Storm Boy (2019)

A beautiful and contemporary retelling of Colin Thiele's classic Australian tale. 'Storm Boy' has grown up to be Michael Kingley, a successful retired businessman and grandfather. When ... See full summary »

Director:

Shawn Seet

Writers:

Justin Monjo (screenplay by), Colin Thiele (novel)

Stars:

Jai Courtney, Geoffrey Rush, David Gulpilil

Cast

Credited cast:
Jai Courtney	...	Hideaway Tom
Geoffrey Rush	...	Mike 'Storm Boy' Kingley
David Gulpilil	...	Father of Fingerbone Bill
Finn Little	...	Storm Boy
Erik Thomson	...	Malcolm Downer
Trevor Jamieson	...	Fingerbone Bill
Morgana Davies	...	Madeline
Luca Asta Sardelis	...	Smirking Schoolgirl #1
Simone Annan	...	Murujuga Lawyer
Chantal Contouri	...	Julie Sims
David John Clark	...	Police Senior Constable
Thibul Nettle	...	Police Officer (as Stinga-T)
Michelle Nightingale	...	Mrs. Marks
Brendan Rock	...	Hunter #1
Lucy Cowan	...	Belle

Storyline

A beautiful and contemporary retelling of Colin Thiele's classic Australian tale. 'Storm Boy' has grown up to be Michael Kingley, a successful retired businessman and grandfather. When Kingley starts to see images from his past that he can't explain, he is forced to remember his long-forgotten childhood, growing up on an isolated coastline with his father. He recounts to his grand-daughter the story of how, as a boy, he rescued and raised an extraordinary orphaned pelican, Mr Percival. Their remarkable adventures and very special bond has a profound effect on all their lives. Based on the beloved book, Storm Boy is a timeless story of an unusual and unconditional friendship.

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Plot Keywords:

storm boy | father | boy | storm | pelican | 

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Taglines:

Let your heart soar

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some thematic elements, mild peril and brief language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site Official Trailer

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

April 2019 (USA)

Also Known As:

Storm Boy

Filming Locations:

Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ambience Entertainment, Best FX Adelaide

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Of the traning of the pelicans, the picture's pelican trainer, Paul Mander, explained: "The behaviours are trained with food rewards, so it's positive reinforcement. Every time they do a desired behaviour, we give them a fish. Pelicans have very good memory retention, so what they learn carries over into the next day."

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Connections

References Colin Thiele's Storm Boy: The Game (2018)

User Reviews

A mostly well made modern adaptation of the classic Australian story

Storm Boy is a drama film based on the 1964 novel of the same name by Colin Thiele. Starring Geoffrey Rush and Jai Courtney, it is a mostly well made modern adaptation of the classic Australian story that marginally improves upon the original 1976 film.

In South Australia, retired businessman Michael Kingley (Geoffrey Rush) recounts a story of his childhood to his grand-daughter Madeline (Morgana Davies). When he was young, Michael (Finn Little) lived with his father Tom (Jai Courtney) on the isolated coastline of Coorong, and was good friends with a local Aboriginal man named Fingerbone Bill (Trevor Jamieson). One day, Fingerbone Bill and the young Michael discover three orphaned baby pelicans which Michael rescues and cares for until they grow to full size. Forming a close bond with the pelicans, Michael names them Mr. Proud, Mr. Ponder, and Mr. Percival, the latter of which he becomes the closest with.

Perhaps the best told version of Colin Thiele's classic novel, Storm Boy is an entertaining update that is respectful to its source material, even if it does take the occasional unnecessary liberty. The flashbacks to the modern day scenes didn't always work and did end up feeling out of place at times. Thankfully, the ever-reliable Geoffrey Rush playing the older Michael helped make them much more tolerable. However, the moments that occurred in the original story were handled quite well. I particularly liked the scenes where the young Michael was feeding the baby pelicans and teaching them how to fly. This is made even better by the great performance from relative newcomer Finn Little, whose natural playful banter with the pelicans was nice to watch. Overall, this is a fine retelling of the classic novel, if one were to ignore some of the contemporary modern changes.

I rate it 7.5/10