Tackling big environmentalist issues like animal poaching, director Gilles de Maistre can’t transpose his good intentions into a good children’s film to root for.

Sweet, but unrealistic, family film.

Autumn and the Black Jaguar presents itself as a family-friendly movie, but this hokey and terrible drama irresponsibly downplays how dangerous it is for untrained humans to interact with large, predatory wild animals as cuddly pets.

Youngsters might gravitate to Autumn’s determined resilience. But while the lush tropical scenery makes the film easy on the eyes, the lack of subtlety and surprise makes it taxing on the brain.