In a secluded village on the island of Carpathia, a shy farm girl named Yuri is taught to fear the mysterious ochi, elusive forest creatures. When she discovers an injured baby ochi abandoned by its pack, Yuri defies her upbringing and embarks on a perilous quest to reunite it with its family. Along the way, she faces dangerous challenges and uncovers secrets about her world.

The Legend of Ochi Review

Written and directed by Isaiah Saxon, best known for a handful of music videos, The Legend of Ochi shows that the relative noob has an eye for beautifully framing scenes. However, as far as writing goes, the California native isn’t ready to work without a net, and certainly needs help when directing his own work.

The Legend of Ochi possesses many interesting elements that could have come together to become a modern family film classic.

• Cute creature design? Check.
• Beautiful and mysterious backdrop with magical elements? Check.
• Quirky yet charming characters? Kinda check.

Unfortunately, its characters, character development, and plot are all rushed. Billed as an “adventure,” the antagonist’s motivation for initiating the adventure is thin, and unlike classics like The Goonies, the perils and trials are few, and the revelations are unearned. Whereas The Goonies’s every scene built upon the previous one, The Legend of Ochi’s protagonist just sort of ends up where she needs to be to receive the next bit of information so that she can easily move on to the next easily overcome set piece.

Ultimately, despite some really first-rate puppetry, beautiful cinematography, and a nuanced performance by Willem Dafoe that far surpasses the material, The Legend of Ochi is only mildly entertaining.

PARENTAL NOTES

Important Information for Parents

Our Parental Notes flag the material parents may want to know about before pressing play, including profanity, blasphemy, adult content, extreme violence, frightening intensity, hyper-stimulating sequences, and other family-content concerns.

UNLOCK PARENTAL NOTES.Profanity, blasphemy, adult content, extreme violence, hyper-stimulating intensity, and more.›

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