The Red Turtle (2016)

A man is shipwrecked on a deserted island and encounters a red turtle, which changes his life.

Director:

Michael Dudok de Wit

Writers:

Michael Dudok de Wit (story), Pascale Ferran (screenplay)

Stars:

Emmanuel Garijo, Tom Hudson, Baptiste Goy

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 13 wins & 33 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Emmanuel Garijo	...	The Father (voice)
Tom Hudson	...	The Son (young adult) (voice)
Baptiste Goy	...	The Son (child) (voice)
Axel Devillers	...	The Baby (voice)
Barbara Beretta	...	The Mother (voice)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Maud Brethenoux	...	Mother (voice)
Mickaël Dumoussaud	...	Father (voice)
Elie Tertois	...	Son (voice)

Storyline

Surrounded by the immense and furious ocean, a shipwrecked mariner battles for his life with the relentless towering waves. On the brink of demise, eventually, the man will find himself washed ashore on a deserted tropical island of sandy beaches, timid animal inhabitants, and a gracefully swaying bamboo forest. Alone, famished, yet determined to break free from this Eden-like prison, the stranded sailor summons up the strength to build a small raft, and sets off on a perilous journey in the wide open sea; however, an indistinguishable adversary prevents him from escaping. Never giving up hope, each day, the exhausted man attempts to make a new, sturdier, and more improved raft; nevertheless, the sea is vast with wonderful and mysterious creatures, and the island's only red turtle won't let the weary survivor escape that easily. Could this be the heartless enemy?

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Plot Keywords:

turtle | human nature relationship | nature | animal becoming a human | isolation | 

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Taglines:

Minimalistic and transcendental, just like the most beautiful Japanese fables!

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Genres:

Animation | Family | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some thematic elements and peril

Did You Know?

Trivia

Hayao Miyazaki saw Michael Dudok de Wit's short film Father and Daughter (2000) and wanted to make a feature film with him, making this request to Vincent Maraval, head of Wild Bunch.

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Quotes

The Son (young adult): Hey!

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Crazy Credits

The Studio Ghibli logo is red instead of the traditional blue, to honor the title character.

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Connections

Featured in The Longing of Michael Dudok De Wit (2016)

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Soundtracks

L'au revoir
Conducted by Oleg Kondratenko
Performed by F.A.M.E.'S. Project (aka The Macedonian Radio Symphony Orchestra)
Music By Laurent Perez Del Mar

User Reviews

Quietly Devastating

"The Red Turtle" is an animated film that left my entire family feeling quietly devastated without even being able to put our fingers on why.

With no dialogue, it traces the trajectory life takes for most people: starting out alone, finding someone to partner with, raising children, watching those children leave, and then saying goodbye yourself to the world. The film explores how things that can at first seem like barriers to happiness and contentment can eventually lead us to the things about life that we cherish most. It's not a film full of big, obvious emotions, but instead works a quiet and subtle spell. My eight year old was extremely attuned to the melancholy sadness of the film and spent a couple of minutes in tears afterwards. It gave us a good opportunity to talk about why the movie made him sad and to make him feel OK about having honest reactions to what are essentially the ups and downs of life.

Nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 2016 Academy Awards.

Grade: A

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [France] Official site [Japan]

Country:

France Belgium Japan Poland Netherlands Hungary UK Germany China Thailand Italy Denmark USA

Language:

None

Release Date:

20 January 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Red Turtle

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$21,010, 22 January 2017

Gross USA:

$921,974

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$6,591,789

Company Credits

Production Co:

Prima Linea Productions, Why Not Productions, Wild Bunch

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1