Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Riverdance: The Animated Adventure’ on Netflix, A Kids’ Toon That’s Light Of Heart And Feet

Riverdance: The Animated Adventure (Netflix) is the next iteration of the long-running stage production featuring Irish dancing performed in unison. It comes from Cinesite, the studio that brought us the Addams Family animated reboots, and it weaves Irish folk tradition, the music of Grammy-winning Riverdance composer Bill Whelan, and a heaping helping of family-oriented kid’s entertainment into a tidy 93 minutes of dancing, mild goofiness, and rousing adventure-having.

RIVERDANCE THE ANIMATED ADVENTURE: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Riverdance the theater production celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2020. You remember Riverdance. Sweeping pans of Irish step dancers tap tapping away in unison, all of it set to folk melodies pumped up with grandeur and primed to pull in PBS pledge drive cash. What Riverdance: The Animated Adventure asks is: What if giant magical deer were doing the riverdancing? And what if the main magical deer was voiced by Pierce Brosnan?

Brosnan actually pulls double duty in this children’s story about loss, life, light, and darkness. When his hooves aren’t stepping and tittering together with his magical herd, he also voices the kindly grandpa of a little boy named Keegan (newcomer Sam Hardy). Grandpa and Grandma (Pauline McLynn) are raising their grandson in a polite little Irish town full of sweets shops, Irish dancing schools, and even a record store. Keegan is a budding DJ, in love with the magic of vinyl. He also idolizes his grandpa, who was once a champion hurler and remains a wonderful Irish dancer, even if his bones are a bit creaky. He’s still spry enough to spar good-naturedly with his loving wife, though. And Grandpa’s dedicated to his work as the town’s lighthouse operator, since each night his light wards off the darkness that creeps in from another world and manifests in the form of the brutish and wily Huntsman (Brendan Gleeson).

The Huntsman preys on the megaloceros giganteus, that ancient herd of spiritual deer whose magical antlers give life to the region’s rivers. And if he were ever to get his hands on them, he’d dry up the water and bring darkness to the land. So it’s lucky that Gramps is so vigilant. The lighthouse stays lit, and the townspeople celebrate with flights of buoyant coordinated step dancing.

That all changes when Grandpa hangs up his frog slippers for good and passes the lighthouse torch to Keegan. Alongside his best friend and dancer Moya (Hannah Herman Cortes), Keegan learns that the legendary magic deer are not only real, they’re vital to Ireland’s way of life. Patrick (Brosnan) and happy-go-lucky deer friends Penny (YouTuber and late-night television host Lilly Singh) and Benny (Jermaine Fowler, Coming 2 America) take the kids on a journey through a wild landscape full of step dancing Capreolinae, folk magic, sentient frogs, and even a hurling pitch where caman-wielding deer bat the sliotar. And when the Huntsman comes a-calling, it’ll be up to Keegan to carry on his grandfather’s traditions, push back the threat, and keep the light and the rivers flowing.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of? Lilly Singh also voiced a character in Ice Age 2: Collision Course, which shared with Riverdance: The Animated Adventure a host of talking animals and environmental themes. And Netflix is also streaming Happy Feet and its sequel, featuring the voice of Elijah Wood as Mumbles the dancing penguin.

Performance Worth Watching: Irish actress and comedian Aisling Bea, who plays opposite Paul Rudd in the Netflix comedy Living With Yourself, is funny and engaging as Margot, owner of the town record shop and one of Keegan’s buddies. Bea puts a cheeky, almost romantic comedy spin into this otherwise straightforward children’s film.

Memorable Dialogue: One of the most powerful sequences in Riverdance: The Animated Adventure is Keegan’s encounter with the Huntsman inside Newgrange, the real-life Neolithic passage tomb that overlooks the River Boyne in County Meath. “You’re the one who left the light off,” the Huntsman seethes into the little boy’s ear. “Where I’m from, that’s an invitation. As a token of gratitude, I have a proposition for you. Come to my world, and you can have everything back the way it was.” It’s just like a children’s story villain to prey on a kid’s vulnerability, especially in his time of grief. And then, guilt trip. “And I wouldn’t tell anyone you saw me, because then they’d know what you did. Inviting me in.”

Sex and Skin: None.

Our Take: Fans of the original Riverdance production will recognize most of the music featured in this animated Riverdance. From the stately version of “American Wake” that accompanies the coordinated stepping outside Grandpa’s funeral (complete with black umbrellas as props) and a take on “Countess Cathleen” that’s as light as the lily pads surrounding Moya as she dances across the river’s surface, to stirring Riverdance standout “Heartland,” here made even more powerful by the addition of Gaelic chanting and its soundtracking a troupe of 27 magic deer dancers, Riverdance: The Animated Adventure is always cognizant of carrying forward the legacy these songs represent. The “Heartland” sequence in particular is matched in sonic grandeur by the direction and animation, which captures the megaloceros giganteus dancers at sunset arrayed across a hillside. It’s stirring.

This Adventure certainly has its heart in the right place, with its central lesson of light and love conquering grief and fear. But it’s lighthearted, too, with moments of good-natured ribbing and a pleasant goofiness that allows for the carefree detachment of childhood to coexist with its larger themes. And as for the Huntsman, he isn’t portrayed as utterly malevolent, even when he manages to inflict some significant damage on the magic deer. He’s more like a cross between Bluto from Popeye the Sailor crossed with a children’s book villain whose Achilles heel is obvious to anyone with courage and a true heart. Luckily for Ireland’s rivers, Keegan finds those traits just in time.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Riverdance: The Animated Adventure offers a new musical chapter to fans of the original production, as well as a bit of folklore and a rousing tale for kids with a sense of humor and the usual complement of wise talking animals.

Johnny Loftus is an independent writer and editor living at large in Chicagoland. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift. Follow him on Twitter: @glennganges