Introduction
Hello, fellow adventurers! Blaziker is back for another adventure, and before we get to the film festival season here in Singapore, it is time to cover a few more animated movies before we get there, shall we?
The first movie, Tales from the Magic Garden, centres on three kids creating their own stories with their imagination after the loss of their grandmother, who is the family’s storyteller. An Annecy movie from 2025, Tales from the Magic Garden was not on my radar per se, that was, until I got the chance to see this movie. So, how will this unexpected detour fare?
The second movie, The Keeper of the Camphor Tree, is about a man unfairly fired from his job who was given the opportunity to become a temple keeper that holds a magical camphor tree. I got to be honest, while this was part of this year’s Annecy Film Festival, I did not see it while I was there, mainly because I just felt this movie’s concept did not pique my interest at that time. Now that I got the chance to see it, is this actually an unexpected surprise waiting to happen?
The third movie, A New Dawn, is a new anime movie about a man who lives in his late father’s abandoned fireworks factory, unravelling the mysteries surrounding his late father’s mythical firework before the factory shuts down for good. Asmik Ace and Miyu Productions are longtime household names when it comes to producing great quality animated movies from Japan and France respectively, so already, this movie has a lot going for it, especially given its Annecy presence this year. Now that I get to see it after missing out on seeing it while at Annecy, what do I think of it?
The fourth movie, Rufus: The Sea Serpent Who Couldn’t Swim, based on a Norwegian children’s book of the same name, focuses on a sea serpent kid who couldn’t swim (hence the title) and ventures out of his home to travel to a faraway place and save his island from further disaster at the hands of sea serpent poachers. This movie has been sitting on my watchlist for some time now, mainly due to how difficult it was to get hold of this movie, but finally, I managed to find this movie by accident, and now that I got to see it this time, is this worth the hassle?
The fifth and final movie, Mononoke the Movie: The Curse of the Serpent, is the final movie in the Mononoke movie trilogy, where The Medicine Seller discovers a deep conspiracy within the Ooku and its history, and faces off his biggest Mononoke yet, a serpent god hellbent on destroying the Ooku once and for all. Having covered the first two Mononoke movies prior to seeing the third, it is not surprising that I am so excited to finish off this trilogy on a high having raved the previous movies. Will this be a fitting end to this exciting trilogy?
If you are ready, let’s get on with this adventure!
Tales from the Magic Garden
Key Information
- Directors: Jean-Claude Rozec, Patrik Pass, Leon Vidmar and David Sukup
- Animation Studio: MAUR Film, Artichoke
- Country of Origin: Czechia, Slovakia, Slovenia and France
- Rating: PG
- Release Date: 6 November 2025 (in Czechia and Slovakia)
Trailer
The Review
Wow, just wow. This movie might prove that Czechia could be an unexpected animation powerhouse when it comes to stop-motion animation, because this movie truly delivers.
The writing explores interconnected stories about loss and grief in such a tender and mature-feeling manner, so much so that it will make certain moviegoers feel emotional. It also helps that the characters involved in this movie are very relatable, and in spite of the short runtime, this movie did not overstay its welcome and has enough punch to make the writing quite impactful.
I am, however, more fascinated by the stop-motion animation in this movie, as this feels like a rougher type of stop-motion animation seen in two other Czech stop-motion animated movies I had covered before in Even Mice Belong in Heaven and Living Large. This only makes the stories more human and genuine, and the amount of love given to the animation is why we still need stop-motion animation. In a world filled with endless CG animated movies and the worrying rise of A/I-generated “animation”, stop-motion animation is one of the very few animation techniques that is virtually impossible to replicate with generative A/I, and the great quality designs and animation proves that point further.
The other elements are as solid and impactful as the rest of the movie, especially regarding the music score, and as for my level of enjoyment, it honestly surprised me that there is not many people who recommend this movie in the earnest, because Tales from the Magic Garden made me feel wholesome, and the morals from the movie are very important for me. Loss and grief are difficult subjects to tackle, and this movie moved me with its execution of the concept.
Overall, Tales from the Magic Garden proves that the animation industry needs stop-motion animation more than ever, with how its writing and stop-motion animation results in such a tender loving animated movie that tackles a hard-hitting subject in a mature and well-realised manner. Let’s hope this inspires more exciting stop-motion animated movies in the future, although since Wildwood is releasing later this year, I don’t think we need to worry about stop-motion animation anytime soon.
Blaziker’s Hot Sauce Rating
The Keeper of the Camphor Tree
Key Information
- Director: Tomohiko Ito
- Animation Studios: A-1 Pictures and Psyde Kick Studio
- Country of Origin: Japan
- Rating: PG
- Release Date: 30 January 2026 (in Japan)
Trailer
The Review
Considering this movie appeared in the Annecy Presents section of this year’s Annecy Film Festival, I was not expecting much from The Keeper of the Camphor Tree, but I still find this movie to be quite decent.
Admittedly, this movie takes its time setting the scene in the first half, which resulted in a much slower pace than I was expecting. However, the movie picks up in the second half, which showcases the understated story this movie was presenting, complete with decent enough character development that flows well with the story in question. While this movie suffers from a bit too much filler, I appreciate how impactful it was, especially by the end of the movie.
The animation, while not the best with some weird animation sequences, is still very solid. There were some animation sequences that I find to be rather interesting, with an interesting usage of camera movements that stretch the dynamic nature of the animation style to its limits. This resulted in quite a different feeling animation style that, while not perfectly executed, is still quite solid as an Annecy Presents movie.
The other elements are solid as well, despite a cringe-inducing rap number that ironically serves as a bridge between the rather weak first half and a strong second half of the movie, and as for my level of enjoyment, while there are other animated movies from this year’s Annecy Film Festival that I enjoyed more than this movie, The Keeper of the Camphor Tree is nevertheless a very well done animated movie that delivers a solid execution to its concept.
Overall, I have nothing much to say about The Keeper of the Camphor Tree, but if you want to listen to your relative’s wishes with the help of this special tree, then I think it is still worth a shot with this movie.
Blaziker’s Hot Sauce Rating
A New Dawn
Key Information
- Director: Yoshitoshi Shinomiya
- Animation Studio: Asmik Ace, Miyu Productions and Studio Outrigger
- Country of Origin: Japan and France
- Rating: PG
- Release Date: 6 March 2026 (in Japan)
Trailer
The Review
A New Dawn is an animated movie that I honestly feel I left out seeing while at Annecy, and after I finally got the chance to see it, oh, what a missed opportunity that was!
This movie has some issues regarding its writing, especially towards the beginning where there is a massive exposition dump about the setting and the characters in this movie. Additionally, the story is told in a rather fragmented manner that makes it harder to get along at first, but as the movie develops, the story ended up becoming quite impactful, as I appreciate the kinship between the main trio throughout the movie’s runtime. It also resulted in a rather decent second half of this movie that cumulated in a spectacular ending that rounds up the story quite nicely, so I did not mind the shortcomings in the writing.
However, that is a different story in terms of the animation, as this movie has this flushed aesthetic that honestly felt more on the surrealistic style, but in a way that reflects the story very well. This is especially so in the final moments of the movie, and honestly, the payoff with that final animation sequence alone is worthy of seeing it in theatres alone. Yes, the writing may be an issue, but the animation definitely isn’t.
I don’t have much to say regarding the minor elements, other than they are as great, and as for my level of enjoyment, I did not expect much from A New Dawn, especially regarding the writing, but the animation won me over with its rather unique-feeling style that stands out compared to the usual anime movies I had covered. Honestly, I really enjoyed this one.
Overall, I have to admit something about A New Dawn, and it is that I regretted not seeing it at this year’s Annecy Film Festival. While its writing is not as polished as I wanted to be, it makes up for in its climatic animation sequence that single-handedly made up for this movie’s shortcomings. Honestly, this movie is worth seeing in theatres for the final 30 minutes alone, and I had a feeling there will be those that wished it should have won the Contrechamp Grand Prix award instead of Blaise…
Blaziker’s Hot Sauce Rating
Rufus: The Sea Serpent Who Couldn’t Swim
Key Information
- Director: Endre Skandfer
- Animation Studios: Anima Vitae, Anima Point
- Country of Origin: Norway, Belgium and Germany
- Rating: PG
- Release Date: 10 October 2025 (in Norway)
Trailer
The Review
While I was not expecting much, especially given the lack of fanfare this movie is getting, I find Rufus: The Sea Serpent Who Couldn’t Swim to be quite substantial for what it is.
The writing may be on a generic side, if I were to be generally honest, especially given it is yet another family-friendly foreign CG animated movie and that there are those in the same category that are much more memorable this year, the writing is overall quite solid. Sure, it does feel basic and may put some moviegoers who wanted something more, but for these types of animated movies, it is substantial and has a decent amount of fun with both its plot and its characters. It may be basic, but sometimes, generic but well-executed animated movies can go some distance.
The animation is also quite decent, with its stylisation of its animation style making it more standalone compared to other family-friendly foreign CG animated movies that have yet to adopt the stylised CG approach. It looks colourful without feeling too garish, and the overall animation quality is decently executed, even if this is something we had seen many times now.
The other elements are also decently put together, and as for my level of enjoyment, while I had enjoyed some of the better family-friendly foreign CG animated movies compared to this movie, Rufus: The Sea Serpent Who Couldn’t Swim is very admirable in terms of its approach, and I even found myself to adore with this level of simplicity. It may be too basic to go even higher, but considering what this movie provided, I had a more enjoyable time with it than I was expecting.
Overall, I enjoyed Rufus: The Sea Serpent Who Couldn’t Swim, despite being yet another family-friendly foreign CG animated movie I had experienced many times over. Sometimes, generic animated movies executed well can be more satisfying compared to poorly executed ones, and this one is proof of that.
Blaziker’s Hot Sauce Rating
Mononoke the Movie: The Curse of the Serpent
Key Information
- Directors: Kenji Nakamura and Tomoaki Koshida
- Animation Studios: EOTA, Crew-Cell and Studio Kafka
- Country of Origin: Japan
- Rating: PG
- Release Date: 29 September 2026 (on Netflix)
Trailer
The Review
Considering how much I was raving at the first two Mononoke movies so far on this Blog, and that I featured it in my 12 into 2026 article, to say that I was excited to cover this movie would be an understatement. In fact, I was so looking forward to this movie that the moment it finally came on Netflix, I watched that movie after work… And I finished it on that day because holy crap… This was a perfect ending to this trilogy!
If you had seen the first two Mononoke movies before seeing this one, the formula is familiar but still quite exciting as a rare horror anime movie. With that said, this movie takes a rather different approach and explores the rich history of the Ooku head on, while also bringing forth the storylines of the two previous movies and raising the stakes even higher with the third. In fact, this was such an exciting story with no boring moment whatsoever, with fantastic story and character development, complete with an ending that felt both exciting and satisfying.
Of course, it is not just the story that is exciting, but the animation as well. The Mononoke movies already won me over with this experimental hand-drawn animation style that goes super hard, but here, the animation in The Curse of the Serpent took up many notches. The risk is that it could be too overwhelming, but thankfully there is a good amount of restraint to prevent the animation from going astray, while also adding in new animation sequences not seen in the first two movies to keep the animation style fresh. Honestly, go check out the final act of this movie when the animation goes off the rails in the riskiest, yet most fulfilling of ways. I can guarantee that even if the writing might not be easy to understand, the animation will blow you away.
The soundtrack is once again fun and engaging, and helps to set the atmosphere and tone for the various animation sequences. As for my level of enjoyment, to say that I had been looking forward to seeing this movie would be an understatement; in fact, I actually finished watching this movie in a single day, and even then, I find it difficult to put my phone down while watching this movie, simply because The Curse of the Serpent took what was already great about the series, and go even harder with its final movie. Honestly, why are people sleeping on this trilogy, especially given this is available on Netflix? I guess we will never know.
Overall, I am happy to report that Mononoke the Movie: The Curse of the Serpent is a perfect conclusion to this epic trilogy, and is well worth seeing all 3 Mononoke movies on Netflix. Also, if you want, you can now explore the Mononoke anime series if you cannot get tired of this trilogy. I am very sure it is well worth exploring for.
Blaziker’s Hot Sauce Rating
Conclusion
Man, what an exciting 2026 Animated Movies Rundown we’ve got here. There are just a good number of animated movies in this Rundown worth exploring, and if this is what the future of animation holds, I think we are in very good hands with the next generation of animators out there.
Thank you so much for joining me on this adventure. Well, I needed a break after exploring so many animated movies for the past few weeks, but after that, tune in next time where we’ll go explore more animated movies from around the world. Until next time, see you on the next adventure!
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