Nothing but praise for Cillian Murphy ‘s new movie, Kensuke’s Kingdom, resulting in the feature opening with a 100% fresh Rotten Tomatoes rating. The film, based on Michael Morpurgo’s best-selling children’s book and directed by Neil Boyle and Kirk Hendry, tells an inspiring and contemporary tale of building strong relationships, working together, and saving nature. Alongside Murphy, we also hear the voices of Aaron MacGregor, Ken Watanabe, Raffey Cassidy, and Sally Hawkins.
Kensuke’s Kingdom focuses on a young boy, Michael (Aaron MacGregor) – a fictionalized version of Morpurgo himself – who, together with his sister Becky (Cassidy) and his parents (Murphy and Hawkins), boards the Peggy Sue for an unforgettable family trip. Unbeknownst to his parents, Michael brought his precious sheepdog, Stella, on board. However, their heartwarming family trip soon becomes heartbreaking when the ship gets caught up in a terrible storm, resulting in Michael and Stella being thrown overboard.
After reaching an island in the Indian Ocean, Michael and Becky are taken in by a mysterious stranger. It doesn’t take long before Michael discovers that man is Kensuke (Watanabe), a World War II veteran who retreated to the island after the war. Kensuke and Michael strike up an unlikely but incredible friendship, one that undoubtedly becomes even stronger when they have to protect their precious but fragile island from ruthless invaders.
For their latest movie, which is being described as a “heartfelt” story for all ages, Boyle (Made Up,The Last Belle) and Hendry (Junk) worked together with The Railway Man writer Frank Cottrell-Boyce to adapt Morpurgo’s historical fiction novel, which was first published in 1998 and illustrated by Michael Foreman.
