Disney+, out now

Cynical 10-year-old Flora realises the squirrel she has saved is actually a superhero – but what is his purpose?

The last superhero movie I watched was Adam Egypt Mortimer’s Archenemy, very much aimed at the adult mature end of the market. Flora & Ulysses isn’t – it’s a Disney half-term movie that never puts its protagonists in too much danger for the kids to worry about (Disney+ rate it at 6 and older, which seems about right), but isn’t so twee that adults will start wondering whether there’s something more interesting on their phone to look at.

The plot is pretty simple – sad kid discovers animal has superpowers; Animal Control get after it; hijinks occur. There’s a lot that feels reminiscent of Paddington (one particular slapstick sequence definitely seems like a retread of the bathroom scene from the first Peruvian bear movie), but with the key difference that Ulysses (named after the hoover that scoops him up and somehow gives him his powers) doesn’t speak, although he clearly understands everything said. There’s a human nemesis and a feline one – which works better in the bits when it’s off screen than on, although there’s some decent laughs from its scenes.

The farcical sections work well (even the hysterical blindness suffered by one of the child leads) and the animation of the squirrel is as credible as you can hope for (a lot better than the cat). The humans – notably star Matilda Lawler – come out of this with dignity for the most part, with Alyson Hannigan having fun as her character sheds some of her inhibitions.

Verdict: A old-fashioned family movie that doesn’t outstay its welcome. 7/10

Paul Simpson