The Blue Butterfly (2004)

44% of critics liked it
(9 reviews)
64% of users liked it
(2,618 ratings)

The true-life quest of a terminally-ill ten-year-old boy who longs to capture the most beautiful butterfly on the planet comes to life on the screen in a touching drama directed by Léa Pool and starring Academy Award-winner William Hurt. In order to appreciate life to its fullest, an ageing… More The true-life quest of a terminally-ill ten-year-old boy who longs to capture the most beautiful butterfly on the planet comes to life on the screen in a touching drama directed by Léa Pool and starring Academy Award-winner William Hurt. In order to appreciate life to its fullest, an ageing entomologist learns that sometimes all you have to do is come out of your cocoon. When the young boy's mother convinces the renowned insect-expert to accompany her son on the journey of a lifetime, the courage that the terminally-ill child shows in realizing his dream inspires a man who has lived his entire life in a lab to get outside, connect with his fellow man, and experience the wonder of nature firsthand. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 40 min.
Directed By: Léa Pool
Written By: Pete McCormack
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure, Kids & Family

In Theaters: Feb 20, 2004 Limited
On DVD: May 23, 2006
Studio: Alliance Atlantis Communicatio

Critic Reviews

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
The patronizing, gratuitous sentimentality undermines what could and should have been a simple story of courage and beauty.
Peter Howell, Toronto Star
Pete McCormack's script only occasionally yields to melodrama. Mostly it allows the characters to breathe freely, expressing a greater range of human emotion than just love and sympathy.
Stephen Cole, Globe and Mail
Feels as forced and sentimental as one of those disease-of-the-week melodramas that were once the mainstay of U.S. television.
Eric Campos, Film Threat
Something like an unfunny version of "Dutch."
Oz, eFilmCritic.com
If this film was of an American Beauty-standard, wouldn't it be wasted on the ten-year-olds and grandmothers that the production is really geared towards?
Jim Slotek, Jam! Movies
Literally half the experience of this movie involves watching the wildlife. And on this level The Blue Butterfly works magnificently.