Release CalendarDVD & Blu-ray ReleasesTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsIn TheatersComing SoonMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)

Inkheart

  • 20082008
  • PGPG
  • 1h 46m
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
77K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,071
752
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Inkheart (2008)
Inkheart: Music Video
Play trailer3:56
16 Videos
99+ Photos
AdventureFamilyFantasy

A teenage girl discovers her father has an amazing talent to bring characters out of their books and must try to stop a freed villain from destroying them all, with the help of her father, h... Read allA teenage girl discovers her father has an amazing talent to bring characters out of their books and must try to stop a freed villain from destroying them all, with the help of her father, her aunt, and a storybook's hero.A teenage girl discovers her father has an amazing talent to bring characters out of their books and must try to stop a freed villain from destroying them all, with the help of her father, her aunt, and a storybook's hero.

IMDb RATING
6.1/10
77K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,071
752
  • Director
    • Iain Softley
  • Writers
    • David Lindsay-Abaire
    • Cornelia Funke
  • Stars
    • Brendan Fraser
    • Andy Serkis
    • Eliza Bennett
Top credits
  • Director
    • Iain Softley
  • Writers
    • David Lindsay-Abaire
    • Cornelia Funke
  • Stars
    • Brendan Fraser
    • Andy Serkis
    • Eliza Bennett
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 142User reviews
    • 157Critic reviews
    • 49Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win

    Videos16

    Inkheart: Music Video
    Trailer 3:56
    Inkheart: Music Video
    Inkheart: Trailer #1
    Trailer 2:12
    Inkheart: Trailer #1
    Inkheart
    Clip 1:04
    Inkheart
    Inkheart
    Clip 0:54
    Inkheart
    Inkheart
    Clip 1:00
    Inkheart
    Inkheart
    Clip 0:41
    Inkheart
    Inkheart
    Clip 1:09
    Inkheart
    Inkheart
    Clip 0:50
    Inkheart
    Inkheart
    Clip 1:08
    Inkheart
    Inkheart
    Clip 1:07
    Inkheart
    Inkheart
    Clip 0:31
    Inkheart
    Inkheart
    Clip 0:35
    Inkheart

    Photos287

    Brendan Fraser, Jamie Foreman, Stephen Graham, Matt King, and Steve Speirs in Inkheart (2008)
    Paul Bettany in Inkheart (2008)
    Jim Broadbent and Eliza Bennett in Inkheart (2008)
    Brendan Fraser and Eliza Bennett in Inkheart (2008)
    Brendan Fraser, Helen Mirren, Paul Bettany, and Eliza Bennett in Inkheart (2008)
    Brendan Fraser in Inkheart (2008)
    Inkheart (2008)
    Inkheart (2008)
    Inkheart (2008)
    Eliza Bennett in Inkheart (2008)
    Eliza Bennett and Rafi Gavron in Inkheart (2008)
    Brendan Fraser, Paul Bettany, and Iain Softley in Inkheart (2008)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Brendan Fraser
    Brendan Fraser
    • Moas Mo
    Andy Serkis
    Andy Serkis
    • Capricornas Capricorn
    Eliza Bennett
    Eliza Bennett
    • Meggieas Meggie
    Sienna Guillory
    Sienna Guillory
    • Resaas Resa
    Richard Strange
    Richard Strange
    • Bookshop Proprietoras Bookshop Proprietor
    Paul Bettany
    Paul Bettany
    • Dustfingeras Dustfinger
    Helen Mirren
    Helen Mirren
    • Elinoras Elinor
    Matt King
    Matt King
    • Cockerellas Cockerell
    Steve Speirs
    Steve Speirs
    • Flatnoseas Flatnose
    Jamie Foreman
    Jamie Foreman
    • Bastaas Basta
    Stephen Graham
    Stephen Graham
    • Fulvioas Fulvio
    Mirabel O'Keefe
    • Young Meggieas Young Meggie
    John Thomson
    John Thomson
    • Dariusas Darius
    Lesley Sharp
    Lesley Sharp
    • Mortolaas Mortola
    Tereza Srbova
    Tereza Srbova
    • Rapunzelas Rapunzel
    Rafi Gavron
    Rafi Gavron
    • Faridas Farid
    Jennifer Connelly
    Jennifer Connelly
    • Roxanneas Roxanne
    Jim Broadbent
    Jim Broadbent
    • Fenoglioas Fenoglio
    • Director
      • Iain Softley
    • Writers
      • David Lindsay-Abaire(screenplay)
      • Cornelia Funke(novel)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

    Storyline

    Edit
    Mortimer "Mo" "Silvertongue" Folchart has the special talent to bring characters out of books. One night he brings out three characters from Inkheart, a story set in medieval times and filled with magical beings. Capricorn (Andy Serkis) and Basta (Jamie Foreman), two villains, and Dustfinger (Paul Bettany), a fire-eater. Now, ten years later, Meggie (Eliza Bennett) discovers the truth and it's up to her to escape Capricorn's evil grasp. —Gloria
    overallsminotaur characterrapunzel characterhorror for childrencrocodile83 more
    • Plot summary
    • Plot synopsis
    • Taglines
      • Every story ever written is just waiting to become real.
    • Genres
      • Adventure
      • Family
      • Fantasy
    • Certificate
      • PG
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      In an early scene at Aunt Elinor's (Dame Helen Mirren's), a toolkit is seen next to Brendan Fraser. It is the same toolkit Rick (Fraser) gives to Evie (Rachel Weisz) in The Mummy (1999).
    • Goofs
      Mo has been looking for a copy of the book for nine years and apparently never thought of contacting the author until his daughter mentions it. We don't know what he did during the nine years. He might have tried to contact Fengolio but failed. He may have thought that his story was too hard to believe - who would believe that his wife was trapped inside the book? He may have saved it as a "last resort" item in case he never found a copy for that reason. Then, during the time-frame of the movie, he decided to try it because he had proof (Dustfinger) and it was an emergency.
    • Quotes

      Meggie Folchart: Having writer's block? Maybe I can help.

      Fenoglio: Oh yes, that's right. You want to be a writer, don't you?

      Meggie Folchart: You say that as if it's a bad thing.

      Fenoglio: Oh no, it's just a lonely thing. Sometimes the world you create on the page seems more friendly and alive than the world you actually live in.

    • Connections
      Featured in Troldspejlet: Episode #41.13 (2009)
    • Soundtracks
      Munich Schmankerl
      Traditional

      Performed by The Bavarian Band And Chorus

      Courtesy of Sheridan Square Entertainment, Inc.

    User reviews142

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    You are not my God … Inkheart
    I must say that I am always pleasantly surprised to watch a film without expectations, or the tiniest shred of knowledge, and be completely immersed in its world. With the new fantasy adventure film Inkheart, I experienced just that. Iain Softley's cinematic adaptation of the best-selling novel by Cornelia Funke is a fun and endearing trip. I liken the story to the Neverending Story only inverted. Rather than a boy reading a book and transporting himself into it, the characters here read the book and bring both the protagonists and antagonists to them. There is of course one caveat, for whatever comes through to Earth, something must go into the book to replace it. Said replacement being our lead's wife shows that there will be a fight for her return and the banishment of those brought over, back to the written word.

    A very short prologue-type moment helps orient the audience with the magic that Inkheart brings. We learn that Brendan Fraser's Mortimer Folchart is a "Silvertongue", or person who reads the written word and brings it to reality. Unknown to him until he starts reading a story to his daughter, (my one gripe is that he never found out earlier … with the horrible things he lets in later, you'd have to think something more than Red Riding Hood's cape would have come through in his past), the danger of his power isn't felt completely until two villains and a street performer from this obscure novel arrive, sending his wife Resa, (Sienna Guillory in a role I wish would have let us see more of her), into the abyss, trapped. The real story at hand begins nine years after with Folchart and his daughter who doesn't know about that past event and just believes her mother left them. Supposedly taught in boarding schools on the go—why else would she have that accent—young Meggie, played by Eliza Bennett, is an intelligent girl who follows her book repairing father as he searches for a copy of the tale that took his love away. It takes many years, but finally the copy is found; yet with it comes the rediscovery of them by that trapped street performer, Dustfinger, and the realization that Capricorn, the book's main villain, wants Folchart captured to find him power and wealth by reading aloud.

    What I really enjoyed about the film is that the retrieval of Resa is not the only thing it has going for it. Sure Folchart's motivations are for that alone, but you also have the needs of those people that replaced her. Dustfinger, the ever-brilliant Paul Bettany who owns each and every scene he has here, is just a corrupted man by necessity, not a true villain, only wanting to get back to the family he left behind. This role is the most fleshed out and tragic, trying desperately to get away from the reputation that precedes him from those who've read the story yet unable to break free from the selfish coward he was written as. However, nine years on Earth has changed him; his love and need for his wife has made him into something more than a thief who wields fire and as he says to the author of Inkheart, a fun Jim Broadbent, he controls his own fate. Just the fact that he is out of the book proves that the words written are not the only truth; he can overcome whatever end awaits him on the closing pages of the novel.

    But he isn't the only side character needing something. The other is Capricorn, a vile man looking to take over Earth as his own. Brought to life by Andy Serkis, the role exudes slime and nefarious doings, showing the talent of this actor most known for playing computer generated characters in Peter Jackson epics. Capricorn is a villain to the end and his flip remarks and lack of compassion make for some laughs as well as a worthy opponent to Fraser's manly man hero as he is a professional now at playing. Fraser is probably the weakest link of the film, but he does the part well and holds together those around him as the common connecting factor.

    Actually, everything really does end up being pretty well done across the board. It's a fun story that may be predictable, but the characters like Dustfinger are so well formed that you find yourself needing to see how their arcs end up. Even the special effects are pretty to look at, from the wispy clouds as fictional people come to our world to the smoke monster Shadow that arrives later on. And I loved seeing some of literature's best "creatures" in the flesh, held captive at Capricorn's castle. Really, besides some shoddy bluescreen work of Helen Mirren on a unicorn, there is very little to fault in those terms. Heck, the movie even had a fantastic little inside joke for cinema/Hollywood fans with a glimpse at Dustfinger's wife left alone back home. Maybe I shouldn't have laughed when her face appeared on screen, but it was a cute surprise.

    So, whether the film stays true to the novel, I can't say. All I can relate to filmgoers is that as a fan of family-friendly fantasy films, Inkheart certainly surprised me with its likability and warmth. Maybe not as successful as the classics, Princess Bride, or even 2007's Stardust, Softley still delivers one worth a look. And while Bettany and Serkis may steal the show, deservingly so, it's always nice to watch Brendan Fraser in a part that doesn't scream paycheck. It appears to be too few and far between lately, so I do sincerely hope this one becomes a success at the box office.
    helpful•46
    14
    • jaredmobarak
    • Jan 17, 2009

    FAQ2

    • Is "Inkheart" based on a book?
    • If Mo has been looking for a copy of the book for nine years, why has he never thought of contacting the author until his daughter mentions it?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 12, 2008 (United Kingdom)
    • Countries of origin
      • Germany
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
      • Italy
    • Official sites
      • Blog (Brazil)
      • Official site
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Ink Heart
    • Filming locations
      • Hever Castle, Hever, Kent, England, UK
    • Production companies
      • New Line Cinema
      • Internationale Filmproduktion Blackbird Erste
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $60,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $17,303,424
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $7,601,379
      • Jan 25, 2009
    • Gross worldwide
      • $62,803,180
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 46 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
      • DTS
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

    Related news

    The CW’s ‘Dynasty’ Adds Eliza Bennett as a Long-Lost Carrington
    The CW’s ‘Dynasty’ Adds Eliza Bennett as a Long-Lost Carrington
    Aug 19Variety Film + TV
    Uncharted Territory, Rise Pictures Partner on Cornelia Funke’s ‘Igraine the Brave’ (Exclusive)
    Uncharted Territory, Rise Pictures Partner on Cornelia Funke’s ‘Igraine the Brave’ (Exclusive)
    Mar 1Variety Film + TV

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Inkheart (2008)
    Top Gap
    By what name was Inkheart (2008) officially released in India in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    View list
    List
    The Best Movies and Shows to Watch in April
    See the full list
    View list
    List
    2022 TV Guide: The Best Shows Coming This Year
    See the full list

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.