21 August 2019
Artful animated films for adults
Activate your imagination with these delightful award-winning animations, now streaming on Showmax and Netflix. There’s the animated documentary genre-bending film from an eSwatini-born creator, animated by a Nigerian artist and featuring a South African storyteller; a Japanese fable from the creators of My Neighbour Totoro; and a rewriting of French history in a steampunk sci-fi adventure.
Liyana – 2018 (Showmax)
Gcina Mhlope is a celebrated South African poet and storyteller, who made it her mission to activate the memories and imaginations of a small yet picturesque orphanage in eSwatini (formerly Swaziland). Using her knack for storytelling, she managed to coax a magical African tale about a young girl’s dangerous journey quite literally out of the mouths of babes. Narrated by five captivating kids, this original documentary-animation hybrid is creative, moving and truly special.
Beautifully animated images glide across the screen, brought to life by a vivid soundtrack and ad libbed sound effects. Liyana is driven by charming and expressive faces that give personality and depth to the tale. While you’d expect the children’s stories to be naive, the social challenges of living in a country with the highest HIV/Aids infection rate in the world have left scars on these kids. While fictional and magical, the story is anchored by tough experiences and dark memories that translate into some harrowing moments for the heroic Liyana.
IMDB rating: 7.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 100%
The Red Turtle – 2016 (Netflix)
The Red Turtle emanates from Studio Ghibli, the Japanese animation studio behind Howl’s Moving Castle, My Neighbour Totoro, Spirited Away, Grave of the Fireflies and many more classics. And yet, it’s decidedly different from their collective. It’s reminiscent of Tintin, The Blue Lagoon and Castaway as a Robinson Crusoe story plays out as part survival adventure, part fable.
We’re gently immersed in the story as a shipwrecked survivor finds his place on the island as human nature and man’s will to live are explored in a meditative and emotional journey. While there’s no dialogue, it’s easy to follow this universal story of man versus nature and man versus man. The animation is delicate and nuanced, and breathes life into the film as hallucination and reality converge. The design is simple and the animation is sensitively orchestrated as the lush sounds and score help paint the minimalistic yet heartfelt world of The Red Turtle.
IMDB rating: 7.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 93%
