The Inventor (2023)

What makes The Inventor special is how it turns Leonardo da Vinci’s restless mind into a place you can actually live in for a while—rendered with lovingly tactile, old-world animation that feels handcrafted rather than manufactured. It’s playful and warm without being fluffy, pairing inventive visual whimsy and gentle humor with a sincere curiosity about art, science, faith, and the big questions we all dodge until we can’t. Stephen Fry gives Leonardo a wry, humane voice, and the film’s French-court atmosphere becomes a storybook stage for wonder, mischief, and quiet poignancy as ideas take flight. It’s not an action-packed kids’ cartoon and it does brush up against heavier themes (plus a few nude-art images), but if you’re in the mood for a charming, imaginative family film with real soul, this one is an uncommon delight.

The Inventor is clearly trying to be a dreamy, philosophical bedtime story about Leonardo da Vinci—less a strict biography and more a gentle meditation on curiosity, mortality, and “the meaning of it all,” wrapped in handcrafted animation. The problem is that the narrative can feel scattered and more interested in big ideas than in building satisfying drama, so scenes sometimes play like beautiful fragments rather than a coherent journey. If you’re expecting a punchy, historically grounded adventure or a kid-friendly plot with clear stakes, this may test your patience, especially as it drifts into allegory and introspection. That said, the voice cast is strong and the visual artistry has real charm, making it a decent pick for viewers who enjoy artful, slower family films that prioritize mood over momentum.