Flora and Ulysses
Squirtel. I am Ulysses. Born anew.
Summary
It is the beginning of summer and Flora doesn’t have many plans. With her parents separated, there seems to be a dark cloud over her life and all the magic is gone. It isn’t until her neighbor’s vacuum robot runs over a squirrel that she finds her spark again. After reviving her new friend, she names him Ulysses and takes him home. The pair find themselves in the adventure of their lives after discovering that Ulysses is in fact a superhero. Paired with a blind William and her father, they must protect Ulysses from the local animal control.
Characters
Flora and Ulysses feature the two titular characters: Flora, the human child and cynic, and Ulysses, the squirrel with superpowers after an encounter with a vacuum cleaner. As a ten-year-old, Flora has experienced many hardships in her life, such as the separation of her parents. The only things that keep her going are her comics that her father drew. Although she is a self-proclaimed cynic, she still carries certain hopes and dreams. Ulysses, on the other hand, was just some normal squirrel until he encountered a vacuum cleaner. After being sucked into it, and with some CPR from Flora, Ulysses gains some superpowers to achieve a certain purpose.
Sebastian: 8.0/10
This was a good little movie that I would say is a good family film. Now I would firstly say that this movie definitely skews to a younger audience than some family films but I still think for what it is it’s fun. The thing I liked most about the film was actually our protagonist herself Flora (as played by Matilda Lawler) who is a self-proclaimed cynic that I thought was a cute and fun character that Matilda did a really good job portraying. I thought the rest of the cast did a good job with what they were given though this was not a character-driven story. On a story level, this is not a particularly complex plot with it mostly consisting of Flora and her superhero squirrel Ulysses going on mini adventures with some connection to one another as Flora tries to make Ulysses find his purpose as a hero. I thought that Ulysses was cute and he had expressions that were funny and when he used his powers it was cool. The visual effects for Ulysses were good as well as he looked like he was really there. Look this isn’t a deep family film with any really important lessons or much to discuss but I thought it was a fun film that I was glad I saw at least once and hey if they made a sequel, I would probably watch it.
All in all, this is a cute family film that I would recommend to anyone looking for a new family film to show their kids but I wouldn’t say this is a family film that adults would want to watch alone. So, hop on Disney+ and check this one out.
Austin: 7.7/10
This is definitely not Disney’s greatest movie, but it is still alright. Disney’s new original is a quick watch at an hour and a half. The characters are decent, and it is still written well. The plot is very lacking, but the base is there. The things I really enjoyed about this movie were the funny moments and the development of the characters. Now because it is a children’s movie, the development isn’t deep or overly complex, but it serves its purpose.
We have 4 main characters, and the writers do a good job of establishing a backstory for each character, outside of William, very early on in the movie. This makes the characters a lot more relatable, even if they don’t fit that mold to begin the movie. The characters aren’t difficult to understand, and I’d even call their development predictable, but this is how the movie should be. It’s not the 17th movie in the MCU, with the audience meant to pick up on the smallest hints and easter eggs. It is meant to be a cute, one-off movie made for children. The development fits the movie, and it keeps things simple.
The plot is not awesome. It feels light, and it stumbles over itself a few times throughout. I think the idea behind the movie was really good, and the points I’m going to make aren’t going to matter to a younger audience whatsoever. It felt really slow, and I think they could have packed at least a few more comedic or emotional scenes into the mix, especially in the beginning. The slow start hurts this movie, simple or not, and it could have picked up the pace a lot sooner. The back half is a lot better, more enjoyable, and the plot flows a lot smoother.
As a pretty big How I Met Your Mother fan, I was thrilled to see Alyson Hannigan in this one. The roles are simple for both Alyson and Ben Schwartz, but I thought all 4 main actors did a really good job of portraying the environment the writers were going for.
I have two different opinions on this movie depending on the audience. If you need a new movie to watch as a family, I would definitely check this one out. It will bring a few awes and laughs to your home. If you are looking for something new to watch yourself, I can’t recommend this one with all the much better movies that have just come out.
Nathanyal: 7.0/10
Flora and Ulysses was just an alright movie. Since this movie is targeted towards children, there are many aspects that I will be mentioning that will not apply to them. As a kids’ movie, it definitely hits the spot and is pretty enjoyable.
For the rest of us, this movie is weird. For one, none of the characters were all that likeable. Again, since the movie is for children, the characters are essentially an archetype and don’t change at all throughout the plot. The main cast was alright; however, I did not feel any attachment to any of them, and many of the more emotional scenes didn’t faze me. The villains for the movie also show signs of being simple, as their motives just don’t make any sense in the context of the world the movie is set in. Also, the plot is pretty boring overall. Nothing really happens for half the movie and the action parts of the movie seem off because the motives of the villains make no sense. Plot wise, I felt pretty bored throughout the whole movie. The movie also covers heavy topics of separation and divorce, which don’t really line up with the targeted audience being children. That whole part of the story just felt odd and didn’t seem to be needed.
Overall, the movie was alright. For children watching, this movie will probably be fun and entertaining. It’s not every day you get to see squirrels perform feats of great strength. But for anyone else, I can’t really recommend this movie.
“This site is owned and operated by Austin Daley. Prairiegrownreviews.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Prairiegrownreviews.com also participates in other affiliate programs. This site is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies.”
