REVIEW: ‘Latte and the Magic Waterstone’

Latte and the Magic Waterstone is an animated family adventure film on Netflix. Latte is a hedgehog without a family. Her dad left her when she was young and she’s always been an outsider among the animals of the clearing. Recently, the river that flows near the clearing has dried up, and all the animals are struggling to find water. When the animals of the clearing call a counsel, an old raven tells them they must retrieve the waterstone if they are to save the forest. While most of the animals laugh at this, Latte decides she will retrieve the stone and restore the forest. Accompanied by the young squirrel Tjum, they set off to save the forest. But it’s a bigger task than they can imagine.

Like so many family-oriented adventure movies, Latte and the Magic Waterstone is less about the adventure, and more about the lessons learned along the way. For Latte, the outcast hedgehog, the journey is as much to prove to herself that there isn’t anything wrong with her as it is saving the forest. In contrast, Tjum travels with Latte for much of the movie simply because he is worried about her. He doesn’t believe in the waterstone, and wants nothing more than to go home. But cannot bring himself to abandon Latte.

While the bulk of Latte and the Magic Waterstone’s story revolves around this duo there are a number of supporting characters who come and go throughout it’s tale, keeping the feeling of the story fresh and interesting. Among the plethora of characters, some of the highlights include a wise frog that aids the duo on their journey, a cunning wolf, and a bear king with a fixation for ballet. These characters all have a fun impact on the story, while never overstaying their welcome. They show up, impart upon the story what they need to, and then fade into the background. And while none of these characters were particularly memorable, they were enjoyable enough for the brief time spent with them.

Just as Latte and the Magic Waterstone‘s cast falls shy of memorable, so too does the animation. Nothing about the visuals are bad here, they just all feel fairly basic. All the various woodland creatures are easily identifiable as what they are, and a few even have a little bit of creativity given to them. Overall, however, the visuals for this tale fall soundly into the category of fine.

When all is said and done Latte and the Magic Waterstone provides an enjoyable tale that kids should be able to find a bit of entertainment out of. And while it doesn’t have that second layer many family films do for the adults, it doesn’t sport any of the overly obnoxious characters some kids movie posses. If you are scrounging for something new for a family movie night you could do a lot worse than Latte and the Magic Waterstone. Though, you could do a lot better to.

Latte and the Magic Waterstone is streaming now on Netflix.