The Inventor

Stephen Fry is the voice of a Tuscany-born polymath in a rather muted, underwhelming stop-motion Franco-Irish musical.

There can be little dispute that the most remarkable man who has ever lived was Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci. And yet in the increasing bottleneck of movie biopics there has never been a major film about the man, the painter, scientist, engineer, sculptor, architect, athlete and general know-it-all. There was the Italian miniseries starring Aidan Turner and Christopher Hampton has written a screenplay for Universal Pictures, but the first proper cinematic stab at the life of the genius would appear to be this Franco-Irish stop-motion cartoon musical. Considering Leonardo’s obsession with models and clockwork, the stop-motion format would seem to suit the subject, but the film is really not up to snuff. Of course, we have been spoilt by the stop-motion alchemy of Aardman and Tim Burton and Guillermo del Toro, but this is more Magic Roundabout than A Matter of Loaf and Death.

Here, Leonardo is depicted in his autumnal years attempting to fulfil the egotistical demands of the king of France. Francis I wants a statue built in his honour, while Leonardo feels that an ‘Ideal City’ mirroring the workings of the human body would make better use of the funds. There is much detail here to enthral the young, if only it had been presented with more style and pizzazz. Often the dialogue is drowned out by the background music, while the characters themselves resemble a variety of potato heads with black beans for eyes and assorted geometric shapes for noses.

With Leonardo’s own sketches and paintings present throughout, they rather overshadow the crudeness of the animation here. One can’t help thinking what DK Welchman and Hugh Welchman (Loving Vincent, The Peasants) would have done with the material. Indeed, Leonardo really has been short-changed by what looks like a modest TV production blown-up for the big screen. Some awkward musical numbers and hand-drawn animation add to the unevenness of tone, along with some awful doggerel delivered with half-hearted desperation by a very English Stephen Fry in the title role. The script itself is not bad but fails to register on any significant level as the inventor continues to search for the meaning of life while his own mortality becomes increasingly apparent.

JAMES CAMERON-WILSON

Voices of  Stephen Fry, Daisy Ridley, Marion Cotillard, Gauthier Battoue, Matt Berry, Angelino Sandri, John Gilkey, Natalie Palamides, Max Baumgarten, Jim Capobianco. 

Dir Jim Capobianco, Pro Jim Capobianco, Ellen Byrne, Robert Rippberger, Adrian Politowski, Vince McCarthy and Ilan Urroz, Screenplay Jim Capobianco, Ph Marijke Van Kets, Pro Des Samuel Ribeyron, Ed Nicolas Flory, Music Alex Mandel, Costumes Pauline Valls, Sound Aza Hand. 

Leo and King/Aerial Contrivance Workshop/Align/Carte Blanche/Curiosity Rights/Foliascope/Former Prodigy Media/ Gaia Entertainment/Leveller Media/Moo Studios/SIE Films/Slated/Tip-Top Productions-Park Circus Limited.
99 mins. Ireland/France/USA. 2023. US Rel: 15 September 2023. UK Rel: 8 March 2024. Cert. PG.