The adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s beloved tale of adventure will arrive on the BBC this summer.
The BBC has acquired Lupus Films’ award-winning, hand-drawn animated feature film Kensuke’s Kingdom from London-based distributor Modern Films. The deal, which was brokered by Modern Films’ Eve Gabereau, will see the film take family audiences on a thrilling island adventure when it sails onto iPlayer and BBC One on Sunday, August 3rd.
Based on the best-selling children’s novel by Michael Morpurgo and adapted for screen by Children’s Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Kensuke’s Kingdom features the epic adventure of Michael, a young boy, shipwrecked on a remote island, who discovers he’s not alone when he encounters a mysterious Japanese man who retreated there after World War Two. But as dangerous invaders appear on the horizon, it becomes clear they must join forces to save their fragile island paradise.
Directed by Neil Boyle and Kirk Hendry, with an award-winning score by Stuart Hancock, Kensuke’s Kingdom’s illustrious voice cast includes Academy award nominee Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water, Paddington), Academy award-winner Cillian Murphy (Peaky Blinders, Oppenheimer), Raffey Cassidy (The Brutalist, Snow White and the Huntsman, Tomorrowland), Aaron MacGregor (Puffin Rock and the New Friends, SuperPupZ) and Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai, Inception).
We are delighted to be able to showcase our beautiful film on such a high-profile platform as BBC One and iPlayer. It’s a fantastic opportunity to reach a wider audience and we hope BBC viewers are going to be as excited by Michael’s thrilling adventure as we were!
Camilla Deakin, Co-Founder and Producer at Lupus Films
I’m longing to see Kensuke’s Kingdom on the nation’s screens, people are going to love it!
Michael Morpurgo, Author
Kensuke’s Kingdom has won numerous international film & film music awards including: three British Animation Awards including Best Feature; Grand Prize at the New York International Children’s Film Festival; winner at the Indie Fest USA International Film Festival; Best Original Score and Best Animation at the New York Movie Awards; and Gold Awards for Animated Film and Original Score at the Hollywood Gold Awards. The film was nominated in the Best Children’s and Family Film category at this year’s BAFTAs and, last month, the children of France voted Kensuke’s Kingdom (Le Royaume de Kensuke) as their favourite movie of the year at the Cine Jeunes Awards.
The producers for the film are Emmy Award-winning producers and founders of animation studio Lupus Films, Camilla Deakin and Ruth Fielding, Academy Award nominee Stephan Roelants of Melusine Productions, co-founder of Working Title Sarah Radclyffe, Emmy and BAFTA Award-winning producer Barnaby Spurrier, Co-Founder and CEO of Align Adrian Politowski and Senior Vice President, Martin Metz and award-winning producers Jean Labadie and Anne-Laure Labadie of Le Pacte. Kensuke’s Kingdom is distributed in the UK and Ireland by Modern Films.
The film is presented by BFI (awarding National Lottery Funding), Film Fund Luxembourg and Align and is a Lupus Films production in association with Kensuke’s Kingdom, Jigsaw Films, Melusine Productions, Le Pacte and Bumpybox, with the support of Ffilm Cymru Wales and Welsh Government via Creative Wales.
