Latte & the Magic Waterstone Parent Guide

Deep in the forest, a group of animals live together in harmony, sharing food and water and making decisions together. But when their existence is threatened by a terrible drought, a lonely hedgehog named Latte (Ashley Bornancin) volunteers to go on a quest to retrieve the magical waterstone from the selfish bear king Bantur (Danny Fehsenfeld) and restore water to the river. Accompanied by a timid squirrel named Tjum (Carter Hastings), Latte sets out, and learns a few lessons along the way.

My three-year-old son will watch anything. As long as it’s moving and on a screen, he is content. With that in mind, you can imagine my surprise when halfway through Latte and the Magic Waterstone he turned to me and said, “Mom, this is boring.” I agreed, but I’m not the intended audience. He did sit through the remainder of the run time, however, so I guess he decided something was better than nothing.

This is an altogether inoffensive production. The animation is cheap and badly rendered, but the story has some decent themes and there’s a lack of objectionable content, aside from some name calling. The movie touches on themes of community, family, selfishness, loneliness, and friendship, which are all done in a way that is easily understandable for a young child. The action is not overly perilous or scary, making it a decent introductory adventure story for the very young.

If you want to put on something for your preschooler that you don’t have to worry about it being scary or inappropriate, Latte is a perfectly fine choice. However, I wouldn’t recommend this film for adults or older children, not because it’s bad, but because it is dull. If this movie was a spice, it’d be flour.