ULTRAMAN: RISING -- One (Ultra)man and a (Kaiju) Baby

Review by Sean Boelman

Warner Bros. MonsterVerse has shown that there is a way to take Japanese IPs and make them Hollywood-friendly on a massive scale. Netflix hopes to replicate that success with Ultraman: Rising, a kiddie animated superhero flick featuring one of the most popular characters in Japan — and the world. While the film is passable, it leaves much to be desired for young and old viewers alike.

The movie follows Ultraman, whose double life as a superhero and a star baseball player is threatened when he is faced with unexpected responsibility when he adopts a baby kaiju. In a way, the film feels almost like a mixture of Three Men and a Baby and an Ultraman movie — a combination that is every bit as weird as it sounds.

The biggest issue with Ultraman: Rising is that it is simply too long for a children’s animated film. The runtime is over two hours; when you subtract credits, it’s still more than an hour and 45 minutes. There’s not enough action or humor to sustain the narrative momentum, with the movie settling for many of the same telegraphed emotional beats we’ve seen before in the animated genre.

Yet, despite this somewhat bloated runtime, Ultraman: Rising still struggles to juggle its many themes. It’s hard to tell what the core arc is. Is it Ultraman’s foray into fatherhood? His struggle to cope with his father’s legacy? His desire to balance his passion for baseball with his duties as a superhero? At a certain point, the film not only becomes overstuffed, but you have to wonder who this is really for. At what age will children relate to the struggles of parenthood?

Ultraman: Rising also suffers from having a weird place in the canon. It certainly assumes that audiences know who Ultraman is, but younger viewers aren’t likely to know the backstory. To them, he’ll be just another superhero (and merchandising opportunity). The title also implies that this will be an origin story, but we’re thrown into a world where the protagonist has already taken up the mantle. Unless you already have a connection to Ultraman, it may be hard to find a reason to care about this story beyond its cuteness.

The animation has pretty much the quality you’d expect of a straight-to-streaming animated movie aimed predominantly at younger audiences. The character design is far cutesier than you would expect to see from a film that’s literally about kaiju, and the action is very colorful and not too intense. While it would seem like this style would be a natural fit for a franchise with its roots in the low-budget tokusatsu films and shows of yesteryear, it’s all just a little *too* bubbly to work.

The voice cast is solid, but nothing particularly memorable. Christopher Sean is likable and charming in the lead role, but what’s more impressive about it is the level of growth he is able to show through his performance. He starts with a cocky arrogance before shifting into something much more nuanced and approachable.

Ultraman: Rising is a likable animated adventure, but it’s hard to recommend to kids because of its length and focus on themes they won’t relate to, and adults might find themselves bored. However, there’s plenty of potential here, and hopefully, this will serve as a launching pad for more family-friendly outings for Japan’s most notable superhero.

Ultraman: Rising hits Netflix on June 14.

Rating: 3/5