A brother and sister find themselves in a magical underground world in this throwback to 80s fantasy films from VFX artist turned director Matt Drummond.

Peter is a twelve-year-old youngster who is suffering from anxiety and somewhat finds solace in his younger sister Verity, who is the more outgoing and outspoken of the two. When they move into a new home in their father’s hometown, Peter’s anxiety heightens. At night, in his new room, he begins hearing strange noises. One day, he and Verita go to an antiques store where Peter accidentally knocks over a puzzle and offers the owner to pay for it, which she agrees.

That night, as Verita goes to Peter’s room to talk to him, something strange happens. The floor under the bed collapses and the two are sent into a world they’ve never seen. There, they meet a group of armored pangolin, who tell them that Peter is part of a prophecy in which a mysterious creature called The Shroud has taken over and that he is the one destined to save their world. With the help of pangolin Pling, a dragon named Mendax, and a two-headed turtle, Ego and Ergo, Peter and Verity are in for the adventure of a lifetime.

This Australian film starts out a bit slow but once we see the brother and sister duo of Peter and Verity enter the titular “secret kingdom”, that is when it picks up. Matt Drummond gives us an inspiring tale of finding yourself and gaining the confidence needed and he does so in the vein of classic such as The NeverEnding Story and Labyrinth to name a few.

The heart of the film lies in child actors Sam Everingham and Alyla Browne as opposite siblings Peter and Verity. Peter is one who suffers from anxiety and always tend to be by himself while Verity is clearly outspoken and has a major imagination as she constantly sees herself as a princess. Perhaps going to the underground kingdom is similar to that of Bastian in The NeverEnding Story, in which Peter being the one who is prophesized to save the place is the motivation for him to overcome his anxiety. This especially comes when due to the Shroud, Verity ends up in a frozen state little by little. Peter’s anxiety is what makes the Shroud powerful and it is the obstacle he must endure and overcome to become the hero he was meant to be.

The film has some wonderful supporting characters in the timid pangolin Pling, voiced by Darius Williams; the two-headed Ego and Ergo, voiced respectively by Beth Champion and Rowland Holmes; and the dragon Mendax, voiced by Drummond himself. There is even a character who acts a guide in the form of a tarsier who looks a bit insane due to its big eyes but is more than willing to help the group in their quest to stop the Shroud, played in human form by Gabrielle Chan, who is the catalyst when they take the form of the antiques store dealer in selling Peter the broken puzzle needed to save the kingdom. The finale has some very interesting twists that make it more watchable with a somewhat jaw-dropping finale.

The Secret Kingdom is a fantastic film that is a well made throwback to some of the classic 80s fantasy family films with excellent performances by leads Sam Everingham and Alyla Browne all mixed with some great twists and turns in the third act especially.

WFG RATING: A-

Saban Films presents a Little Monster Productions film in association with Hive Studios. Director: Matt Drummond. Producers: Matt Drummond and Megan Drummond. Writer: Matt Drummond. Editing: Joseph Morris.

Cast: Sam Everingham, Alyla Browne, Darius Williams, Matt Drummond, Beth Champion, Rowland Holmes, Gabrielle Chan, Alice Parkinson, Christopher Gabardi.

The film will be released in select theaters, VOD, and Digital on June 9.