Kensuke's Kingdom (PG)

With Cillian Murphy among its starry voice cast, this gorgeous animated adaptation is thoughtful, tender and beguiling.

To have the new children’s laureate, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, adapt a book by Michael Morpurgo into a feature-length animation is surely to embark on an unsinkable voyage towards kids’ movie greatness.

Michael (Aaron MacGregor) is a moody, lonely boy on a round-the-world sailing trip with his family, but his immaturity and unreliability infuriates his older teen sister (Raffey Cassidy) and parents (Sally Hawkins and Murphy). Unbeknown to any of them, Michael has smuggled his beloved dog Stella onboard and when their craft hits stormy seas, Michael and Stella get washed up on a remote island which he soon discovers is in fact the private kingdom of an elderly Japanese second world war veteran, Kensuke (Ken Watanabe) whose own story is a poignant and awe-inspiring contrast to Michael’s.

Expertly crafted, but one that perhaps without the cute animals and silly snark that characterises major studio animations, Kensuke’s Kingdom might fall into the category of “Films Parents Think Their Kids Ought to Enjoy”. Still, congratulations if you’ve raised a child who’s curious about culture; so bring them along.