Helena Zengel, Finn Wolfhard, Emily Watson, Willem Dafoe
Reminiscent of E.T., Encyclopedia Pictura shorts and music video virtuoso Isaiah Saxon’s first feature is a nostalgic fantasy about a young girl connecting with a furry forest creature.
Starring Finn Wolfhard, Emily Watson and Willem Dafoe, it’s set in a remote village on the (fictional) Black Sea island of Carpathia. Shy farm girl Yuri (System Crasher’s Helena Zengel) has been raised to fear an elusive animal species known as ochi – super-cute, monkey-like critters with big eyes and pointy ears. But when Yuri discovers a wounded baby ochi stranded and in need, she embarks on the adventure of a lifetime to deliver him home.
A dazzling showcase for Saxon’s astounding technical innovation and boundless imagination, The Legend of Ochi combines state-of-the-art puppetry (the ochi puppet was operated by seven performers), animatronics, computer animation and matte paintings alongside scenes shot in dramatic forest and mountain locations in Transylvania and Romania. An enchanting throwback to classic adventure movies of the 1980s like The NeverEnding Story and The Dark Crystal, The Legend of Ochi will charm a range of younger audiences.