Lupus Films’ award-winning, hand-painted animated feature film Kensuke’s Kingdom is set to take family audiences on a thrilling island adventure when it sails onto BBC iPlayer and BBC One on August 3rd.

Based on the best-selling children’s novel by Michael Morpurgo and adapted for screen by Children’s Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Kensuke’s Kingdom features the epic adventure of Michael, a young boy, shipwrecked on a remote island, who discovers he’s not alone when he encounters a mysterious Japanese man who retreated there after World War Two. But as dangerous invaders appear on the horizon, it becomes clear they must join forces to save their fragile island paradise.

Directed by Neil Boyle and Kirk Hendry, Kensuke’s Kingdom’s illustrious voice cast includes Academy award nominee Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water, Paddington), Academy award-winner Cillian Murphy (Peaky Blinders, Oppenheimer), Raffey Cassidy (The Brutalist, Snow White and the Huntsman, Tomorrowland), Aaron MacGregor (Puffin Rock and the New Friends, SuperpupZ) and Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai, Inception).

The vast natural landscapes, human characters and teeming wildlife in the film were lovingly hand-painted over two and a half years by 200 artists working at Lupus Films, the London-based film and television studio behind award-winning family hits The Tiger Who Came to Tea, The Snowman and The Snowdog, Ethel and Ernest, Mog’s Christmas, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt and The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland.

Kensuke’s Kingdom has won numerous international film & film music awards including: three British Animation Awards including Best Feature; Grand Prize at the New York International Children’s Film Festival; winner at the Indie Fest USA International Film Festival; Best Original Score and Best Animation at the New York Movie Awards; and Gold Awards for Animated Film and Original Score at the Hollywood Gold Awards. It was nominated in the Best Children’s and Film category at this year’s BAFTA Film Awards and the children of France voted Kensuke’s Kingdom (Le Royaume de Kensuke) as their favourite movie of the year at the Cine Jeunes Awards.

The producers for the film are Emmy Award-winning producers and founders of animation studio Lupus Films, Camilla Deakin and Ruth Fielding, Academy Award nominee Stephan Roelants of Melusine Productions, co-founder of Working Title Sarah Radclyffe, Emmy and BAFTA Award-winning producer Barnaby Spurrier, Co-Founder and CEO of Align Adrian Politowski and Senior Vice President, Martin Metz and award-winning producer Jean Labadie and Anne-Laure Labadie of Le Pacte.