Lanoshome

Hilarious, bizarre, entertaining. The sense of humor is quirky and fresh. However, some of the characters and plot elements are a bit simplistic and it's not a particularly "polished" work. These could easily be conscious choices, as the simple characters and plot are easily twisted to create the film's comedic wackiness, and the choppy animation adds to this atmosphere. But overall the work could appear somewhat amateurish, so I'm not sure it's "good enough cinema" to get more than 8 stars... but on the whole, I was thoroughly entertained! This is a fast-paced animated adventure story not specifically for kids nor specifically for adults, but simply for anyone ready to suspend belief and laugh for an hour and a half. NB: The humor definitely comes off even better if the viewer speaks the original French, and does not have to read the subtitles, but even my friends who don't speak French thought this was very funny.

This movie has great special effects and a cool central sci-fi theme; the concept of an "avatar." 9 or 10 stars for each. But unfortunately the movie lacks any cohesive plot, has cookie-cutter characters and cliché dialog. This lack of originality destroys what should be emotionally charged moments and creates painfully stereotyped/racist portrayals. Also, the beauty of the digital animation is undermined by uninspired cinematography. So 10 stars for animation, but everything else was below average: 3 or 4 stars each for direction, writing, cinematography, plot, etc.

Overall, this is a bad movie which contains one or two precious gems: the avatar concept is wonderful fantasy, and the images are stunning.