It’s always great when you watch a movie with your daughter that has a strong female character in it. In a world where we see more princesses becoming independent, it’s great when a movie comes along that shows a character finding her independence and gaining strength from it. In the movie LONG WAY NORTH, we see the two voyages with the main character Sacha: an internal voyage and external voyage.
Long Way North tells the story of a young girl named Sacha, a young Russian aristocrat, who dreams of the Great North and anguishes over the fate of her grandfather, Olukine, a renowned scientist and Arctic explorer who has yet to return from his latest expedition to conquer the North Pole.
The movie sets up the relationship with Sacha and her grandfather pretty early on and you understand why she holds him in such high regard. This part of the movie is kind of slow and may leer younger viewers away. There are no musical numbers in this movie which is a pretty nice break from most animated movies out this year.
Sacha sets off on a journey to find her grandfather and along her way, this daughter of an aristocrat starts learning about herself and what she is capable of doing. Sacha starts learning about being independent and how her choices have consequences.
Long Way North is beautifully animated and the colors in some scenes pop off the screen. The film was directed by celebrated animator and filmmaker Rémi Chayé and produced by Sacreblue Productions, Maybe Movies and Norlum Studios, France 3 Cinéma and 2 Minutes. Long Way North won the coveted Audience Award at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and the winner of Grand Prize and the Governor of Tokyo Award at Tokyo Animation Festival 2016.
Here are our final thoughts:
Kid Friendly – Kind of. This movie is more for older children around 10 and up.
Violence – There is a scene with a polar bear, but nothing too violent.
Fandads Rating – 4 out of 5.
Long Way North is a great movie about finding yourself and about the bonds of family.
It is playing now in New York and Los Angeles and will release in more cities throughout the month.