Birds Like Us

Pre Intro: Even the intro is slow; There is a sense of interest to it that is repeatedly drowned in its simplistic boring bits(spawning white dot on the screen). What is of slight interest(The dot scribbling and shooting out vague images) is interesting at first till it drags for to long. I barely made it past the intro then the movie opens with its animation.

- Animation I'd say it's right below acceptable and verging on uncanny; I did like the minor bit in which the trees/stems got a sort of effect that made them look like an ancient illustration of some sort but sadly, the effect was secondary to the primary animation. More on the animation, whoever made this must have been proud because the film takes its time making sure we marvel at its barren/charmless settings. I personally would have switched to 2D, that would have been easier on the eyes if not captivating/competent.

- I may be missing something but I'm sure whatever wonder-less adventure our off looking protagonist would set out for wouldn't be worth it.

- The Sky Princess was a strange/uncanny experience but had a decent story Leo The Lion was durable, The Missing Linx was different and decent, But this was on pare with Iced and jungle shuffle with its boring/unacceptable animation.

- Well, had the story not felt the need to constantly remind me of its plot points/tease the journey and if the character's wouldn't state their ambitions/descriptions, I would have stuck around a bit longer.

"Don't listen to the Naysayers, because what do they say, but Nay?" I can't believe the negative reviews to this movie. Put your phone down and quiet your short attention span. We did. You will be richly rewarded.

Watch this film and open your mind to the possibilities in the world. Listen. It's message is simple, uplifting, and just the antidote we needed to a dreary day. The animation is actually mind blowing, just not in a style of its contemporaries. I say it's better. Think FernGully : The Last Rainforest, compared to its contemporaries. If you love Peter Gabriel (we do), the soundtrack and songs are great, as well. Highly recommended.

Taken from a 12th-13th century Persian Sufi poem by Farid Ud-Din Attar."The Conference of the Birds", concerning birds, speech, frailties & faults, enlightenment as they symbolically relate to humans. Very different animation (quality slightly above average) from what one typically sees (definitely not Disney like), but interesting. Following the storyline can be confusing, but part of it's charm. Eastern European & Turkish influences.

Inspired by Farid-Un-Din Attar's (13th century Persian Poet) Conference of the Birds.

The main story revolves around a female bird, Huppu (voiced by. Alicia Vikander) who is about to lay an egg. In the society where she lives all the birds sacrifice some of there eggs to the ruling Kondor (voiced by Jeremy Irons) in exchange for the fruit they eat to live.

After she gains some insight that there is more to the world than the small protected tree where they have all lived. A group of four birds go on an adventure.

This is where the film go badly. The characters are relativity well defined and the animation is well executed. Voice acting is acceptably, if not inflected.

The story just seems to wander from point to point. The main linking character, the Bat (voiced by Khalid Abdalla), who presumably, is giving sage advise at just the right point to help the birds advance in there understanding of the greater world is far too enigmatic to be understood by these simple birds.

I'm not sure who the film is aimed to reach. It's far too complex for children. It's too mixed up for adolescence and too boring for adults.

Apparently, this is based on "The Conference of the Birds" by 13th century Sufi poet Farid ud-Din Attar. In a devastated world, different species of birds find sanctuary under a large isolated tree called Birdabad. A system called Egguilibrium has been set up where the fruit eating birds offer their eggs to the meat eating birds. Hupu intends to save her egg and overthrow the system ruled by Kondor.

The animation is rudimentary. It's at least a decade obsolete. The designs are wonky although that has its charm. It is different from most other animation. I do like the idea of the post-apocalyptic world. It does leave a lot of questions unanswered. That does fit the premise of this movie. A bird wouldn't understand anything about the human world or quite frankly, the larger natural world. Some of the designs are interesting but the emptiness is otherworldly. This is an odd animated film. At least, it's different.