The magic of story telling?

Eleanor's Secret (2009)

Funded by a Franco-Italian co-production this animated adventure is directed by Dominique Monfrey. A boy that is having trouble learning to read but loves stories inherits a collection of magical books from his aunt.

There are a lot of good ideas in this film but ultimately it fails to engage with the audience or fully explore the issues present. Lots of children have learning difficulties and struggle with learning to read but this film does trivialise that but suggesting that the protagonists just needs to believe in himself to be able to read. With plenty of iconic characters from children's literature present it should really help draw viewers in but in the end the story is just too simplistic and does not work on an emotional level.

3/5