The Inventor, 2023.
Directed by Jim Capobianco and Pierre-Luc Granjon.
Featuring the voice talents of Stephen Fry, Daisy Ridley, Marion Cotillard, Matt Berry, Gauthier Battoue, Natalie Palamides, Ben Stranahan, Max Baumgarten, John Gilkey, Jane Osborn, Daniel Swan, Jim Capobianco, and Angelino Sandri.
SYNOPSIS:
Inventing flying contraptions, war machines, and studying cadavers, Leonardo da Vinci tackles the meaning of life itself with the help of French princess Marguerite de Nevarre.
This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, The Inventor wouldn’t exist.
A blending of stop-motion and 2D animation exploring the life, mind, and inventions of Leonardo da Vinci (voiced by Stephen Fry) shouldn’t feel this flat and overly educational. Unfortunately, that’s the kind of film director Jim Capobianco (with Pierre-Luc Granjon serving as co-director) has created with The Inventor. It’s an animated feature that is far too dry and slow-moving to hold the attention of younger viewers and far too didactic and simplistic to stimulate the minds of adults.
Some of this would be forgivable if the two animation styles elicited a sense of wonder and beauty, but it’s mostly uninteresting and static beyond featuring an admittedly pleasant color palette. Whether it’s using 2D animation to dive into the headspace of Leonardo da Vinci or songs to capture the themes present in the story, there’s nothing memorable or noteworthy here. As these animation styles are forgotten and deserve a comeback, The Inventor is also a reminder that good intentions and noble effort aren’t always enough to craft something special using those tools.
The narrative is primarily a crash course through some of Leonardo da Vinci’s most important days and discoveries, such as a scientific quest to unearth what exactly is a human soul, much to the chagrin of Pope Leo XI Voice (voiced by Matt Berry.) The Pope would rather have Leonardo da Vinci fostering peace between Italy and France, which he is successful doing while also coming into the services of The King of France (voiced by Gauthier Battoue), who initially offers creative freedom for his inventions, but really wants blueprints to a perfect city meant to honor his ego with oversized statues and more.
Disillusioned and feeling defeated that The King’s mother, Louise de Savoy (voiced by Marion Cotillard), supports this nonsense, Leonardo da Vinci does find a sliver of hope in Princess Marguerite (voiced by Daisy Ridley), who encourages his wishes to draft an ideal city first and foremost for the people. Meanwhile, asides offer insight into some of Leonardo da Vinci’s other inventions (such as mechanical animals and flying contraptions) and ponderings on the meaning of life and the purpose of a soul.
Far more intriguing is that the filmmakers are fairly comfortable punching down at the Pope while portraying leaders as greedy, power-hungry, bumbling fools with little to no intentions of doing what’s best for the people. Of course, this is done family-friendly, but it’s still there and shows that the filmmakers have their minds in the right place, even if they don’t necessarily know how to tell this story compellingly for any demographic.
This is all made worse by how wooden and disinterested the voice acting ensemble comes across, save for Stephen Fry, who makes a small emotional imprint during the film’s closing moments. The Inventor has endlessly fascinating material at its fingertips, destroying most of it rather than creating a magical animated feature. There is effort here in both animation styles, but the well-intentioned narrative lacks a soul, so Leonardo da Vinci should look for that elsewhere.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
