Since Cartoon Saloon burst onto the scene with its first animated feature The Secret of the Kells (2009), the Irish studio has steadily secured its spot as a consistent source of visionary and thoughtful work. Often mining the otherwise rich and underused palette of Irish folklore and mythology, the studio boasts a 2D house style reminiscent of Studio Ghibli fare. Cartoon Saloon is a bastion of animated films accessible to children but never in a way that reduces the medium to the level of soulless theme parks that certain competitors embrace. Case in point, the masterful Wolfwalkers (2020) spins a tale of self-acceptance and magical abilities while working in a broad critique of British colonialism. I’d like to see the Minions try to pull that one off. Yet, it also means that My Father’s Dragon (2022), Cartoon Saloon’s latest out on Netflix this week, cannot help but disappoint.
Adapted from the books by Ruth Stiles Gannett, My Father’s Dragon centers on the spunky if naive Elmer (voiced by Jacob Tremblay). Elmer starts the film loving life while he and his mother Dela (voiced by Golshifteh Farahani) run a small-town store. That curdles fast as off-screen economic hardship drives the duo to the city of Nevergreen to start over. Dela promises they’ll buy a new shop. But, penny-pinching circumstances and frustrations lead Elmer to dash off into the city feeling betrayed. Through help from a talking Cat (voiced by Whoopi Goldberg) and a whale named Soda (voiced by Judy Greer), Elmer sets out on a quest to find Wild Island and the dragon that lives there. He hopes that if he comes back with the dragon, he can fix things for him and Dela. But the island and the dragon are not what he expects.
Nora Twomey, who previously directed The Breadwinner (2017) for Cartoon Saloon, helms My Father’s Dragon. Twomey works from a script by Meg LeFauve, whose previous credits include Inside Out (2015). Combined with the formidable talents of the animation team at Cartoon Saloon, My Father’s Dragon has a veritable murderer’s row of talent bringing it to life, which makes the rather undistinguished results all the more head-scratching. A major issue may stem from condensing and mismatching three children’s books into one sub-two-hour movie. The choice forces LeFauve to whip through plot without much room for the depth of previous efforts. Therefore, Twomey has a truncated ability to embrace the balance between playfulness and pathos present in her past work. She has to roll through the narrative at a clip that sucks the touchstone Cartoon Saloon meditation from the work.
Blissfully though, what My Father’s Dragon does feature is the continued excellence of animation coursing through every Cartoon Saloon release. From downright adorably round-faced tigers to a short but breathtaking dream sequence, My Father’s Dragon bristles with creative vigor. The 2D, hand-drawn style evokes the picture book source while whisking beyond the limitations of the page. Wild Island is a feast for viewers to explore. Continuing the Studio Ghibli reference from the top of this piece, the team working on My Father’s Dragon shows the same attention to background detail as Hayao Miyazaki and his teams. This may not quite reach Spirited Away (2001) levels of sumptuousness, but My Father’s Dragon nonetheless sets itself apart from competitors through the team’s commitment to using as much of the frame as possible. It makes the negative-space-heavy shots, which come about only at key emotional points, resonate all the more.
After the studio’s previous highs, it’s hard not to find My Father’s Dragon a step down for Cartoon Saloon and its creative brain trust. That their version of step down still results in a film that is beautifully rendered if narratively slight further solidifies their status as a marquee animation force. My Father’s Dragon will no doubt enchant younger viewers when it releases on Netflix this Friday, but I cannot help hoping that the next time Cartoon Saloon graces us with a project it is one with a little more bite.
My Father’s Dragon will be available to stream on Netflix beginning November 11, 2022.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0giW36Fb69c]
A gorgeous if narratively slight affair
Devin McGrath-Conwell holds a B.A. in Film / English from Middlebury College and is currently pursuing an MFA in Screenwriting from Emerson College. His obsessions include all things horror, David Lynch, the darkest of satires, and Billy Joel. Devin’s writing has also appeared in publications such as Filmhounds Magazine, Film Cred, Horror Homeroom, and Cinema Scholars.
