The rage of The Dark Crystal soldiers on!

There is a certain type of beauty to pulling off a modern day family friendly movie which doesn’t talk down to its audience.  That’s sort of what you have here with The Legend of Ochi, A24’s first foray into movies geared toward the family.  Except this movie has the intelligence which is often missing in that genre.

The Legend of Ochi, written and directed by Isaiah Saxon, is world-building at its finest.  This is a rich story, full of wonder and charm, and - thanks to a handful of great artists - chock full of practical effects. 

This is a movie specifically geared toward the child in us all.  It’s full of beautiful cinematography; great puppetering; a solid cast; and a wonderful message to boot.  There’s really nothing to complain about here - even if the emotion doesn’t always hit - as one young girl defies her father’s wishes and sets out on a grand adventure with a wild Ochi, a species man is known to hunt.

Without any CGI manipulation, The Legend of Ochi sweeps its audience away to the remote island of Carpathia, where the people live off the land and hunt some type of orange-colored simian species, with blue faces and high-pitched vocals, known as Ochi.  The camera gives way to pinkish sunsets and some wonderfully designed atmospheres as the hunt begins.  We don’t understand why the humans here are so against these creatures, but we go with it . . .

. . . until the fracture begins.   

As the movie begins, Yuri (Helena Zengel) is on the hunt with her father, Maxim (Willem Dafoe), and Petro (Finn Wolfhard), a young man who seems to be groomed to replace Maxim when he ages out of leadership against these creatures.  Her mother, Dasha (Emily Watson), left the family a while ago and will factor into the story after Yuri befriends an injured baby Ochi and decides that these animals aren’t so bad after all.

And, really, they aren’t.  I mean, that’s the point of the movie.   There’s way too many prejudices against others and most exist for no modern explanation.  Which Saxon aims to destroy with this movie. 

Because an injured baby Ochi, looking a lot like Gizmo from Gremlins, captures her interest and then her heart.  Reuniting this creature with its mother is all she wants to do and, defying everyone in the family, she goes about doing exactly that in this expressionistic world. 

With great moments between Yuri and the baby Ochi - one being a fun episode in a colorful grocery store - and solid performances from Dafoe and Watson, The Legend of Ochi creates a movie which won’t soon be forgotten.

Home Video Distributor: A24
Available on Blu-ray - July 8, 2025
Screen Formats: 1.67:1
Subtitles: English SDH; Spanish 
Video: MPEG-4 AVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos; English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; single disc
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A

In a remote village on the island of Carpathia, a shy farm girl named Yuri is raised to fear an elusive animal species known as ochi. But when Yuri discovers a wounded baby ochi has been left behind, she escapes on a quest to bring him home.

Video

With stunning depth throughout, A24’s handling of The Legend of Ochi, presented in a 16x9 Widescreen 1.66:1 Presentation, is to be complimented.  The detail here is insane as a new world - full of grassy greens and deep pinks - is created.  The puppeting of the Ochi is detail-heavy, as well.  Black levels are strong throughout.  Even the pimples on Yuri’s face are full of details.  Great work throughout!

Audio

The Blu-ray release delivers a solid audio presentation anchored by a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Dialogue remains consistently clear and well-prioritized across all scenes, even during emotionally charged or overlapping exchanges.

Supplements:

The Special Blu-ray edition of Isaiah Saxon's lushly handcrafted adventure starring Helena Zengel, Willem Dafoe, Finn Wolfhard, and Emily Watson includes a filmmaker commentary, a brand new behind-the-scenes featurette, Emily Watson's "Singing Bird" deleted scene, plus six collectible postcards with photography by Alexandru Ionita.

Commentary:

• Commentary with Writer-Director Isaiah Saxon

Special Features:

• “The Ochi Quest” Behind-the-Scenes Featurette
• Deleted Scene: Emily Watson’s “Singing Bird”
• Six Collectible Postcards with Behind-the-Scenes Photography by Alexandru Ionita

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Composite Blu-ray Grade

MPAA Rating: PG.
Runtime: 95 mins
Director: Isaiah Saxon
Writer: Isaiah Saxon
Cast: Helena Zengel; Willem Dafoe; Emily Watson
Genre: Fantasy | Adventure
Tagline: Something else is out there.
Memorable Movie Quote: 
Theatrical Distributor: A24
Official Site:
Release Date: April 25, 2025
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: July 8, 2025
Synopsis: In a remote village on the island of Carpathia, a shy girl is raised to fear an elusive animal species known as ochi. But when she discovers a wounded baby ochi has been left behind, she escapes on a quest to bring him home.