Flora & Ulysses is a “good enough” family film. It doesn’t seem to have any inspiration to rise above what it is: a basic Disney family-friendly fantasy adventure about a superhero squirrel. And, hey, when you have all the Marvel (and Star Wars) eggs in your basket, you can pepper in some nerd cred.

The film is about a little girl who saves a squirrel who has some level of human intelligence and superpowers (the extent of which is nebulous but always more than expected). The squirrel comes into her life and helps save the family (parents played by Alyson Hannigan and Ben Schwartz) despite being hunted by a duplicitous animal control officer played by Danny Pudi.

This is a basic “the animal saves the family” type plot mixed in with the superhero references. It’d almost be completely forgettable except for some very clever and smart comedic dialog peppered throughout. I genuinely laughed at some of the jokes and asides throughout the film. It’s not consistent enough though and ultimately the movie starts to sag with its need to have too much plot (and yet not enough).

By the time the family is saved, I just had to groan at the adventure plot with the evil animal control officer was yet to be resolved. We have to go through that old schtick again and the movie just sags. It’s unfortunate since there’s still a decent amount of warmth and charm that get slowly derailed. But it’s hardly the worst film I’ve seen and is still marginally watchable.

Score: 75