The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

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The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

PG

Released Sep 20, 2023

39m

Comedy

Adventure

Short

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

95%

Tomatometer

96 Reviews

81%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar: A rich man learns about a guru who can see without using his eyes. He sets out to master the skill in order to cheat at gambling. Extremely faithfully adapted from Roald Dahl’s long short story.

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Critics Consensus

With The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Wes Anderson returns to the world of Roald Dahl -- and proves his distinctive style is a comfortable fit for one of the author's sweetest stories.

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Audience Says

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar proves Wes Anderson still has what it takes to adapt Roald Dahl, although the concept might be unsatisfying for some.

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Sophie Gilbert

The Atlantic

It’s thrilling to be distracted by really good storytelling. But it’s more thrilling to be provoked, or even altered by it.

Oct 16, 2023

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Christy Lemire

Breakfast All Day

I think this is the just the right bite-size amount of Wes Anderson... I kind of feel like shorts are an excellent use of his his style [and] his voice.

Oct 14, 2023

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Ty Burr

Ty Burr's Watch List (Substack)

Anderson seems to have perfected the art of simultaneously showing and telling – a tinkertoy approach to cinema that can pall over the length of a feature but plays with delightful brio in a short.

Rated: 3/4

Oct 13, 2023

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Zach Youngs

InSession Film

The stories themselves are fascinating...

Rated: B

Jul 3, 2024

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Tim Miller

Cape Cod Wave Magazine

Anderson’s whimsical, storybook approach fits perfectly for this playful adaptation of a 1977 Roald Dahl short story about how a gambler learns to cheat by seeing through cards.

Rated: 3.5/4

May 4, 2024

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Armond White

National Review

Rather than expanding and becoming richer, Anderson’s method folds in, like origami.

Mar 22, 2024

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Iscritto I

Great actors, the usual Wes Anderson's perfectionism, but he's becomig a clichè. So sad to give him 1 star but that's what this short movie deserves.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

06/24/25

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Johnny B

What a great film. Anderson and Dahl is a near perfect combination. The still shots and fourth wall narration was entertaining a oddly immersive in a way I wasn't expecting. I felt like it walked a zig-zag path between the written word and film. The Story was stellar per Dahl's reputation. Andersons visual portal into Dahl's world is surreal but charming and thoroughly engaging all the way through.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

06/10/25

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Audience Member

Really fun story in a uniquely told plot.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

06/07/25

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TROYS S

The upshot of Henry's achievement is rather different, and if you don't already know Dahl's story, it's rather gentler than what you might expect of the writer.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/29/25

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Brent S

Modern hip directors like Mr Anderson try to replicate classic film techniques and styles to align themselves with the much more talented and entertaining directors of the past. They want to disguise the fact that they are not entertaining and nowhere near as talented. They don’t succeedThis lazy stylistic theft just makes me long for the straightforward honest and original films of the past. Dahl’s legacy deserves better.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

05/02/25

Full Review

Setare M

Now, this is art. This is what makes you wonder what a wonderful mind can do to write a story. Absolute masterpiece of narration, story-telling, acting, ect. It was one of the bests I've ever seen. Totally recommend it. I couldn't take my eyes off it the whole time.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/03/25

Full Review

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Wes Anderson

Director

Benedict Cumberbatch

Henry Sugar

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The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar: A rich man learns about a guru who can see without using his eyes. He sets out to master the skill in order to cheat at gambling. Extremely faithfully adapted from Roald Dahl’s long short story.

Director: Wes Anderson
Producer: Wes Anderson, Jeremy Dawson, Steven Rales
Screenwriter: Wes Anderson
Distributor: Netflix
Production Co: American Empirical Pictures, Netflix Studios, Netflix
Rating: PG (Smoking)
Genre: Comedy, Adventure, Short
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 20, 2023, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 27, 2023
Runtime: 39m

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