First of all, as piece of film alone, this movie is absolutely amazing. The art style is appealing, everything is designed with care and detail, and the animation is some of the most compelling and outright insane that I've ever seen. Moreso because IT'S ALL STOP-MOTION. And it's very good stop-motion. The animation is very fluid, and the effects bend my mind when I try to comprehend that they were achieved with real puppets and props. The medium is even utilized for atmosphere- certain things are animated in lower fluidity for eeriness. That's really unique for stop-motion, and I love how it really harnesses every capability of the medium.
I could write an entire book on the amount of detail and effort packed into this film. There were millions of places were corners could have been cut or work could have been made much easier, but these guys broke their backs to make this a true work of craftsmanship and art. I recommend looking into the production of this film, because it's just so admirable. They also pioneered 3D shooting for stop-motion with this one, so that's even more they didn't need to do. Bravo, guys. Bravo.
The tone is perfectly magical and creepy when it needs to be, maintaining a balance all the way through. When things are presented as enchanting, there's always something off, and when things are currently nightmarish, it's whimsical enough to keep you invested and feel like you're watching a fairy tale.
The story itself is tight and keeps you watching, and the tone never goes goofy to take you out of the fairy-tale and spooky vibes. This movie is dark at the end, and it uses its PG rating for genuine horror. Perhaps some things don't work, but as far as adaptations go, it knows how to expand a short story properly, makes the pieces fit together better, and manages to successfully interpret a suprising number of the book's more abstract visual cues.
There is so much subtlety in the storytelling, with lots of thought and detail put into the imagery, foreshadowing, and interactions, with almost none of it being directly addressed. They just decided to make this a very fleshed-out world with its own logic and consistency, and there's always something to go back and watch for. The film puts so many quiet answers to things in the details, when it could have either left them out or been more direct.
I couldn't summarize my feelings about this movie with what I'm given beyond saying it's my favorite movie. I highly recommend it.
Atmospheric, artistic, astounding. My favorite film.
First of all, as piece of film alone, this movie is absolutely amazing. The art style is appealing, everything is designed with care and detail, and the animation is some of the most compelling and outright insane that I've ever seen. Moreso because IT'S ALL STOP-MOTION. And it's very good stop-motion. The animation is very fluid, and the effects bend my mind when I try to comprehend that they were achieved with real puppets and props. The medium is even utilized for atmosphere- certain things are animated in lower fluidity for eeriness. That's really unique for stop-motion, and I love how it really harnesses every capability of the medium.
I could write an entire book on the amount of detail and effort packed into this film. There were millions of places were corners could have been cut or work could have been made much easier, but these guys broke their backs to make this a true work of craftsmanship and art. I recommend looking into the production of this film, because it's just so admirable. They also pioneered 3D shooting for stop-motion with this one, so that's even more they didn't need to do. Bravo, guys. Bravo.
The tone is perfectly magical and creepy when it needs to be, maintaining a balance all the way through. When things are presented as enchanting, there's always something off, and when things are currently nightmarish, it's whimsical enough to keep you invested and feel like you're watching a fairy tale.
The story itself is tight and keeps you watching, and the tone never goes goofy to take you out of the fairy-tale and spooky vibes. This movie is dark at the end, and it uses its PG rating for genuine horror. Perhaps some things don't work, but as far as adaptations go, it knows how to expand a short story properly, makes the pieces fit together better, and manages to successfully interpret a suprising number of the book's more abstract visual cues.
There is so much subtlety in the storytelling, with lots of thought and detail put into the imagery, foreshadowing, and interactions, with almost none of it being directly addressed. They just decided to make this a very fleshed-out world with its own logic and consistency, and there's always something to go back and watch for. The film puts so many quiet answers to things in the details, when it could have either left them out or been more direct.
I couldn't summarize my feelings about this movie with what I'm given beyond saying it's my favorite movie. I highly recommend it.