Flora and Ulysses is a family comedy film directed by Lena Khan. The plot focuses on young comic book fan and life cynic Flora (Matilda Lawler), who one day saves the life of a squirrel after it has an unfortunate accident with a robot hoover. Said squirrel (later called Ulysses), and Flora form a tight bond and, oh yeah and since its rebirth the squirrel now has super powers- that’s kind of important.
In describing this film on twitter the other day, I called it “the Paddington of 2021”, or something to that extent, and truly that is the biggest compliment I can bestow on this film. It is such a happy, enjoyable good time that you can’t help but fall in love with it.
Firstly, the narration and the dialogue are fantastic, not only are they often punchy they also make a few salient points about society- it is surprisingly sharp. Moreover, if you’re a comic book fan, such as I, then you will get extra enjoyment from this film and there are so many references and shout outs to very comics specific things that serve as loving easter eggs for long time fans of the medium.
As far as child actors go Lawler is actually terrific, she sells everything just as she should and does not overact/ or as child actors often do, underact. She fits the role perfectly. Moreover, her friendship with Ulysses might be one of the cutest things you have ever seen, it is so adorable and heart warningly wholesome that it made me want to own a pet squirrel.
Ben Schwartz play’s Floras dad and carries on this recent strong streak of films, seriously check out some of his recent offerings outside of this and Sonic he is really proving himself to be a talent to watch out for.
Overall, maybe the best Disney + original outside of Marvel and Star Wars- yes, even better than Soul.
Pros.
Flora and Ulysses
Ben Schwartz
The script
The comic book references
The ending
Cons.
None
5/5
It is pure wholesome goodness
Reviewed by Luke
Another Millennial Reviewer 