‘Kensuke’s Kingdom’ Now Streaming on The Animation Showcase (Exclusive)

The Animation Showcase welcomes ashore Lupus Films’ award-winning, family-friendly feature Kensuke’s Kingdom for a special limited release this holiday season. The platform offers the best in international animation for free to members of the animation and motion picture industries.

The 85-minute film is directed by Neil Boyle & Kirk Hendry and tells the story of Michael, who is taken by his family on a round-the-world sailing trip. After being shipwrecked on a remote island, Michael and his dog Stella meet a mysterious Japanese veteran, Kensuke, and they unite to safeguard his hidden paradise from danger.

The film’s cast includes BAFTA Award winner and Academy Award nominee Sally Hawkins, BAFTA Award winner and Academy Award winner Cillian Murphy and Academy Award nominee Ken Watanabe, alongside Screen International’s Star of Tomorrow Raffey Cassidy and newcomer Aaron MacGregor.

Kensuke’s Kingdom is an adaptation of the eponymous children’s novel by Michael Morpurgo, with a script by renowned screenwriter and the U.K.’s Children’s Laureate, Frank Cottrell-Boyce. Featuring an award-winning score by composer Stuart Hancock, it premiered at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in 2023, screening at the BFI London Film Festival and other international competitions and earning a number of accolades, including three British Animation Awards and the Grand Prize at the New York International Children’s Film Festival.

Kensuke’s Kingdom is presented by BFI, Film Fund Luxembourg and Align and is a Lupus Films production in association with Kensuke’s Kingdom, Jisgsaw Films, Melusine Productions, Le Pacte and Bumpybox, with the support of Ffilm Cymru and the Welsh Government via Creative Wales.

The Animation Showcase streaming platform is a film industry-only hub curating the best animated shorts & feature films from filmmakers around the world and allows the animation and motion pictures community to discover or rewatch feature films for a limited time. Since its launch, The Animation Showcase has become a must-watch destination during the awards season, featuring critically acclaimed contenders as well as exclusive bonuses, making-ofs and behind-the-scenes.

The platform previously hosted the three-time Oscar-nominated animated documentary Flee, A24’s Oscar-nominated stop-motion feature Marcel the Shell with Shoes On and a couple of shorts in worldwide exclusivity, including WAR IS OVER! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko and The Windshield Wiper, both winners of the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.

To continue to ensure the best screening experience of animated gems, The Animation Showcase Streaming Platform is accessible via the internet on any browser and now on its new home cinema native apps for Apple TV devices, Roku and Fire Stick (Amazon).

Animation & motion picture industry members and students can easily join the platform by
visiting the sign-up portal and providing valid proof of work.

How to join: 

1.  Click on the Animation Magazine Sign Up Portal to request a membership to the industry streaming platform.

2. Add your email address and work proof (IMDb, LinkedIn, Vimeo or other)

3.  After the information verification, you will receive an email with the instruction to connect to the streaming platform and begin watching.