In the Disney film Flora & Ulysses, Flora Buckman (Matilda Lawler) is into superhero comic books, especially those that are written by her father George (Ben Schwartz). Her favorite character Incandesto was drawn by her father, but she’s disappointed that superheroes don’t show up in the real world. Down on her favorite pastime, Flora sells her complete collection of Marvel Comics, except one issue of Incandesto.
Flora is a total fantasy fan. So much so, that when she sees an incident where a squirrel gets vacuumed in a runaway robot in the neighbor’s yard, she brings the critter back to life with CPR. When the squirrel regains consciousness, it turns into a superhero of sorts and the two become friends. She names the squirrel Ulysses and makes him her pet and vice versa.
This all happens in the first few minutes of the film and like most live-action Disney films, the story becomes exciting and is filled with adventure family values and a whole lot more. Director Lena Khan pushes all the right buttons taking her audience on a rollercoaster ride as Ulysses gets involved in some wild antics. Trying to keep her new friend out of trouble isn’t easy for Flora, but when they have a run-in with a local animal control freak, it’s a fight for life. But, are Ulysses’ superpowers up for the battle?
The acting by Matilda Lawler is crazy good and she easily takes over the film with her very cool personality. Perfect for her character, the kindly yet intuitive Flora, she finds a way to not only solve her problems with the animal control guy, but works hard to keep her family together.
The film is a lot of fun and perfect for the whole family. Flora & Ulysses has been rated PG by the MPAA for some mild action and thematic elements, but nothing that should disturb a 4 year old. The film is exclusively on Disney + starting Friday February 19th. My rating is 4 out of 5 stars for older folks and 5 out of 5 stars for the youngsters 4 to 11.
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
