"one of the most original and imaginative children's films in a long time."
-- Luke Y. Thompson, DALLAS OBSERVER


THE DUST FACTORY (2004)

After the death of his father, Ryan (Ryan Kelley) goes mute and is unable to talk. Soon an accident lands him in a magical fantasy world where he regains his ability to speak. Also joining him is his Alzheimer-ridden grandfather (Armin Mueller-Stahl), who is now cured in this world. Here Ryan meets a free-spirited young girl named Melanie (Hayden Panettiere) who has been in this place so long she can't remember her life before it and has no desire to leave. Happy to have Ryan now to keep her company, the two befriend each other. Melanie is scared of Ryan eventually leaving her and while Ryan doesn't want to leave at first, he is ultimately faced with the decision of returning home to his family and best friend Rocky (Michael Angarano) or staying in this fantasy world forever.

After being blown away by Ryan Kelley in the amazing film Mean Creek, I couldn't wait to see him in more movies. So because of him I was really looking forward to The Dust Factory. But without him being in it I couldn't imagine that I would have ended up seeing it. I'm not very big on family movies or fantasy movies. It ended up being a very pleasant surprise though. I ended up loving it, which is mostly due to Ryan Kelley. He held my attention the whole way through. He's an incredibly talented and immensely likable young actor. I can't get enough of him. He couldn't be more adorable and charming. He is absolutely wonderful here and I couldn't take my eyes off of him. I also really like Michael Angarano (Will & Grace, Dear Wendy, Lords of Dogtown, Little Secrets, Seabiscuit) so it was nice seeing him here as well. Hayden Panettiere (Raising Helen, Normal, Ice Princess, Joe Somebody) also gives a really nice performance. But for me it was all about Ryan Kelley. I can't imagine enjoying it nearly as much without him. He has a real screen presence that is unbelievably irresistible and his performance here is so earnest and down-to-earth. He's a joy to watch.

The Dust Factory is a gem of a family film. It's one that adults can enjoy as well as kids. In fact, adults just might appreciate the film's themes the most. Regardless, I'd recommend it to kids, young adults, and adults. It has something for everyone. It's not often a genuine family movie comes along that isn't incredibly cheesy and eye roll inducing, but this is one of them. I'd put this in the same category as another mature family film gem that I highly enjoyed entitled Little Secrets. It's not a fantasy movie though like this one, but they still remind me of each other by being two wonderful, mature family films that got low-key releases. Little Secrets stars rising star Evan Rachel Wood (Thirteen, The Upside of Anger) and The Dust Factory's Michael Angarano. These two films are miles better than most of the mainstream family movies that get wide releases in theaters while superb ones like these that deserve to be seen get stuck with limited releases. Don't be one of the people to miss out on either of these little treasures.

Grade: 8/10 (A-)

It's a nice little family film, but it wasn't AMAZING or anything. I can see why it was a limited release and then quickly went to DVD. It would have done terribly in theaters. Anyways, the performances were good (especially Ryan Kelley and Hayden Panettierre, the two young leads) and this was one of the film's strong points. But it was also quite cheesy at times and even a little confusing. The musical score was also what is possibly the most annoying one ever. It may seem as if I hated the film, but I really didn't. It was decent family fare. Nothing more, nothing less.


7/10 (B-)