Liam Neeson's 'A Monster Calls' is now on DVD and pay-per-view

April 1 (UPI) -- Liam Neeson had nothing but high praise for his young co-star in the family fantasy A Monster Calls.

Directed by J.A. Bayona, the contemporary, live-action and motion-capture, animated movie is based on the young-adult novel by Patrick Ness. It is about a tree-like monster's visits to a teen whose mother [played by Felicity Jones] is dying.

"Part of me was intrigued if only to see who this kid would be," Neeson told reporters at a recent round-table interview with reporters in New York, after explaining how impressed he was with the child performers in Bayona's previous work The Impossible.

"And he picked Lewis... I mean, Shakespeare's Hamlet doesn't go through the gamut of emotions this kid has to. And he was [expletive] fantastic," Neeson emphasized. "He was always there. Always giving it as much as he could, you know? Terrific, really terrific."

Co-starring Sigourney Weaver and Toby Kebbell, A Monster Calls is now on DVD and pay-per-view.