The animated feature film Kensuke’s Kingdom had its British network TV premiere earlier this month on Sunday, 3 August on BBC One, which means that it is now available on BBC iPlayer until next year!
Adapted from the Michael Morpurgo novel of the same name the film was part of the BBC’s programming to mark the 80th anniversaries of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with the latter featuring in the backstory of the old Japanese soldier Kensuke (voiced by Ken Watanabe).
It is a stunning hand-drawn animated adventure from Lupus Films, directed by Neil Boyle and Kirk Hendry, also starring the voice talents of Sally Hawkins, Cillian Murphy, Raffey Cassidy and Aaron Macgregor.
Most notably, the film features a terrific symphonic score by Stuart Hancock, and the score picked up 15 awards , including at last year’s British Animation Awards and International Music+Sound Awards. And the IMFCA (International Film Music Critics Association) voted it one of the Top 5 Scores of the Year across all new film and television productions in 2024.
Looking ahead, Hancock is composing the music scores for two contrasting new feature films: the sci-fi adventure Stargazers for director Jonathan Brooks, and the action film Bad Day at the Office, starring John Hannah and Radha Mitchell, for director Chee Keong Cheung. The short films Largo and A Friend of Dorothy, featuring his scores, are now playing festivals so keep your eye out for them.
Kensuke’s Kingdom is available on BBC iPlayer.
