My Father’s Dragon is a playful story that weaves elements of reality with fiction with truly beautiful animation. Elmer (Jacob Tremblay) and his mother (Golshifteh Farahani) are forced to leave their home behind when their store forecloses. They move to the city where Elmer grows unfairly dismayed with his mother’s broken promises and attempts to support them. A stray cat tells Elmer that there is a dragon living on Wild Island that could help him. He hitches a ride on the back of a whale named Soda (Judy Greer) and discovers that Wild Island is sinking. He learns that every 100 years, Wild Island sinks and a dragon is sent to try to save the island and transform into an “After Dragon.” The leader of Wild Island, Saiwa (Ian McShane), has captured an insecure dragon named Boris (Gaten Matarazzo) and forces him to fly and raise the planet up above the waters. Elmer frees Boris so he can take him back home and charge people money to see him. But instead of leaving, Elmer becomes friends with Boris and they go on a mission to try to save Wild Island and help Boris reach After Dragon status. 

 

My Father’s Dragon is adapted from the children’s book of the same name, so some might be familiar with the story. And you might also be familiar with the animation studio, Cartoon Saloon. The Irish animation studio had a smash hit in 2020 with Wolfwalkers. They utilize the same type of animation style in My Father’s Dragon, but it’s a tad more polished this time around. The bright colors and inventive world building will help keep adults engaged. Tremblay and Matarazzo play off each other incredibly well and it’s easy to enjoy their back and forth banter. The themes of friendship, cooperation, and just generally being nice to others are on full display in every scene. It’s a sweet story, particularly if you like animals, full of magical talking creatures and whimsical flora and fauna. While it’s not quite as good as Wolfwalkers, My Father’s Dragon is still a movie worth watching.