A la poursuite du Roi Plumes

BEYOND BEYOND I was just about to fall off the chair the other day when I watched a DVD. It was a feature animated film from 2014 directed by a Dane, Esben Toft Jacobsen, but the production team seemed to be Swedish. I did not think the level of ambition in Denmark today held out for more than the usual run of the mill stories and production design, but I was wrong, and luckily so. It was a fairy tale in which a child, this time a rabbit, cannot bear the loss of his mother and thus embarks on a journey on ship to bring her back. The love story from Orpheus and Eurydice for children. There is a whole lot of help and adversity from all sorts of mysterious creatures he meets on his way, and it is exceedingly captivating to follow with plenty of pace all along. I sat and enjoyed the obvious references to Miyazaki, with little creatures that run in packs over the ground. This time they are not black but blue-green. The angel is in this version a scaly dragon- like creature, and Sct. Peter is a touching bureaucratic frog-like guy. Of the almighty godlike chaos force we only get to see the tentacles, but it is reminiscent of squid arms and enclose in the climax our poor friend's vessel. The character design is innovative and appealing. It is nice to see that you do not have to follow the standard tradition of design within CGI animation, which has become almost mandatory in the business. A story of life and death can be very strong, and it is in this case. I also got to think about the Irish film director Tomm Moore, who received an Oscar nomination for 'Song of the Sea' last year. Esben Toft Jacobsen had deserved a nomination as well.

This was an excellent movie, I understood the meaning right off.

Animated film from Sweden? I don't remember I have seen one. So probably this is my first from that region. It was less than 80 minutes, that means short and sweet. They should have stretched it a bit longer, but the point of the narration was perfectly accomplished, so it does not matter even it was shorter than the usual length. This is a pure children's film, that families might as well enjoy it. I thought everything in it was cute. The characters, and the simple story. But the animation obviously was not that great as we see in Hollywood. Also not bad to ignore it completely.

This takes place on the planet of the rabbits and tells the story of a young Johan. He's the happiest kid, living with his loving parents, but until one day when the feather king gets his mother. Missing her presence, the desperate Johan in a boat at the sea alone, uses the situation after receiving a sos radio message. He now enters the forbidden land without an invitation and his adventure begins to fight for his mother's return. It also helps him to learn an important lesson that ends with what seems the right way.

"The feather king took my mom. And I want her back"

After seeing this I think the director should get a shot at Hollywood, so that he can come back and make the international quality animated features for his nation. I said that because American production houses usually pour a big amount because of their international market that gets them five to ten times what they have spent. If you are an animation film fan, then you should try this. But you should not compare it with any Hollywood animations. I saw it during the week of Christmas and New Year, the best season to watch such magical tale.

I liked how they avoided the word 'loss' or 'death'. You would understand the situation in the story, but the film is not intended to go details. This is the film about losing someone you love and when unable to cope, especially the little kids who can't understand such concept, this film tried to give something fictional version of logic. For that reason alone, it's worth a watch with your little ones. Like the Americans say after someone had died that he/she/it is in a better place, this film set in that place and that's why it was called 'Beyond Beyond' that rhymes with 'Mirror Mirror' kind of fairytale.

6/10

Sometimes you get a hold of the movie, which makes instantly clear to you that it would be impossible to produce it in US (most of the movie production), or other studios around the world. That is mostly because Scandinavians have a very "intimate" way of depicting mosty anything in their movies. Their movies are often focused on interrelations that are often deemed unacceptable or inappropriate in other countries.

Good example would be "Let the Right One In" (Låt den rätte komma in), which would be essentially impossible to record in US.

Beyon Beyond has substance, the characters are not black and white - they are complex; both bad and good at the same time. All of the movie is in positive, childish tone, which makes it a pleasant experience to watch and learn from it, especially for children.

While this movie is not something "stellar", like Nauciaa, or Laputa, or Wall-e..., it has qualities beyond the ratings. The way this movie is made, is characteristically immersive, specific to Scandinavian culture, and I absolutely recommend it.

Watch it with your kid, and let it learn from it. We made a projection for 4yr old boy who loves spaceships and rockets, and he really liked this move. He asked to watch it again at some point later on.

I really love the Animation and the songs and the music by Jesse Pruett they really entertain me the acting especially Evan as Jonah really fits especially Carey Elwes as Jonah's Dad and Ambyr Childers as Jonah's Mom is really great the story is meaningful the graphics are decent enough the the moral is really useful.