The Toymaker's Key

A feature-length animated fantasy adventure directed by Andy Turner and Drew Casson, written by Turner, Andy Lenning and Jamie Christofersen and featuring the voices of Harry Shotta, Casson, Peter Kingston, Kele Le Roc and Rhys Earlson Ray.

Terrific animation, fantastic music and an intriguing story all come together to deliver an enchanting experience.

The year is 1945 and a young man named Tommy (Shotta) has returned injured to his wealthy home in Sussex after having fought in the Second World War. He has been informed that his father (Kingston) has gone missing and retrieves a special key that belonged to his parent. This key was discovered in a forest by Tommy's great-grandmother and it has magical powers that lead to another world, a magical place. Tommy uses the key to open a chest and is magically transported to that world. There, he finds out that his father has been captured by evil fiends and with the help of a number of unique allies, he sets out to rescue him.

The plot is a Good vs Evil. A group of good individuals going against an army of evildoers in an otherworldly place. Tommy and his new friends traverse this strange world, encountering obstacle after obstacle, gaining new allies and fighting the bad guys. It is a concept that is not unusual, however it works well, with significant character development and tense fighting scenes.

Regarding the visuals, they look amazing. The 2D hand-drawn animation contains rich colours and lighting and the editing makes the viewing look like a graphic novel, with characters being motionless for the majority of the film but with letters replaced by voices. Some of the things that viewers will see, are magical locations that include forests, snow-covered areas and a vast castle. Then, there are the characters and it is the ones who inhabit the magic world that stand out. These beings include the Butterfly People, a tribe of people who have giant butterfly wings on their back and a led by iO (Le Roc), the leader of their kind. Others are Darwin (Cosmo Wellings) a man with the appearance of a clown, who performs acrobatics and speaks in rhymes, Rhu (Ray) a young boy from the Butterfly People who is having his own misfortunes and the Grandmaster (Casson), a man in a hooded robe who has defferent coloured eyes. These are some of the good guys. The bad guys consist of an army of medieval soldiers armed with sharp weaponry, who are led by the General (also Casson), a brutal knight in a dark armour who plans to replace Tommy's father as the creator of this other world. Another character who should be mentioned is Nekos (Turner) a warrior who is also a werewolf. All characters look great, however, it is the bad guys who stand out the most.

The music is another huge plus. It is mesmerising and dynamic, effectively creating an atmosphere that is adventurous, dreadful and emotional.

The plot involves fighting evil and saving people. It is also about tyranny, cruelty, support, bravery and redemption. The screenplay also manages to be a World War II story and a family drama.

This animated film succeeds in every aspect, making it a pleasure to view the visuals, to listen to the music and the voice acting and to enjoy the story. Huge commendations go to everyone who contributed to the development of this project.