Introduction
Hello, hello, fellow adventurers! Blaziker here for another short animated movie adventure today! Given that July does not have much animated movies to cover, it is time that we cover one animated movie that was long due for a reveal, plus two surprise animated movies that I was able to access recently, one that has been some sort of a hidden gem in France, and one that has been one of the most widely anticipated for foreign CG animated movie standards.
The first movie, Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken, is the next DreamWorks movie, and showcases a shy adolescent who learns that she comes from a fabled royal family of legendary sea krakens, and that her destiny lies in the depths of the waters, which is bigger than she could have ever imagined, especially when a popular mermaid teenager is in the same school as her. DreamWorks has been on a hot streak these days last year, and with the studio embracing their unique approach to animation, will they challenge for the throne once again?
The second movie, Dounia and the Princess of Aleppo, tells the tale of a six-year-old immigrant girl who travels to a whole new world with the help of the Princess of Aleppo. It is not every day that I get to cover obscure, art-house animated movies, but this is one of those movies. A heartfelt, simple animated movie as a palate cleanser from all those mainstream animated movies I covered in June so far. Will this be worth looking for?
The third movie, Mavka: The Forest Song, is an animated musical from Ukraine, currently reeling from the consequences of its untimely invasion at the hands of R***ia. This movie tells the tale of a forest guardian who has to choose on love or her duty to protect her forest from impeding doom. Mavka has one of the lowest budgets of any animated movie this year at close to only US$5 million, and the added obstacle of the animators having to continue their work from elsewhere because of the invasion, will Mavka be the miracle?
Only one way to find out. Let’s get on with our adventure!
Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken
Key Information
- Director: Kirk DeMicco
- Animation Studio: DreamWorks Animation
- Country of Origin: United States
- Rating: PG13
- Release Date: 29 June 2023 (In Singapore theatres)
Trailer
Story and Characters
When DreamWorks excel in the writing department, their movies became icons in their own right. However, the same cannot be said for Ruby Gillman.
Perhaps the biggest issue about the writing in this movie was not just how cliché and generic that movie was, which has become an issue for especially most of the foreign CG animated movies I covered, it was also how rushed it was. The speedy pacing makes it hard to keep track and stay with the main characters, resulting in the movie lacking the time needed to develop its story. For me, the 80-minute runtime is too little, especially with such an original concept, and I wish this movie has a regular 90 or even 100-minute runtime so that it has time to marinate the story properly. Plus, the questionable references in the movie with a lack of proper connection felt very unnecessary.
In addition, the movie felt very predictable. Sure, a lot of movies utilise similar elements, but while predictable, they made up for it with a few twists and variations that make the story stand out more. Sadly, Ruby Gillman did not provide some unpredictability that would make this movie memorable enough for me to care, and even worse, its third act felt very anti-climatic. While it is not as anti-climatic as one of the best animated movies of 2019 which has a very abrupt ending, I Lost My Body, or even Studio Ghibli’s problematic Earwig and the Witch, the movie’s third act cheated me out of an otherwise good experience with this movie. Still, I would praise the messaging due to how well the morals were used in the movie.
As for the characters, Ruby Gillman is a likable and relatable protagonist that has some traits that make her stand out among other protagonists in other animated movies this year, as do the rest of her family even if they are not as well developed as I wish they could be. Chelsea, the twist villain in the movie because the trailers spoil that part (more on the marketing later), is also a cute twist villain and has a fantastic with Ruby throughout the first two acts, but it was the execution of her as a twist villain that felt slightly underwhelming, even if her transformation is pretty cool if I were to be honest. I cared little about the human characters because of how underdeveloped most of these characters are, but I will say that the voice acting is solid for the most part.
Animation
Having an original concept like Ruby Gillman means that animators really need to think through how to translate such an original concept onto the animation plane, and this is the one element that is great about Ruby Gillman.
For starters, I adore the designs of the krakens in the movie, especially in terms of how they move around to blend in with the other humans. The design of Ruby and her family was what makes this movie stand out, as they are not only visually interesting to look at, but the versatility in their movements and their size prevents this movie from straying too far in the generic realm.
In addition, the backgrounds are very gorgeous to look at, and is one of the better background designs of the year so far. The seaside suburbia does remind me of the combination of the seaside town in The Sea Beast and the dino-centric suburb of Terra Dino in Dino Time, two movies on the opposite ends in terms of quality that have unique background designs, which enhances the uniqueness of this movie.
With that said, a major issue with the animation has to be the weirdly designed human characters. I don’t know what has happened, but this movie has some of the least appealing human designs for any mainstream animated movie this year, and the more the movie focused on the humans, the more I was complaining about the weird and bland proportions of some of the human characters. Except for Chelsea, her design in both human and mermaid form is alright.
Soundtrack, Other Elements and Level of Enjoyment
I often have issues with certain animated movies’ soundtrack, especially if they sound and feel too generic to be memorable. With that said, the soundtrack, while generic, is very listenable and does not pose a major problem for me.
However, what is an issue is the marketing. Yes, certain animated movies suffer from either non-existent or poor marketing from recent memory, but the trailers spoiled pretty much the entire movie (which is the playbook for DreamWorks’ other animation studio, Illumination Entertainment) and it did not live up to the imagination. Plus, having a limited marketing campaign three months before its release, not to mention the very limited screenings in Singapore, makes it very hard to find a proper screening for me, which was why I had no choice but to watch a camera rip version of the movie. I know, this is cheating, but when the extremely limited screenings forced someone to use alternative methods to watch the movie, especially for a mainstream animated movie, that is not good.
As for my level of enjoyment, while I was in awe over the animation style for the most part, as well as the relationship between Ruby, her family and especially Chelsea, I felt cheated over how rushed the movie’s plot is, as do the third act. I would be more forgivable if it is a foreign CG animated movie with worse quality level, but for a mainstream animated movie, especially coming from DreamWorks themselves, is almost unacceptable. These reasons are why I did not have as much with this movie as I wished it could be.
Overall Thoughts
I got to be honest, I don’t think I had felt such a bigger disappointment for any mainstream animated movie than Ruby Gillman, and unfortunately, this is perhaps one of the biggest disappointments of any animated movie of 2023 so far.
While Ruby Gillman has a lot of style with its fun, quirky and unique animation style even with the weirdly designed human characters, as well as a lot of fun animation sequences, this movie was let down by its substance, with its very predictable and rushed writing, not to mention a lack of proper character development and an anti-climatic third act that cheated me out of this experience. Even when you factor in how little DreamWorks seem to care about this movie with its laughably bad marketing and limited screenings, it still does not take away from the movie’s lack of excitement, cohesion and memorability.
Blaziker’s Hot Sauce Movie Rating
Dounia and the Princess of Aleppo
Key Information
- Directors: Andre Kadi and Marya Zarif
- Animation Studios: Haut et Court and Tobo Media
- Country of Origin: France
- Rating: PG
- Release Date: 1 February 2023 (in France)
Trailer
Story and Characters
It is not so easy to have a story about migrating away from one’s homeland because of impending war, such as in war-torn Syria, but this is so much more difficult when this story is used in an animated movie meant for kids. However, Dounia stays respectful to its audience by focusing its migration story on a child’s imagination as she and most of her family began their migration after the destruction of their home.
The movie captures the spirit of Dounia and the humbleness in her and her family, as she adapts to her life in Syria amid conflicts, as well as her journey to a better life outside of Syria from her perspective, allowing us to see a kinder perspective of a migration that captures the hardships of leaving one’s homeland, as does in the critically acclaimed animated movie documentary Flee.
While the story is something we had seen before, the sheer simplicity of this movie, not to mention the amount of joy and hope this movie provides, is why I feel the writing in this movie punches above its weight, especially when it comes to the level of emotions. I will admit, the level of writing is better than a lot of the foreign animated movies I had covered so far this year despite this movie being produced by relatively unknowns and from two unknown animation studios.
The level of writing transfers to the characters as well. Dounia is a very sympathetic protagonist who has a fleshed-out personality and storyline that the audience can root for, and her family members have distinct personalities and are well-liked too. The voice acting could have been a bit more polished but given that the voice acting came from relatively inexperienced and lesser known voice actors, I think they did a solid job this time round.
Animation
In terms of the animation quality, considering that we are talking about two indie and unknown animation studios based in France, I will say that they did a better job than I expected, although there are some elements they can improve on.
Let me start with the styling, and I love that each character has a distinct storybook style that makes them stand out compared to the character designs in animated movies by more established studios. Even better, when compared to animated movies with similar styles like with Xico’s Journey (a movie dumped onto Netflix by the notoriously low-quality animation studio Anima Estudios), Dounia’s has the distinct authentic charm in the designs that I like.
With that said, compared to works from other, more well-known indie animation studios, the animation quality looks cheap. It is very clear that the animators in charge were not given a large budget to work with, because certain character animation look cheap and probably too simplistic, as does some of the animation and lighting moments.
Still, given the sheer constraints with the movie, at least the overall animation is better than Rally Road Racers, who may I have to remind you, is by an animation studio that should have learnt from their previous animated movies and at least put in some effort to improve the quality of their animation, but did not in the end.
Soundtrack, Other Elements and Level of Enjoyment
The surprising thing is that there are songs in Dounia, and the songs featured are traditional Arabic-style songs (but sung in French since the movie is in French) that speaks of Arabic culture, and that also added the authentic charm this movie possesses. They do not overstay their welcome, but these songs provide the energy in Dounia, providing another welcome to the Arabic culture featured in this movie.
As for my level of enjoyment, I like this one. Yes, this is a simple animated movie, but it is one that left a lasting impression, especially for a relatively obscure French animated movie. This is because Dounia left me with high spirits because of how hopeful and joyous this movie is, in spite of the struggles Dounia and her family face both in their homeland in Syria and in their migration. This is one movie that will be etched in my memory for some time.
Overall Thoughts
It is not every day that I discover hidden gems you had not heard of before and Dounia is one of those movies, and I am grateful I got a chance to see it.
Sure, Dounia falters slightly when it comes to overall animation quality and the story is something we had seen before, but I love the fact that this movie remains respectful to its audience by being a heartwarming tale of moving away from one’s homeland, complete with cultural influences and a child’s imagination. This brings us to this question: Why aren’t we seeing a lot more down to earth animated movies with a lot of charm like Dounia?
Blaziker’s Hot Sauce Movie Rating
Mavka: The Forest Song
Key Information
- Directors: Oleh Malamuzh and Oleksandra Ruban
- Animation Studio: Animagrad Animation Studio
- Country of Origin: Ukraine
- Rating: PG
- Release Date: 2 March 2023 (in Ukraine)
Trailer
Story and Characters
I am going to keep it short and sweet when it comes to the story and writing quality in this movie, since I wanted to get the most problematic element of this movie out of the way.
As is the case for a majority of the foreign CG animated movies I covered for the past few years, the writing is a major issue for Mavka. For a movie with a high concept, it is disappointing that the writing felt cliché and generic and is very predictable, not to mention having a distracting cast of supporting characters that reduce my level of enjoyment with the movie. Yes, it is a foreign CG animated movie, so it is mostly expected, but given that Animagrad produced this movie for about 8 years, I expected more.
With that being said, compared to other animated movies with even more problematic writing, such as in Mummies and Rally Road Racers, Mavka is better because there are a few elements in the writing that kept it from being near-on unwatchable. I know that I am being harsh but considering that a few foreign CG animated movies this year, such as The Amazing Maurice, has a better-than-expected script, I am let down by the movie’s mediocre, though not grating, writing.
Animation
Now, we can get to the stuff that I really wanted to talk about the most: the animation. Considering that this was a movie made on a very limited budget of US$5 million, this may be one of the best animated movies made below US$10 million, thanks to the animation alone.
The animation quality is superb, with near-perfect detailing, colouring and lighting on its characters and backgrounds, not to mention being wildly creative with the designs of the magical forest itself. It is one of the few movies that transport me to this fantasy realm in the best way possible.
One of the best parts of the animation was how the animators at Animagrad Animation Studios breathe life into the forest, whether it is the animals, the guardians of the forest or the magic within the forest; the texturing is impossibly amazing. It was so mesmerising that I questioned whether Mavka was made on such a tiny budget, because while it suffered from mediocre writing, the animation alone stole the show.
Even the human designs are very interesting too, something that I did not take it kindly with the likes of Mummies and Monty and the Street Party this year. I just love the distinct personality in those human designs, though let me be clear, the design of the forest and the guardians stole the show for me because of the distinctiveness and creativity in the designs. The character and background movements are pretty smooth and natural, so that is a bonus as well.
Some people would argue that great animation cannot save poor writing, but I disagree with this sentiment wholeheartedly, especially if the animation was so great that I am willing to bypass the issues with the writing. Just like with Bubble last year, Mavka has near-perfect animation in spite of its limited budget and its long production history exasperated by the current invasion.
Soundtrack, Other Elements and Level of Enjoyment
Mavka: The Forest Song also excels when it comes to the soundtrack. Given that Ukraine is home to fantastic music (even outside the realms of the Eurovision Song Contest since this is where a lot of people understand the most about Ukrainian music). Here, the soundtrack felt authentically Ukrainian with its folk music that I am familiar with thanks to past experience, which also provided me with the full-on Ukrainian experience. Sure, I would have love more Ukrainian music from more established musicians such as the captivating Go_A (the music group behind one of my most favourite earworms of all time, “Shum”), but the soundtrack is very good, regardless.
As for how much I enjoyed the movie, despite the writing issues, I had some fun with it, especially with various animation sequences throughout the movie. Yes, it may not be high brow animation, but it is still spectacular to see this movie made even amidst the current invasion.
Overall Thoughts
For a movie made on only US$5 million and produced despite the ongoing Ukrainian invasion at the hands of R***ia, there will be a lot of shortcomings Mavka will possess. Despite this, I felt this is worth a detour, although do not expect much.
The problematic writing and generic storyline will put off most of the audience, but what saves it to a certain extent was its animation craft that pushes its very limited budget to the absolute limit. The sheer beauty in both the designs and the animation quality prevents this movie from being too terrible, and paired with a soundtrack that pays homage to Ukrainian folk music. Plus, it is a movie with such a long production history and limited budget, and one that knows where its heart is. All I say for now is… Slava Ukraini!
Blaziker’s Hot Sauce Movie Rating
Conclusion
I got to say, this was a rollercoaster of a rundown for me, as I felt mixed with one movie, and felt great over the other two movies. It goes to show that regardless of whether the movie is a mainstream animated movie or not, as long as the movie excels, I would go out and recommend those movies.
Speaking of those movies, it is about time that I talk about one area of the animation industry that a majority of the animation community love to hate or despise, but one that I feel is still very important for the global animation industry, whether the community likes it or not. You will see what I mean in my next essay, and I will see you on the next adventure. Until then, k thanks bye!
