It's a beautiful day on Keiki Island. Embers the Dragon wakes in his cave and things immediately start to go wrong. His mum hurries him out of bed, his brother Blaze winds him up and, to top it all off, everyone he meets on his walk to school makes things worse. Maybe Mrs. Owl and the magical Keiki tree can help him put things right. From the United Kingdom.

Juror comments: What a delightful short film this is. It’s filled with great lessons for young ones, without feeling overly preachy. Embers is so like many preschoolers; he’s very well-conceived. The story follows Embers the Dragon on a typical day where everything seems to go wrong, starting with being awakened by his mom, bumping into his friend on the way to school and making him drop his lunch, to hurting the feelings of a bee. Fortunately, his teacher, Mrs. Owl sees how his day is going and intervenes, helping him figure out what’s up.

The animation is quite colorful and fun. All of the characters are very distinctive and well-executed. Embers is cute as can be. Mrs. Owl, the teacher, appears as insightful and kind. Embers’ character development, even in this 6-minute clip is quite impressive. I love that the story is focused on identifying Embers’ issues and finding ways to resolve them in a short period of time. I would love to see the rest of this series as it develops.

The message is about recognizing your feelings and learning how to deal with them.

I give Embers the Dragon: Hurry Up Embers! 5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 3 to 6, plus adults. Reviewed by Julie S., KIDS FIRST!