The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet

The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet is currently streaming in Australia on Stan, and in the US on Philo and Starz Apple TV Channel, and it uses the format for more than just a visual hook. The runtime earns every minute, with nothing here that feels like padding. A 7/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. Kyle Catlett's voice work is a big part of what makes it distinctive. There is no real reason to keep putting it off — it is right there on Stan.

Part of the current wave of titles people are actually watching, The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet earns its spot. The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet treats animation as a medium, not a limitation. A 10-year-old child prodigy cartographer secretly leaves his family's ranch in Montana where he lives with his cowboy father and scientist mother and travels across the country on board a freight train to receive an award at the Smithsonian Institute. Kyle Catlett and Helena Bonham Carter lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 2013. What makes The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet more than a curiosity is writing that would hold up in any format. There is real craft here, even in the moments that do not fully land.

Genuinely enjoyable for a wide range of viewers, The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet treats animation as a delivery mechanism, not a limitation. It has built its own audience without needing a direct comparison. It is a manageable watch, easy to fit into a single evening. Kyle Catlett brings more to the role than the format usually demands. A harder one to justify skipping than to start.