Zanderific’s review published on Letterboxd:
I was interested in seeing this movie, but didn’t have high expectations. Dreamworks has made many interesting animated movies, but not all of them are good. It’s been a while since we’ve truly gotten anything great from them. So I was hoping for something that was at least fun and interesting to watch.
Let’s just say that this movie blew my expectations out of the water. I know this is based on a children’s book, but the themes here are much more mature for an animated movies for kids that makes this such a compelling watch. I’m not saying kids couldn’t handle the content, but the themes will resonate more with older audience members than children. While there are themes of empathy that kids will understand, this movie makes a big statement on parenthood in many unique ways that adds emotional layers to this film.
The animation is just beautiful and breathtaking to look at and is one of many things that will keep your eyes on the screen for the whole runtime. Those animators worked their asses off to make this film as gorgeous as it was, and it really made for a mesmerizing experience. But the voice acting is just as great. Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal, and Kit Connor were just perfect for their characters and fit the overall feel of the film. But Stephanie Hsu took a limited role and stole every moment she was in. She fits the vibe of menacing and soothing so well and her scenes were absolutely glorious.
I absolutely loved the first half of this movie as it really digs into more mature themes and has a lot of depth to make it a fascinating watch. The second half clearly tries hard to make it more engaging for children as they put less subtle conflict in the plot, but it was still really good. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was nominated for Best Animated Feature this year at the Oscars. Go see it on the biggest screen possible to have the best experience.
Grade: B+
Zanderific liked this review
' ].join(''); if ( adsScript && adsScript === 'bandsintown' && adsPlatforms && ((window.isIOS && adsPlatforms.indexOf("iOS") >= 0) || (window.isAndroid && adsPlatforms.indexOf("Android") >= 0)) && adsLocations && adsMode && ( (adsMode === 'include' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) >= 0) || (adsMode === 'exclude' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) == -1) ) ) { var opts = { artist: "", song: "", adunit_id: 100005950, div_id: "cf_async_b3dd6214-01cc-41d1-8838-6d24ed667b9f" }; adUnit.id = opts.div_id; if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } var c=function(){cf.showAsyncAd(opts)};if(typeof window.cf !== 'undefined')c();else{cf_async=!0;var r=document.createElement("script"),s=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];r.async=!0;r.src="//srv.tunefindforfans.com/fruits/apricots.js";r.readyState?r.onreadystatechange=function(){if("loaded"==r.readyState||"complete"==r.readyState)r.onreadystatechange=null,c()}:r.onload=c;s.parentNode.insertBefore(r,s)}; } else { adUnit.id = 'pw-b3dd6214-01cc-41d1-8838-6d24ed667b9f'; adUnit.className = 'pw-div -tile300x250 -alignleft -bottommargin'; adUnit.setAttribute('data-pw-' + (renderMobile ? 'mobi' : 'desk'), 'med_rect_btf'); if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } window.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', (event) => { adUnit.insertAdjacentHTML('afterend', kicker); window.ramp.que.push(function () { window.ramp.addTag('pw-b3dd6214-01cc-41d1-8838-6d24ed667b9f'); }); }, { once: true }); } } tag.remove(); })(document.getElementById('script-b3dd6214-01cc-41d1-8838-6d24ed667b9f'));
' ].join(''); if ( adsScript && adsScript === 'bandsintown' && adsPlatforms && ((window.isIOS && adsPlatforms.indexOf("iOS") >= 0) || (window.isAndroid && adsPlatforms.indexOf("Android") >= 0)) && adsLocations && adsMode && ( (adsMode === 'include' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) >= 0) || (adsMode === 'exclude' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) == -1) ) ) { var opts = { artist: "", song: "", adunit_id: 100005950, div_id: "cf_async_8261fe34-aee8-4771-9597-27efdcace7f3" }; adUnit.id = opts.div_id; if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } var c=function(){cf.showAsyncAd(opts)};if(typeof window.cf !== 'undefined')c();else{cf_async=!0;var r=document.createElement("script"),s=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];r.async=!0;r.src="//srv.tunefindforfans.com/fruits/apricots.js";r.readyState?r.onreadystatechange=function(){if("loaded"==r.readyState||"complete"==r.readyState)r.onreadystatechange=null,c()}:r.onload=c;s.parentNode.insertBefore(r,s)}; } else { adUnit.id = 'pw-8261fe34-aee8-4771-9597-27efdcace7f3'; adUnit.className = 'pw-div'; adUnit.setAttribute('data-pw-' + (renderMobile ? 'mobi' : 'desk'), 'sky_btf'); if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } window.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', (event) => { adUnit.insertAdjacentHTML('afterend', kicker); window.ramp.que.push(function () { window.ramp.addTag('pw-8261fe34-aee8-4771-9597-27efdcace7f3'); }); }, { once: true }); } } tag.remove(); })(document.getElementById('script-8261fe34-aee8-4771-9597-27efdcace7f3'));
