January 9, 2024 – “The Inventor,” a charming stop-motion animated film with plenty of hand-drawn 2-D images as well, follows the life and exploits of the great artist and scientist Leonardo Da Vinci in the last years of his life.

Leonardo's studies of anatomy, accomplished by dissecting cadavers, gets him in trouble with Pope Leo X, but he is given a chance to get out of Italy free by King Francis of France, in 1516, who set him up with a steady income in a manor house at Clos Lucé, near the King's own estate.

While Leonardo feels more free to pursue his own interests, the King wants him to design a big, fancy castle, weapons of war, and to make a grand statue of the King as well, but Leonardo has a lot of other things on his mind, like designs for an “ideal city” and searching for the meaning of life, and the seat of the soul.

Leonardo is a dreamer, and he has so many plans, so many designs, so many projects, that he never has enough time to finish any of them, including his most famous painting, The Mona Lisa, which he brought from him from Italy.

The King's sister, Marguerite de Navarre, is a kindred spirit who supports Leonardo in his quest to build the perfect city, diverting money from the other projects the King wants. When the King finds out that Leonardo is not pursuing the king's pet projects, he becomes very angry.

The Pope finds out that Leonardo is cutting up cadavers again, and attempts to have him arrested and brought back to Italy for trial, but despite his differences with Leonardo, King Francis protects him, and the Pope is rebuffed.

Leonardo continues his pursuit of the meaning of life, but he falls ill with another stroke. He plans to put his affairs in order, but is revived when he sees his ideas have taken root, like seeds, growing into a movement that embodies the High Renaissance.

There are some famous voice talents heard in this movie. Leonardo is voiced by Stephen Fry, Daisy Ridley is Marguerite de Navarre and Marion Cotillard is the voice of Louise of Savoy. The characters of King Francis, Leonardo and Marguerite de Navarre are well developed personalities. The movie is directed by Jim Capobianco (who also wrote the screenplay) and Pierre-Luc Granjon. It is an independent, American, French and Irish production.

The animators do a good job of illustrating the way Leonardo's active mind works. The story is a bit flat because you never really believe that Leonardo is in any kind of jeopardy. The mood is light and the stakes are low. It probably isn't interesting enough for kids to sit through, but if they can sit through it, they will learn some real history. This film rates a C+.

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