David Reviews

 "You're not an artist, Peggy. You solve problems." Don Draper.

DAVID WATCHES... 'KENSUKE'S KINGDOM'.
18 October 2024

Kirk Hendry made an eighty-year-old man cry not so long ago. Is he proud of himself? You bet he is. You see, Hendry is the co-director of 'Kensuke's Kingdom', an animated adaptation of Michael Morpugo's 1999 novel of the same name.

Hendry (represented by A Running Commentary) and Neil Boyle were somewhat up against it from the start, however, as, er, Morpugo "didn't like any previous film adaptations of his work." The next director(s) to disappoint him would be stranded on a desert island like protagonist Michael.

When Morpugo saw what Hendry and Boyle had done, he broke down in tears… the good kind. "Not only is 'Kensuke's Kingdom' his favourite adaptation of his book," Hendry says, "he now prefers it to the book." So how did the two directors defy the odds?


It started with a screenplay written by Frank Cottrell-Boyce that kept dialogue to a minimum. The less is more approach appealed to Hendry and Boyce, who traced a line back to silent movies both old ('Robinson Crusoe') and new ('The Red Turtle'). They turned to Will Cohen of String and Tins for the sound design and regular collaborator Stuart Hancock for the score—an adventurous suite that is pensive and perilous when needed.

Does that mean Hendry and Boyle skimped on vocal talent? Not a chance. Ken Watanabe, Cillian Murphy, Sally Hawkins, and Raffey Cassidy signed up in no time (Murphy read 'Kensuke's Kingdom' to his children), but the voice of Michael took longer to pin down.


"It was a challenge because we probably looked at about fifty kids for the role," Hendry says. "A lot of them seemed to have that stage school, overacting vibe, but Aaron MacGregor was so natural, so vulnerable. As soon as we saw him, we knew he was our guy." Of course, 'Kensuke's Kingdom' is wild at heart.

Michael and Kensuke share the island with bats, jellyfish, and orangutans—oh, and a dog called Stella [Stella Artois in the book]. Hendry and Boyce called on French animator and animal expert Ludivine Berthouloux to make the island's true residents as naturalistic as possible—no Disneyfication here, thank you very much.


"She and her team did a vast amount of research. They went through videos frame by frame à la Eadweard Muybridge to break down the movements," which helped make a jungle chase and a tender moment between mother and baby orangutan all the more believable and powerful.

The directors took a different tack for the film's most plaintive scene: a flashback to the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. Inspired by nineteenth-century ukiyo-e artist Hiroshige, an ink splodge represents the explosion that changed Kensuke's life forever. Initial experiments were deemed too "tricksy", so Hendry and Boyce stripped back as much as they could.


"Whenever the animators were doing stuff in that sequence, we'd always say: "Do less, do less, rub out that line, get rid of that"," Hendry says. "Your brain just starts filling it in—what you can see in your mind's eye is always worse than what you can show."

It's clear that New Zealander Hendry trusts viewers of all ages to connect the dots. When they do, they're rewarded with an island of calm in a sea of obnoxious, disposable animated adventures.

News

CREATORS INC SWOOPS FOR STUDIO BIRTHPLACE.

Creators Inc has signed Studio Birthplace for global representation.


MARIA LAX JOINS ART PRACTICE.

Art Practice, the company founded by James Allen, Dan Tobin Smith, and Mike Skrgatic, has signed Finnish director and photographer Maria Lax for representation.


BLINK SIGNS JOSEPH WILSON.

Blink's global roster now boasts director Joseph Wilson for commercials and music videos.


BLAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT.

Sam Gainsborough's favourite artist must be William Blake, right?


NEW—LAND WELCOMES SHARIF ABDEL MAWLA.

Dutch-Egyptian director Sharif Abdel Mawla is now represented by new—land in the UK and Scandinavia.


WAYLON HITS THE BIG TIME THANKS TO IAMS.

Waylon hits the big time thanks to a larger-than-life campaign from IAMS.


BIRTH WELCOMES BEN MIETHKE TO THE UK MARKET.

Ben Miethke is the latest director to call Birth UK home.


PSTH BOARD THE FRIEND SHIP.

French directors PSTH (Léo Sattin and Théo Gottlieb) have joined Friend for UK representation.


ABIGAIL WILSON JOINS PARK PICTURES.

Christmas has come early for Park Pictures in the form of director Abigail Wilson.


IT'S JELLY FOR LUCY HARDCASTLE.

Multidisciplinary director Lucy Hardcastle is now part of Jelly’s global roster.


COMEDY KING TIM BULLOCK BOOSTS ROGUE'S OFFER

Rogue have secured the talents of hugely talented comedy director Tim Bullock by adding him to their roster.


SOMESUCH LANDS SOPHIE JONES.

Somesuch has signed director and photographer Sophie Jones for UK, US, and Dutch representation.


STARS OF 2024: ELLIOTT POWER

Elliott Power ascendancy as a director began last year and has continued with incredible energy to make him one of the hottest talents in the business.


LÉA ESMAILI ARRIVES AT BLINKINK.

Blinkink has added the "insanely talented" Léa Esmaili to its roster.


BARNEY JORDAN IS A COMPANY3 MAN.

VFX doyen Barney Jordan is Company3’s new Senior Finishing Editor in London.


CMN PPL FLMS SIGNS DOROTHY ALLEN-PICKARD.

Dorothy Allen-Pickard, a director who "merges the real with the performative", has joined CMN PPL FLMS for UK commercial representation.


JELLY WELCOMES SAVANTS.

Savants is a lively band of continental directors focused on illustration, design, and animation.


ARMOURY LIKES THE TASTE OF SALSA.

Brazilian directors Salsa (Guto Azevedo and Diego Santana Claudino) have joined Armoury for UK representation.


O2'S SUPERGRAN BAITS THE SCAMMERS

O2 have found a good use for AI... a computer generated gran with a wicked sense of humour and a penchant for playing scammers at their own game.


PRETTYBIRD SWOOP FOR LUCRECIA.

Director, photographer, and nail art whizz Lucrecia is now part of PRETTYBIRD US for commercials and music videos.


STARS OF 2024: EMMA BRANDERHORST

Dutch director Emma Branderhorst has had a stellar year that included a much lauded pop promo spreading an important message about online privacy.


PARK VILLAGE PLAYS THE LONG-FORM GAME.

Park Village has a taste for long-form content - so much so that the company has launched Park Village Originals (PVO).


ABSOLUTE SCORES A HAT-TRICK.

Absolute has trebled its pleasure with the arrival of producer Leianna Gilmartin and colourists Peter Oppersdorff and Philip Hambi.


JILLIAN ISCARO'S ON TOP FORM.

American director Jillian Iscaro is now represented by FORM in the UK and the Netherlands.


IT'S FILMAWI FOR KNUCKLEHEAD.

Mononymous director and photographer Filmawi says he is "honoured to be part of such a visionary collective of directors" at Knucklehead.


News

Address: Woodbourne House, Seven Sisters, Lenzie, G66 3AW. Telephone: +44 141 776 7766. Editor: Jason Stone.