''Storm Boy'' is a 2019 Australian drama

family film A children's film, or family film, is a film genre that generally relates to children in the context of home and family. Children's films are made specifically for children and not necessarily for a general audience, while family films are made ...

based on the 1964 novella by

Colin Thiele Colin Milton Thiele (; 16 November 1920 – 4 September 2006) was an Australian author and educator. He was renowned for his award-winning children's fiction, most notably the novels '' Storm Boy'', ''Blue Fin'', the '' Sun on the Stubble'' ser ...

of the

same name ''Same Name'' is an American reality television series in which an average person swaps lives with a celebrity of the same first and last name. It premiered on July 24, 2011 on CBS. The series received low ratings, and CBS pulled it after four-ep ...

. The adaptation was directed by Shawn Seet and stars

Geoffrey Rush Geoffrey Roy Rush (born 6 July 1951) is an Australian actor. Known for often playing eccentric roles on both stage and screen, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Geoffrey Rush, numerous accolades, including an Academy Aw ...

and

Jai Courtney Jai Stephen Courtney (; born 15 March 1986) is an Australian actor. Born and raised in Sydney, Courtney started his career as a teenager with small roles in film and television, and studied acting at the Western Australian Academy of Performing ...

. Thiele's novel was previously adapted in 1976.

Plot

Based on the book, ''Storm Boy'' follows a young boy growing up on a largely uninhabited coastline of Southern Australia. He rescues three orphan pelicans and forms a close bond with them.

Cast

as Michael "Storm Boy" Kingley ** Finn Little as Storm Boy ** Edward Boehm as Young Storm Boy *

as Tom "Hideaway Tom" * Trevor Jamieson as Bill "Fingerbone Bill" * Morgan Davies as Madeline *

Erik Thomson Erik Thomson is a Scottish-born New Zealand-Australian actor. He is known for playing Hades in the television series '' Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'', '' Xena Warrior Princess'' and '' Young Hercules'', Dr. Mitch Stevens in '' All Saints' ...

as Malcom Downer *

David Gulpilil David Dhalatnghu Gulpilil (1 July 1953 – 29 November 2021) was an Australian actor and dancer. He was known for his roles in the films Walkabout (film), ''Walkabout'' (1971), Storm Boy (1976 film), ''Storm Boy'' (1976), ''The Last Wave'' (1 ...

as The Father of Fingerbone Bill * Simone Annan as Murujuga Lawyer * Thibul Nettle as Police Officer (as Stinga-T) * Luca Asta Sardelis as Smirking Schoolgirl #1 * Georgina Giessauf as Smirking Schoolgirl #2 * Amélie Rickman as Smirking Schoolgirl #3 * David John Clark as Police Senior Constable *

Chantal Contouri Chantal Contouri (; born 8 April 1950), sometimes credited as Chantal Cantouri, is a Greek Australian television and film actress. She has acted in many films and TV series as well as on stage, with one of her best known roles being in the 197 ...

as Julie Sims * Martha Lott as Pearl * Nick Launchbury as Reporter #1 * Emma Bargery as Reporter #2 * Miraede Bhatia-Williams as Mildew * Brendan Cooney as Police Officer * Caroline Mignone as Angela * Anna Bampton as Jenny * Rory Walker as Murray * Lucy Cowan as Belle * Niraj Pandya as Office Receptionist * Brendan Rock as Hunter #1 * James Smith as Hunter #2 * Bradley Trent Williams as Jasper Davies * Tim Whibley as Office Worker * Paul Blackwell as Cal Evans * Michelle Nightingale as Mrs. Marks *

Natasha Wanganeen Natasha Wanganeen (born 20 June 1984) is an Aboriginal Australian actress. She is known for her starring role in the 2002 feature film '' Rabbit-Proof Fence'' and numerous television roles. She made her debut as co-writer and co-producer in a 2 ...

as Susan Franklin

Production

''Storm Boy'', an Ambience Entertainment production, was shot along the Coorong and in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

in July–August 2017. The

Hudson Hornet ''For the NASCAR car, see Fabulous Hudson Hornet.'' The Hudson Hornet is a full-size car manufactured by Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan from 1951 until 1954, when Nash-Kelvinator and Hudson merged to form American Motors Corpor ...

used in the filming was supplied by a local South Australian car collector.

Release

The film opened in theatres in Australia and New Zealand on 17 January 2019, in Poland on 19 January 2019 and in the United States on 5 April 2019.

Box office

The film was released in 320 theatres in Australia on 17 January 2019 but it grossed only $874,000 (USD) on its opening weekend. By the end of its theatrical run in Australia, it had earned a total of $3.5 million. The film also grossed just over $600,000 in Poland and New Zealand when it was released over 17–19 January 2019. The film was released in the United States & Territories on 5 April 2019 but only earned $71,000. The total box-office for ''Storm Boy'' was $4.2 million.

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

the film has an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The site's critics consensus reads, "''Storm Boy'' can't quite live up to the original, but this retelling of a beloved story retains enough of its classic source material's heart to remain worth a watch." On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 67 out of 100 based on 7 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Awards

Notes

References

External links

* * {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2019 2019 films 2010s children's drama films Australian children's drama films Films about birds Films set in South Australia Films scored by Alan John Films directed by Shawn Seet Films set in the 20th century Films set in the 21st century Films set on beaches Films shot in Adelaide Remakes of Australian films Films about father–son relationships Films based on Australian novels Films based on children's books Films about Aboriginal Australians 2010s English-language films Screen Australia films Works by Colin Thiele