Movie Review: ‘The Deer King’

Review by James Lindorf

Best known for producing and distributing Academy Award-nominated animated features, including “Howl’s Moving Castle,” “Spirited Away,” and “Wolfwalkers,” GKIDS is back with their latest feature film, “The Deer King.” The film marks the directorial debut of Masashi Ando. Ando has worked in animation and character design for landmark films, including “Spirited Away” and “Your Name,” helping shape the world of modern anime. “The Deer King” is currently playing in cities around the country in both Japanese and English languages. Theaters near you can be found on the GKIDS website.

Ten years ago, the nation of Aquafa was conquered by the Empire of Zol after a brutal war. Van, the leader and sole survivor of The Lone Antlers, Aquafa’s greatest warriors, now spends his days toiling away in a Zol mine. Van’s life is again upended when a pack of wild dogs carrying a lethal disease attack, leaving only Van and a young girl named Yuna as survivors. Finally free, the pair set out to live a quiet life in a village in the countryside where people live at one with nature, only taking what they need. The peace can’t last forever with nefarious forces tracking them down, and to protect Yuna, Van must uncover the actual cause of the plague and its possible cure.

Warring nations and nature revolting against man are common themes in anime, making the film’s plot by Taku Kishimoto and Nahoko Uehashi less than groundbreaking. However, men using or embracing nature as a means of chemical warfare is a concept that is new to me and adds a unique twist to the old story. The writing duo also crafted many complex and compelling characters, even if some trended towards archetypes. Van is essentially Russell Crowe’s General Maximus Decimus Meridius from “Gladiator” almost to a T. The only difference is Van has Yuna to fight for, to live for.

Where “The Deer King” constantly excels is in the beautiful animation. Many scenes are worth capturing for a poster or your background worthy. I especially love the look when the plague is moving across the land, and a character is communing with nature. It highlights the energy that connects every creature to the next around the world, and the artistry makes it hard to look away.

Much like “Avatar,” “The Deer King” combines terrific visuals and a familiar story in nearly 2-hours of solid entertainment. “The Deer King” may not be a threat when Oscar season rolls around again. Still, its approach to humanity’s interaction with each other, the environment, and the importance of science will always have a place in my heart and my movie collection. “The Deer King” earns a 4 out of 5 for technical excellence and a quality approach to a familiar story.

Rating: R
Genre: Fantasy, Anime, Adventure
Original Language: Japanese
Director: Masashi Ando
Writer: Taku Kishimoto, Nahoko Uehashi
Release Date : July 13th, 2022 Limited
Runtime: 1h 54m
Distributor: GKIDS