeous visuals. The story may be a bit to basic for some people, but it is still a worthwhile watch just for the visuals alone. I don't know why, but Nora Twomey's storytelling just doesn't work for me. I feel like she doesn't do a good job at producing book-to-film adaptations. Maybe she should try writing her own stories instead of adapting someone else's intellectual property and hard work into a different medium.

Toon Saloon is one of the animation studios that I am most excited to see what they come up with. From "Secret of Kells" to "Wolfwalkers" they have yet to make a bad movie. I love their use of traditional 2D animation, a medium that we don't see very often anymore. And "My Father's Dragon" continues Toon Saloon's solid track record, although it is not their best film.

I can basically sum up what I didn't like about the movie in one word: "Isekai". Meaning, this is a story where the protagonist finds himself in another magical world. Now I know there are some all-time great films that use this format. "Coraline", "Spirited Away" and of course "Wizard of Oz". But in the context of this story, any sense of tension, plot or progression derails and can simply be explained away by magic.

I acknowledge it as a personal bias against this kind of story. I just got really caught up in the early grounded story, that the magical story, though imaginative, loses the hook the beginning set up.

The magical world stuff is well done, beautiful animation and music. The story is captivating and loaded with clever symbolism that can be interpreted in various ways.

The movie is exciting and funny for the kids, but still deep and thoughtful for the adults. Both a good kids' movie and a good fathers' movie.

From the creators of Song of the Sea & Wolfwalkers comes another family-friendly delight that retains the simple, charming & childlike animation that Cartoon Saloon is best-known for but is lacking on the narrative front this time around, for My Father's Dragon packs a kid-friendly plot that will keep the young viewers invested but there isn't much in store for the grown-ups.

Directed by Nora Twomey (The Breadwinner), the story has all the magical charm & innocence that's expected from the studio but unlike their previous works, there isn't a complexity & layer to it that made those films enchanting for viewers of all ages. What unfolds in the city had more promise than where it journeys into, plus the execution is also lacking the emotional resonance.

The rich animation remains visually appealing and the characters are gorgeously rendered too with simple designs & colourful brushstrokes. However, the premise is generic, devoid of depth and doesn't have enough to engage the adults. And it's only coz of our own familiarity with the studio's earlier efforts that we continue to stay aboard, expecting more than what it has in store.

Overall, My Father's Dragon has its moments and isn't entirely without merit either but it definitely falls short on the expectation scale and is the weakest film in the Irish animation studio's canon. Crafted with affection yet missing the allure & originality evident in their best-known works, this adventure fantasy may fail to exude the warmth of its predecessors but Cartoon Saloon's latest can still surprise some.