Life, Animated

September 26, 2016

In Review, Theatrical by Cara Nash1 Comment

“…an immensely joyful film…”
John Noonan
Year: 2016
Rating: PG
Director: Roger Ross Williams
Cast:

The Suskind Family

Distributor: Madman
Released: September 29
Running Time: 92 minutes
Worth: $17.00

FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth

…an immensely joyful film…

When he was three-years-old, Owen Suskind was diagnosed with autism, withdrawing into himself and becoming uncommunicative. As he grew older, Owen’s parents noticed that he was quoting lines from his favourite Disney films. In one of the film’s many touching animated flashbacks, Owen’s father, Ron, recalls having a conversation with his 9-year-old son for the first time in years simply by talking to him through a puppet of Iago the parrot from Aladdin. And yes, he’s happy to show you that he can do the voice too!

As the film shows, Owen continues to make progress, through therapy and by taking situations that he’s memorised from Disney movies and applying them to his own life. When we meet him as an adult in the documentary, he is 25 and getting ready to move into an assisted living apartment away from his parents and elder brother. In some ways, Life, Animated is more of a coming of age film than it is a documentary.

Director and Oscar winner, Roger Ross Williams (God Loves Uganda), has crafted an immensely joyful film. Despite the presence of the big mouse, the documentary doesn’t shy away from showing the harder aspects of the Suskinds’ life. Elder brother, Walt, is loving, but in a moment of vulnerability admits that he’s worried about what kind of future he and Owen will have when their parents eventually pass away. Meanwhile, Owen’s belief in everything good that comes distilled from The Magic Kingdom fails him when nothing he’s seen helps him understand why his girlfriend has broken up with him. Life, Animated may well wear its heart on its sleeve at times, but ultimately, it’s a thoroughly positive experience, and reaffirms the joy that comes from a close knit family like the Suskinds.

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