The Legend Of Ochi (2025)

[Himmel]

:A24 has has assembled an all-star cast including Academy-Award Nominee Willem Dafoe, Academy-Award nominee Emily Watson, Finn Wolfhard, and Golden Globe Nominee Helena Zengel for Isaiah Saxon’s fantasy epic The Legend of Ochi. The film will mark Saxon’s debut feature and is based on his original characters, world and screenplay.

The Legend of Ochi follows a young girl (Zengel) who runs away from home and learns to communicate with an elusive animal species known as OCHI. The film will include an original score by composer and Dirty Projectors founder Dave Longstreth, a frequent collaborator of Encyclopedia Pictura. [₩]

[PBateman87]

Consider me intrigued.

[Foggy]

Sounds a little more sentimental than the usual A24 joint, although I guess you don’t know what to expect until you see it.

[Bubbles-11]

Rated PG for violent content, a bloody image, smoking, thematic elements and some language.

Trailer debuts online tomorrow

[BluBonnet]

[BluBonnet]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jTFLg3arYU

[eightslicesofpie]

Wow, looks awesome. Love that the creature seems to be an animatronic

[Mr. Chaverria]

That looks pretty good.

[Bubbles-11]

Releasing in theaters February 28th, 2025

[BluBonnet]

Not anymore.

A24 Delays ‘Legend of Ochi’ Release After Director Loses House in L.A. Fires, Sundance Premiere on Schedule

“The Legend of Ochi” will open in theaters on April 25, instead of its previous date of Feb. 28. The movie is screening first at Sundance on Jan. 26.

[BluBonnet]

‘The Legend of Ochi’ Director Isaiah Saxon Mixed Puppetry, Animatronics and CG to Create One of the Most Nostalgic and Endearing Worlds at This Year’s Sundance

The story around Isaiah Saxon’s feature debut, “The Legend of Ochi,” took a drastic turn, as so many Hollywood stories did, with this month’s Los Angeles fires. Saxon lost his home in the blaze, and the film’s theatrical release was pushed back. However, having spent years developing and working on the fantasy feature, Saxon is standing steadfastly behind his film and will be present for its Sundance world premiere.

“The Legend of Ochi” is a throwback. Its aesthetics, fantasy elements and a blend of practical and digital effects will be instantly endearing to audiences of a certain age but are modern enough and so well executed as to attract younger audiences weaned on the vfx-heavy fare of more recent decades.

The film tells the story of Yuri, a shy farm in a remote village on the island of Carpathia. Born as the only child to a father who yearned for a son, Yuri was raised to fear mysterious primate species known as ochi, who are demonized by the local population. But when Yuri discovers a wounded baby left behind after a failed Ochi hunt, she flees her home to help the young animal find his. “News of the World” breakout Helena Zengel plays Yuri, with Finn Wolfhard, Emily Watson and Willem Dafoe each playing key roles in the film’s main cast.

[BluBonnet]

Metacritic

[Zivouhr]

Forest of the Golden Monkey (Full Episode) | The Hidden Kingdoms of China - YouTube

The Golden Monkey of the Snow seems to be the creature they based this on.
If this is a puppet, it looks good.
If it's CGI, it still looks pretty good.

I think this movie will do well with families.

Screenshot 2025-04-24 195619.jpg

Screenshot 2025-04-24 195605.jpg

[russweiss1]

I'm mixed on this one. There were several things I enjoyed in the film but there were also many things I didn't care for. I ended up giving it a 5/10 but can't imagine I would watch it again.

[BluBonnet]

Originally Posted by russweiss1

I'm mixed on this one. There were several things I enjoyed in the film but there were also many things I didn't care for. I ended up giving it a 5/10 but can't imagine I would watch it again.

I think this movie is aimed squarely at the young 'uns. It probably helps to be under 10 to get the most out of this movie, and even then, it's not a sure thing.

The locations were pretty good, though. As was the puppetry.

[russweiss1]

Originally Posted by BluBonnet

I think this movie is aimed squarely at the young 'uns. It probably helps to be under 10 to get the most out of this movie, and even then, it's not a sure thing.

The locations were pretty good, though. As was the puppetry.

The animatronics was my favorite thing in the movie.

[avensis]

A classic story, a monster movie in the form of a tale for young and old, like E.T., Dragon etc. Nothing revolutionary but nice enough to have a good time, especially as part of the Gérardmer festival.

Mini Militia App Lock

[Bradsdadg]

Saw this film yesterday. Really enjoyed it overall. Funny thing is, I don't think it would be good for little kids. Older kids and families, maybe. It has some weird stuff in it that would get lost on some. I've noticed a good amount of reviews on FB etc. where people didn't "get" it. For me, it was just the right amount of weirdness that made it so interesting.

Visually, the film style was very pleasing. Shades of Wes Anderson and other filmmakers. There was also a bit of a dreamlike quality to some scenes.

I did think they kind of wasted the Finn Wolfhard character. He didn't really do much and it took him a long time to catch on. Not sure why they made the Ochi blink sound so loud. Maybe to show us it was real and not cgi. It would sometimes take me out of the experience a bit.

One I'd like to see again and hopefully own on disc: 7/10

[rexcrk]

Saw it yesterday and it was… interesting.

Loved all the scenery and the Ochi effects of course, but I felt like the movie couldn’t decide what it wanted to be. Like, sometimes it felt campy, other times it felt very serious.

The little Ochi was adorable though and I was happy when he was reunited with his family. It was fun seeing something not part of a franchise, and I’m definitely glad to have watched it once, but I don’t expect I’ll go out of my way to watch it again.

[VictoryAtNight]

Watched this on HBO. This is your typical child befriends a strange creature, who is being hunted, storyline.

The supermarket was colorful. You can see a lot of very old European cars.

I don’t plan on watching this again.