Introduction
Hello, fellow adventurers! Blaziker is back for yet another 2024 Animated Movies Rundown, and this time, it is a slightly special rundown as we will be covering three animated movies today, all having the same theme of featuring at film festivals across the world. One is an exciting Kickstarter project, one was Armenia’s submission for the Oscars for Best International Film for 2022, one is from the very first film festival I attend this year, the Singapore Chinese Film Festival!
The first movie, My Love Affair with Marriage, focuses on a woman trying to comfort the ideas of love, marriage and her inner demons as she explores her desire for love and marriage while growing up in Latvia during the Cold War. This was directed by the same person behind “Rocks in My Pockets” a beloved indie animated movie that does things outside of even the typical non-mainstream animated movies, with most of its funding coming from Kickstarter. With this getting a positive reception despite its unconventional storytelling, is My Love Affair with Marriage worth going down the rabbit hole for?
The second movie, Aurora’s Sunrise, is an animated documentary focusing on real-life Armenian actress Arshaluys “Aurora” Mardiganian recounting her survival story as a survivor of the brutal Armenian Genocide as she became from a survivor to an actress sharing her story to her world with her 1919 silent film Auction of Souls in which she played a leading role. While I was aware of that genocide even before this movie, I had not researched much about it. With many accolades surrounding this movie, not just from Armenians but also the animation industry, is this documentary worth its hype?
The third and final movie, Pigsy, is a Taiwanese animated movie doing a cyberpunk tank on the world famous Journey to the West chronicles, a lazy and selfish pig in a future dystopia ventures on a life of swindling for his living, only to discover something that might be what he has desired for. Until Pigsy, the only other animated movie I covered from Taiwan is On Happiness Road, an animated movie that I adored despite its heartbreaking story. Even more interesting is that the fact that I had watched this movie in Singapore when it was shown as part of the Singapore Chinese Film Festival, making it the second animated movie of 2024 that I get to see in theatres. With that said, is this worth it after the previous Journey to the West adaptation in The Monkey King disappointed?
Only one way to find out. Let’s get on with our adventure!
My Love Affair with Marriage
Key Information
- Director: Signe Baumane
- Animation Studio: The Marriage Project
- Country of Origin: Latvia, United States, Luxembourg
- Rating: NC16
- Release date: 7 June 2023 (in France)
Trailer
Story and Characters
Let me give you a warning, My Love Affair with Marriage is a rather unconventional and more mature animated movie that not all will appreciate, especially regarding the subject matter about a woman navigating love, womanhood and her inner struggles throughout this movie’s runtime.
That said, those that are willing to take this leap of faith will be rewarded with a touching story inspired by the director’s views of womanhood, filled with excellent social commentary done in a rather unconventional way that makes this movie more interesting, filled with hilarious and off-kilter comedy and a cast of weird and wonderful characters. Despite its relatively long runtime and slightly inconsistent pacing, this movie is both entertaining and impactful.
Even with its unconventional plot and different themes, the writing is mostly on point and kept me interested in this movie all the way till the end.
Animation
Regarding the animation, considering My Love Affair with Marriage was a Kickstarter project that raised a total of US$1.5 million, I am honestly impressed and blown away over how this movie stretch its extremely limited budget to its absolute limits, and it shows in the final product.
Despite the slightly lower quality of rendering, the overall feel is a more underground-style animation style, filled with some of the most surrealistic and dreamy animation sequences of the year, rough and gritty textures showcasing the rudimentary but realistic atmosphere of this movie and some fantastic imagery that is both unconventional, hilarious and sometimes meaningful.
Seriously, the animation is so damn impressive despite its very, very tight budget, it pretty much put every single bad animated movie with many times My love Affair’s budget to shame, and shows that it is not how much this movie costs, it is how the producers, directors, animators and writers utilise the budget given to its fullest potential that is the most important.
Soundtrack, Other Elements and Level of Enjoyment
My Love Affair with Marriage is also an unexpected musical, so of course there will be songs in this movie. However, the musical numbers presented also act as an insight into the main character’s inner feelings and insecurities in a hilarious and sometimes self-deprecating way, and for this reason, I had fun with the musical numbers even if I had experience better soundtracks from other non-mainstream animated movies.
As for my level of enjoyment, I actually had fun with this movie. Yes, the pacing could have been improved and there were certain themes in this movie that I did not get because I personally did not experience what the main character had gone through, but I appreciate its unconventional vibes and impactful messaging that I feel most will appreciate, even if it was clear this movie was not for everyone.
Overall Thoughts
I got to say, I was very apprehensive about this movie at first, but now that I watched My Love Affair with Marriage, I can understand and appreciate what this movie was going on.
Despite its weird concept and animation style, My Love Affair with Marriage had a lot of substance to pair with its style. Filled with important commentary about womanhood, marriage, love and one’s insecurities, this movie hits hard when needed the most, with a bucket load of hilarious comedy to soften the tension without making this movie too depressing. This is not to mention a surrealistic and wildly creative animation style that spoke out to this movie’s weird vibes and musical sequences that spoke to the main character’s insecurities as commentary.
Honestly, My Love Affair with Marriage is so weird that this is a movie not for anyone, but for those that wanted to try something different, even those that had watched many non-mainstream animated movies like myself, this movie is a high recommend for you!
Blaziker’s Hot Sauce Rating
Aurora’s Sunrise
Key Information
- Director: Inna Sahakyan
- Animation Studios: Bars Media, Broom Films
- Country of Origin: Armenia, Germany, Lithuania
- Rating: M18
- Release date: 11 August 2023 (in the United States)
Trailer
Story and Characters
Given this is an animated documentary with live action footage of the silent movie Auction of Souls, as well as interviews with the real Arshaluys “Aurora” Mardiganian, whose life is depicted in this movie, Aurora’s Sunrise not only capture her life expertly but also the Armenian Genocide, a dark period in Armenia’s history, in its full horror.
If we talk about the technical elements, the pacing for this movie is on point, even though it is depicting a shocking event that is very hard to describe in the first half. I was amazed at how Aurora’s Sunrise perfectly incorporates various sources of both the silent movie depicting Mardiganian’s Armenian Genocide story in Auction of Souls, interviews with her and the story depicted in this movie into such a comprehensive package.
In fact, the writing is so damn perfect that this movie never shies away from the real tragedy of the Armenian Genocide. Rather than trying to skirt around the issue, Aurora’s Sunrise faced this genocide head on, filled with unspeakable violence against innocent Armenians who lost their loves during this genocide that till date, only 32 countries had acknowledged it.
I honestly had nothing much to say about the writing in this movie, other than to say, “Holy moly.” The writing is a tour de force in taking its concept and putting it on in full display. Absolutely devastating in the best way possible.
Animation
As with a lot of top-tier non-mainstream animated movies, the animation in Aurora’s Sunrise is mesmerising. Even considering that it is produced by Bars Media who was working on their first ever animated movie with Aurora’s Sunrise, it is very clear they had a vision with the art-style in this movie. Even more shocking, this was actually computer generated!
Yes, you heard that right, Aurora’s Sunrise is a foreign CG animated movie, but after witnessing the beautifully “painted” animation sequences depicting both the beauty of Mardiganian’s home in Armenia as well as the bloodshed from the Genocide itself, I still cannot believe that Aurora’s Sunrise was computer generated. In fact, I thought this was done using paintings just like with The Peasants, which goes to show that even when using classic 3D CG, you can spice up that animation style that suits the animation studio’s vision.
In fact, the overall animation quality is so spectacular, I refuse to believe it is animated by beginners, something that some 3D CG animation studios that continuously produce average to bad quality animated movies on a regular basis need to reflect on. I am amazed at how everything comes together with how much this movie painted both beauty and tragedy with absolute precision.
Soundtrack, Other Elements and Level of Enjoyment
Considering I am also a Eurovision fan, I had been familiar with Armenian songs, and not just the TikTok famous “Snap” by Rosa-Linn. Oh no, Armenia loves bringing their traditional identity such as with their Eurovision entry this year, and the soundtrack for Aurora’s Sunrise is no exception.
Just like with Polish folk music in The Peasants, Aurora’s Sunrise make use of traditional Armenian music into the soundtrack and boy, not only does it scream “nostalgic” to Armenians familiar with their own music, but it adds an extra layer of uniqueness and identity into this movie, while also emphasizing some of the hardest scenes in this movie. Using a soundtrack for dual uses is something not seen in a lot of soundtracks from even non-mainstream animated movies, but that is why the soundtrack for Aurora’s Sunrise is just sublime.
As for my level of enjoyment, just like with The Missing, I do not know whether “enjoyment” was the right word to use, because throughout this viewing, I was amazed, shocked and blown away all at the same time. It was honestly one of the most impactful animated movies of the year and after I finished watching it on my evening commute home, my perception about the Genocide completely changed. It is very rare when an animated movie transcended the typical moviegoer to new heights, but Aurora’s Sunrise is one of those rare animated movies that did that.
Overall Thoughts
Just like with The Missing early on, I am left speechless by how powerful Aurora’s Sunrise is, and honestly, after seeing it, I exited my viewing a changed person.
Aurora’s Sunrise is a brutal, yet beautiful and important animated documentary that needs to be seen. A tightly knitted script with fantastic incorporation of the recovered footage of Auction of Souls into the brutally tough concept that is hard to ignore, a well-realised story that is emotionally draining in the best way possible, gorgeous animation that depicts both the beauty of some of the scenes and the bloodshed of the Genocide and a well-crafted score to emphasize the scenes well.
However, be warned, even though Aurora’s Sunrise is a masterpiece, just like with The Missing, this is worth seeing it only once. Once you finish watching this movie, especially with the raw and brutal depictions of the Armenian Genocide during the first half of the movie, I honestly feel this is way too much for even the most hardcore of animation fans out there.
Blaziker’s Hot Sauce Rating
Pigsy
Key Information
- Director: Li Wei Chiu
- Animation Studios: Studio2 Animation Studio, Cheer DigiArt, Submarine
- Country of Origin: Taiwan
- Rating: PG
- Release date: 4 May 2024 (in Singapore as part of the Singapore Chinese Film Festival)
Trailer
Story and Characters
Coming to the screening of this movie, I am still slightly traumatised by how disappointed I was with Netflix’s Journey to the West adaptation with last year’s The Monkey King, so I was hesitant to give this cyberpunk take on the story a try. Thankfully, this adaptation was much better.
In terms of what Pigsy was trying to accomplish with its story, the cyberpunk concept is something we had seen before, with similar story beats, similar characterisation in terms of Journey to the West adaptation, and similar usage of animated movie tropes. However, despite not doing something brand new per se, the writing delivers because of the solid utilisation of these tropes and its good incorporation of the Journey to the West characters in this new setting. Plus, Pigsy had very good social commentary that felt important in the story, especially one focusing on the social credit system used in China (with good results digging at that system).
In addition, considering it is rare that Ba Jie gets the spotlight over Wukong in other Journey to the West adaptations, and I was quite afraid Wukong would take too much limelight away from Ba Jie. However, not only did Ba Jie gets the most spotlight given he was the main character, he embodied almost everything you would expect from other Ba Jie characters, not to mention the solid characterisation of the entire cast.
Overall, despite its familiar feeling concept and story, Pigsy executed its story so well that it kind of eclipses the overall concept, which honestly is not a bad thing at all. It may not be ambitious in terms of its concept, but I am happy to report that it did not feel too Westernised to the point that Pigsy loses its Journey to the West identity, unlike The Monkey King last year.
Animation
The animation is very good, especially coming from a country with a not-so-big animation industry like Taiwan. It using a stylised CG approach not only prevents it from being too similar to other similar feeling foreign CG animated movies that have the same old boring style, but the execution of the said style is just as impressive.
You can tell that the animators involved took their time to incorporate the Journey to the West elements into a futuristic setting, because the character and background animation were just gorgeous to look at. The little details within the backgrounds, the well animated action sequences and the overall animation quality are up and beyond the typical foreign CG animated movie.
It also felt great that even with the different setting, the original Journey to the West characters all have aesthetics that clearly define who they were, and the colouring is just as pristine as the background animation, even if the animation style is very familiar.
Overall, while the animation is something we had seen before, it is once again the execution of the animation style that is impressive, especially coming from relatively unknown animation studios. I often criticise certain foreign CG animation studios for continuously sticking to their same old boring animation style and not try to elevate their style further, so an animated movie with such an impressive feeling animation style from unknown animation studios is always a welcome surprise.
Soundtrack, Other Elements and Level of Enjoyment
The soundtrack is nothing to write home about, although I do question why we need two mini musical numbers in the first half of the movie. Regardless, the soundtrack is pretty decent overall.
As for my level of enjoyment, while I did not enjoy it as much as some of my most favourite animated movies of the year so far, I appreciate how thoughtful the animators and writers were when producing this movie. They did not dumb down on the original material and instead made Pigsy their own distinct movie, which for most foreign CG animated movies is much needed. Also, watching this as part of a film festival felt like a more elevated experience, and the more mature crowd truly appreciate the craft seen in Pigsy like I did.
Overall Thoughts
I got to say, I am very happy with the overall result of Pigsy despite being something I had seen in animated movies of the past.
While modern Journey to the West adaptations are not uncommon and a few of them do not work, Pigsy’s cyberpunk thankfully delivered the goods, mostly thanks to its execution being more impactful than the concept. It may have relied a bit too much on the usual animated movie tropes and it is not doing something completely new, but the writing is pretty sincere and well-paced with not much plot holes to complain about, although I questioned whether the two mini musical numbers in the first half of the movie were necessary.
That said, the animation took Pigsy’s cyberpunk concept and turn it into a very well-oiled, top quality animation style that felt distinct and interesting, unlike the majority of foreign CG animated movies with too similar animation styles. Character and background animation were on brand with the concept and the action sequences were as great as the fight sequences from other top-grade Journey to the West adaptations.
Even though I had complained about the Americanisation of non-mainstream animated movies some time ago, Pigsy thankfully did not fall into the same traps as those Americanised non-mainstream animated movies due to both its interesting concept and its surprisingly solid execution. Definitely one of the better foreign CG animated movies of the year so far.
Blaziker’s Hot Sauce Rating
Conclusion
Well, that is a complete blast watching three animated movies that featured at various animation festivals across the world, and most of the time, these animated movies will deliver.
Speaking of animation festivals, next week, to celebrate the Annecy International Film Festival, I will look into my most anticipated animated movies from that prestigious festival. Until next time, see you on the next adventure!
