What would you get if you combined the ears of Yoda, the face of a kinkajou, the furriness of Paddington, and the mythical mischievousness of Gremlins' Gizmo into one adorable little fantasy creature? The answer is probably something a little like Ochi, the titular cutie at the heart of The Legend Of Ochi, an original A24 fantasy adventure from first-time feature writer-director — and long-time music video maker for the likes of Björk, Grizzly Bear, and Kanye West — Isaiah Saxon. It stars Willem Dafoe, Emily Watson, Finn Wolfhard, and newcomer Helena Zengel, and it looks like a wild ride of a movie. Check out the trailer below:
First thing's first — none, and we repeat none, of what you see in the above trailer is AI (no matter what folk on X/Twitter may try to say to the contrary.) Saxon's movie and its fantastical central lil' guy is a product of animatronics, puppeteering, suit performers, and one man's incredibly vivid — not to mention pretty batshit looking — dreams. And with that out of the way, this looks like a fascinating boy-and-his-dog (but actually girl-and-her-Ochi) adventure, with Zengel's young lead running away from home, into her island's vast wilderness — and into the path of the elusive orange beastie, who she understands and forms a bond with, and who, naturally, Zengel's fellow island dwellers have an abiding, misguided fear of. Among said island dwellers are Dafoe, who plays Zengel's father, and the aforementioned Watson and Wolfhard.
According to Deadline, industry insiders have touted The Legend Of Ochi as a pre-Lord Of The Rings Peter Jackson style movie, and one with a world so immersive that it blew the A24 big-wigs away and instantly brought them aboard for the magical adventure ahead. It's also a film that caught the attention of The Russo Brothers, who serve as executive producers on the project alongside Neighborhood Watch's Traci Carlson and Richard Peete. Now, we don't know when this one's set to release just yet, but frankly until a drop date is announced, we'll be far too busy rewatching the trailer anyway just so we can get another look at Ochi. Where can we get an Ochi? We would like an Ochi. Can we have an Ochi please? We're willing to travel to potentially dangerous islands if necessary...