Introduction
Why, hello once again, fellow adventurers! Blaziker is back for another animated movie adventure for the 2nd half of 2024, and for today’s adventure, we are starting off rather slowly as we look into three foreign animated movies to cover. Yes, we are waiting for the big fish to come out, but until then, how about a trio of small fry as appetisers, eh?
The first movie, Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window, is based on a well-beloved Japanese novel by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi of the same name about a little and unconventional-thinking girl who got enrolled to a unique school where freedom of expression is permitted and encouraged, even when taking place during World War 2 in Japan. While I have yet to read the novel, I heard a lot of fantastic things about it, and with it getting an animated movie adaptation, how would this adaptation fare?
The second movie, Cats in the Museum, focuses on a cat and a mouse finding refuge at the Hermitage Museum in R****a, where they take charge to protect the newly arrived and world-famous painting Mona Lisa from being stolen. I have to be very honest, I was not planning to review this movie until I found a copy of this movie. There is a saying “Curiosity kills the cat,” so let us see whether my curiosity in this movie will hurt, shall we?
The third and final movie, Noah’s Ark, centres on two musician rats on board with Noah, his family and the other animals onto his ark as they set sail to a new land. Based on a classical biblical story told way too many times in the movies as well as a series of songs about Noah’s Ark by Brazilian musician Vinicius de Moraes, this was another movie I was not expecting to review, and knowing the shaky track record when it comes to animation in India (where one of its studio co-produced this movie), so I have reasons to be sceptical about this one. Will this one work?
If you are ready, let’s set off for this rather interesting adventure!
Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window
Key Information
- Director: Shinnosuke Yakuwa
- Animation Studio: Shin Ei Animation
- Country of Origin: Japan
- Rating: PG
- Release date: 8 December 2023 (in Japan)
Trailer
Story and Characters
There is a reason why it took so long for someone to adapt the original novel, and seeing this movie, I can understand why.
Despite being one of the most celebrated Japanese novels of all time, trying to capture the essence the original Totto-Chan novel is very difficult, and seeing this movie adaptation in full force, they manged to capture the chill and joyful vibes with its devastating context so, so well. While I can only judge the movie as it is because I had not read the original novel, what I got from the movie was a movie full of joy, freedom and hard truths about school life in Japan in the middle of World War 2 itself.
First off, the pacing is on point as there is never a dull moment in the movie; every moment has an important plot point or moment to tell, filled with a mixture of heartwarming moments and moments of reality with Totto-Chan and her family, along with her friends, the teachers and the principal of the unconventional school she enrolled in. One moment, you are enjoying your time seeing Totto-Chan and her friends on their adventures in the school, and the next, you are witnessing important plot points that change how the story is going to go. As such, it is a rather unpredictable, but well-rounded story that carries from start to finish with no stone left unturned.
The comedy is also effortless. There were a good number of jokes, but the jokes have good build-up and a great pay-off in the end, and they do not try too hard, since these jokes are jokes that I would have said when I was a child or a primary school student. Everything about the writing in Totto-Chan felt effortless and enriching while also confronting with the reality of the setting in this movie in a down-to-earth manner, which is something I feel readers of the original novel would be familiar with.
Also, this translates to well-developed, well-rounded and memorable characters too. Totto-Chan (Liliana Ono) is such an unconventional, but wholesome namesake protagonist, and I just want to follow her along on her adventures because we get to see her world view in such fantastic light. Everything about her radiates a sense of joy and happiness even when this movie takes place in Japan during World War 2, but even when she started to notice changes around her family and her environment, you can tell she’s still herself even by the end of the movie. The other characters are just as fantastic and well-developed and the voice acting is also excellent too.
Honestly, I could go on about how much I loved the writing in this movie, but I rather stop there and recommend you check out this movie once it arrives in theatres, especially if you have not read the original novel just like me.
Animation
Given this is from Japan, I had never been let down by a Japanese animated movie when it comes to animation (ok, maybe Earwig and the Witch, but that is about it even if I understand what Earwig was aiming for with its animation style), so I am not expecting surprises in terms of the quality of animation in Totto-Chan, and that was exactly what I got in this movie, maybe even more than that.
The animation is beautiful, but you would have known that if you had seen the trailers of it. We get to see a mixture of animation styles in this movie, from the detailed and beautiful hand-drawn animation in most of the movie to the abstract animation style in certain moments of the movie, Totto-Chan is very willing to showcase a wide variety of animation styles that has substance and carries the story very well.
In addition, the character and background designs are very textbook, and the movements flow super well, capturing various moments of this movie with both pristine and devastation. Honestly, I would not change a thing about the movie’s animation at all, and shows why Japan is still one of the best countries in the world when it comes to animation.
Soundtrack, Other Elements and Level of Enjoyment
The soundtrack and its minor elements are as fantastic as the movie’s writing and animation, and honestly, I have nothing negative to say about those elements as well.
As for my level of enjoyment, yeah, this movie was a ripper for me. There were so many interesting moments that kept me glued to the screen, to the point where I felt I was witnessing those scenes in real life, too. Honestly, I was so emotional throughout the movie’s screen time, by the movie’s end, I was genuinely close to crying. This is how amazing the movie’s writing and animation is, and a testament to how much I loved this movie.
Overall Thoughts
Seeing this movie in action, I can understand why Totto-Chan won the Paul Griumat Award at the Annecy Film Festival this year, and it deservedly so.
Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window captures the heart and devastation the original novel was going for, complete with nearly flawless writing that encapsulates the joy and at the same time the harsh reality of the setting, the comedy is effortless and does not try too hard and the characters are not only well-developed but are a joy to watch and full of personality. The animation is as exquisite as you would expect.
This is an animated movie that tells a rather mature and human story that feels different from other and as exciting animated movies from Japan, and showcases the level of range and versatility Japanese animated movies have. It is definitely a movie worth seeing, but be warned, you might need to get a few boxes of tissue to survive one screening of Totto-Chan.
Blaziker’s Hot Sauce Rating
Cats in the Museum
Key Information
- Director: Vasily Rovenskiy
- Animation Studio: Licencing Brands (Wow, what a creative name for an animation studio, eh?)
- Country of Origin: R****a
- Rating: PG
- Release date: 23 March 2023 (in R****a)
Trailer
The Review
You may be wondering why I decided not to review Cats in the Museum in the same manner as all the other animated movies I had covered so far. The truth is, after seeing this… thing for myself, I do not feel it is all worth diving deep into each of elements of this movie because I can sum of the movie’s Story and Characters, Animation, and Soundtrack and Other Elements into two words: low-effort trash.
Having seen Licencing Brands’ catalogue of animated movies they had produced, other than Pinocchio: A True Story, which many animation fans know of because of the Pauly Shore dub. After seeing the ratings of those movies and Cats in the Museum, and that is because this animated movie is very poorly made, filled with inconsistent and shoddy writing that has no cohesion and direction, the characters are poorly developed and the animation is unacceptably low-quality thanks to its poor rendering and texturing, and some animation errors, especially one meant for movie theatres. I do not give a damn about the other elements, and you may probably guess at my level of enjoyment with how I am writing about Cats in the Museum.
Most importantly, it should be noted Licencing Brands is based in R****a, a country that is still knee deep into its Ukraine invasion, although given its military power, the fact that the invasion is still ongoing thanks to both the bravery of the Ukrainian soldiers and civilian soldiers who join in to protect their land (plus all the foreign aid they needed), but also the incompetence and lack of advanced technology from R****a’s army.
See, this is why I feel uncomfortable reviewing Cats in the Museum the same way I do with other movies, both because it was produced in a country involved in an ongoing conflict and that the movie itself is awful beyond belief in almost every aspect. I know some might say that this is unprofessional, but by not discussing Cats in the Museum and going straight to the point, I know I do the right thing by not promoting this movie any further.
Overall Thoughts
In conclusion, no, just no.
Cats in the Museum is perhaps the first animated movie since Marmaduke and The Soccer Football Movie in 2022 that made me genuinely angry over its existence, both by being a low-grade, low-effort animated movie that offers nothing and fails at almost every aspect, and only exists to piss off the animation community or tricking people into thinking of it as a proper animated movie.
After watching it for myself, I am honestly baffled to see an animated movie that does not care about its audience whatsoever in 2024, and that was exactly what Cats in the Museum feels like: a waste of time and money and no one support animated movies made with no passion whatsoever. Going forward, this movie, and all other animated movies by Licencing Brands, shall not be mentioned ever again unless I need to, and until they improve (which I doubt they will), I will refuse to watch any of their animated movies ever again.
I am sorry that I had to be harsh in this review, but trust me, this is for your own good. Avoid Cats in the Museum if possible. You can thank me later for this suggestion.
Blaziker’s Hot Sauce Rating
Noah’s Ark
Key Information
- Directors: Alois Di Leo and Sergio Machado
- Animation Studios: NIP and Symbiosys Technologies
- Country of Origin: Brazil and India
- Rating: PG
- Release date: 5 January 2024 (in South Africa)
Trailer
Story and Characters
First off, do not expect much from the writing in Noah’s Ark, as I felt the pacing of this movie to be too slower, especially one for 90 minutes. This resulted in moments where I just felt bored out of the movie. In addition, the English dub voice acting I watched in was not particularly good, but that is par for the course for English dubs of most foreign CG animated movies.
With that said, however, there were a few bright spots in the writing, especially in what it was trying to accomplish. Rather than trying too hard to faithfully adapt the original biblical story into the movie, it managed to adapt the story into its own, while also mixing it with the songs from Brazilian musician and pet Vinicius de Moraes who composed his own Noah’s Ark album. The references from this movie were also used to their fullest potential, and some of the jokes are pretty funny, a rarity for most foreign CG animated movies.
As such, even with a lot of issues in the writing, at least the writing overall is slightly better than some of the animated movies I have covered in 2024 so far.
Animation
Considering this was produced in Brazil and India, of which the latter brings me terrible memories of the mostly terrible animated movies from that country in the past, the animation is honestly pretty good considering the circumstances.
It is honestly great that we are seeing foreign studios not sticking to the similar looking and tired feeling CG animation style, and Noah’s Ark is no exception. There was some roughness in the animation style, but I dig the stop-motion inspired CG style this movie adapts to, showcasing some of the blemishes and detailing in some of the character and background designs.
The movements and action animation are not too shabby, especially one from foreign animation studios, and while there were a couple of animation errors, the overall animation is pretty decent, all things considered.
Soundtrack, Other Elements and Level of Enjoyment
Given that this movie is inspired by the Noah’s Ark album by Brazilian poet and musician Vinicius de Moraes, I got to listen to that album first before seeing this movie firsthand. Even amidst the mediocre voice acting in this movie, the songs presented were pretty good, especially coming from a family-friendly foreign CG animated movie where scores and soundtracks usually take a backseat. The musical numbers were fun and do not take away much from this movie, and that is honestly good enough.
As for my level of enjoyment, despite my low expectations of the movie, I was surprised by how decent this movie was as a whole. It’s not the most mind-blowing animated movie I had seen all year and it has elements I do not like, but overall, Noah’s Ark is not too terrible personally.
Overall Thoughts
I have to admit, I was wrong that this movie would turn out to be a massive disaster. In fact, this was not too shabby at all.
Despite my issues with the writing in Noah’s Ark, in particular some of the pacing, lack of excitement in the characters and the lacklustre voice acting, the animation honestly felt different and decently executed, which puts it above some of the foreign CG animated movies I covered so far. Plus, the soundtrack ain’t too bad in adapting the original songs by Vinicius de Moraes to the big screen, even with the English dub which was what this movie was aiming for.
It’s not even close to being a masterpiece, but Noah’s Ark is also not a complete trainwreck for sure. A rather okay animated movie that is just smack in the middle for me.
Blaziker’s Hot Sauce Rating
Conclusion
Wow, the second half of 2024 kicked off with a wide range of emotions. One excellent animated movie worth adding to your watchlist, one animated movie to stay away from, and one animated movie that is right smack in the middle.
And that is all from me today. Tune in next time as we explore much more exciting animated movies from all around the world, including the return of a beloved or “love to hate” franchise, depending on who you are. Until next time, see you on the next adventure!
