'Breathtaking' desert island movie with rare Rotten Tomatoes score is streaming for free

BBC iPlayer has just added a critically acclaimed animated film that is guaranteed to knock your socks off.

Based on one of the most popular children’s books ever written, this beloved tale of adventure and friendship has been brought to life in stunning hand-drawn animation that harkens back to classic Disney films.

Following its broadcast on BBC One this afternoon (Sunday, 3rd August), this heart-racing journey of discovery will be available to stream completely free of charge for a limited time.

Viewers can be assured of the film’s quality as it scored an impressive 97 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Even better, the film’s runtime clocks in at a breezy hour and 16 minutes, making it the ideal watch for a lazy afternoon.

Kensuke’s Kingdom, based on the acclaimed 1999 novel by Michael Morpurgo, follows the thrilling voyage of a young boy (voiced by Aaron MacGregor) at sea who eventually finds himself stranded on a desert island.

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Thankfully, he soon discovers he’s not alone. The boy, along with his dog Stella Artois, strikes up an unlikely friendship with a Japanese man named Kensuke (Ken Watanabe) and the orangutans who have made the island their home, who help him survive.

Although not able to speak much English, Kensuke slowly reveals his own tragic life story of fleeing Japan during the terrors of the Second World War.

This poignant tale is perfect for families with slightly older children keen to get sucked into an epic journey of adventure, history and survival.

An audience review on Rotten Tomatoes described Kensuke’s Kingdom as “a breathtakingly beautiful film that’s gentle on the senses as its delicately delivered themes.”

A five-star Google review agreed, writing: “Magical and emotionally powerful film that deserves to become a family classic.

“Avoiding spoilers here is hard, but there is one drop of ink in the film that took my breath away and had my throat in knots. It’s beautiful, powerful, emotional, yet comfortingly familiar.

“A film to cosy up on the sofa under a blanket with your favourite young family and rewatch every year to remember the important themes of anti-war and respect for nature that run through it. Beautiful film.”

A third concurred, adding: “Awesome movie with beautiful visuals and meaningful storytelling.”

Praise continued over on Letterboxd, where one fan raved: “Beautiful and full of heart!

“Simple, familiar concept but so well executed. It's Cast Away mixed with Avatar and shades of Planet of the Apes.

“Very good dosage between feel good and tragedy, had a smile on my face most of the time but I also had tears in my eyes twice.”

Viewers were also impressed by the film’s voice cast, which also includes Oppenheimer Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy and Paddington star Sally Hawkins.

“Went to the theatre to hear Cillian's voice and to have a fun time. Left sobbing uncontrollably,” one fan admitted.

“This film's message is so beautiful and moving, knowing that Cillian wanted to be part of this project makes me love him even more and I didn't even know that could be possible.”

Kensuke’s Kingdom is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.