Valley of the Lanterns

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source: Valley of the Lanterns

At first, having the hand drawn backgrounds with CGI people seemed a clash of visual styles, but it works. This is good storytelling and the characters are likeable. I'm glad I decided to see this.

At first the animation reminded me of computer games a decade ago and I was worried that this would be a difficult watch, but having got used to it I enjoyed the film much more than the opening 15 minutes might have suggested. I spent much of the time wondering from what country it originated and would not have guessed Canada. Everybody appears to have an offset mouth as if the entire population has suffered a stroke, and at first I assumed that the little boy Porter was a little girl. It's a highly moral tale about the importance of not looking back and making the most of time while you have it (and not gambling on pig races), but although charming in part, others aspects are really quite dark (including a dramatic fall from height) and I would caution parents not to watch it with very young children. The action takes place in an indeterminate land in a quasi-Medieval age but with certain modern conveniences (such as surgical neck braces). The musical score is actually somewhat repetitive, even annoying, and the whole film could benefit from being ten minutes shorter, with the main edits merited at the beginning. Thereafter, however, this film picks up momentum. I warmed to the characters and upped my score from an initial 3 or 4 to a solid 7.