Psiconautas, los niños olvidados

In popular media, sometimes the most obscure can pick up one's interest. That came when I randomly encountered the Blu-ray of a 2015 Spanish film called "Birdboy: The Forgotten Children (Psiconautas, los niños olvidados)". It is based on a comic by Alberto Vázquez and serves as sort of a sequel to a short film made by him and Pedro Rivero simply titled "Birdboy" (can be found on youtube), which I recommend seeing if you want some extra context (though the film itself works without it).

Plot: An industrial accident turns a once peaceful island of anthropomorphic animals into a harsh, near-lifeless dystopia. The orphaned outcast Birdboy tries to get by in life and keep the demon inside him locked away. Meanwhile, his loving friend, a mouse named Dinky, plans to leave the island with her friends to start fresh in the outside world. Little do both know that their destinies are intertwined in ways they cannot imagine.

Full warning: This is NOT a kids movie. It's a world that embraces the dark and macabre with elements of drugs, blood+violence, language, and minor sexual elements. The society is one of denial, desperation, corruption, and waste, rotting inside and out. But, the film's tagline "There is light and beauty, even in the darkest of worlds" is present in different ways such as Birdboy's beautiful grotto, Little Fox, and small humorous touches, fragments of hope for the forsaken island that may or may not come to pass. The art style would make Tim Burton proud, decay and dark shadows at nearly every corner with simplistic character designs that often fit their thematic relevance and lifestyles. Abundant themes are woven into both the world and narrative such as addiction, adolescence, environmentalism, conformity, freedom, prejudice, family troubles, and the darkness within us, all seen from the perspectives of the two protagonists. I also gotta give props to the music, the emotional tone of which is a mix of eerie and soothing.

Birdboy is one of the most unique and intriguing fictional characters I've seen, silent and reclusive yet so full of nuance and pathos. He's flawed but he persists in bettering things even when the world and his frightening demon are against him. Dinky complements him with her desire for a new life, seeing nothing of value beyond those closest to her and doing what she can to achieve her goal. While not seen together that much, their relationship drew me in. The side characters are also interesting with their own problems, though I felt that a couple of them could've used more development such as Dinky's friend Sandra who suffers from schizophrenia.

"Birdboy: The Forgotten Children" is a creature unlike any other, both strange and inviting. It managed to win Best Animated Feature among other awards and, for me, it's easy to see why. I was regaled and intellectually challenged by this one. If you want to try a new visual experience, then give this and the prequel short film a watch. Just keep it away from children.

The movie although with a false kid friendly imagery gives you a crushing blow about society. It makes good questions about our lives and how we destroy ourselves mentally, physically and emotionally, and also what surround us. You see each character battling their demons and fears, especially the lead character birdboy, who doesn't even speak, with every emotion coming from the animation simple but very creative. You can see the passion that took making each scene. For me it's one of the best animated movies in recent years.

Life is bleak on the island after an "industrial accident" destroyed most life and left its remaining peoples to scramble amongst piles of rust and garbage to survive. Teenager Dinky wants only to run away, leave the island and find a better life, but she also wants to persuade Birdboy, a solitary youth who is shunned by most, takes drugs all the time (to subdue the demon living inside him) and rarely talks, to come away with her, for Dinky loves Birdboy. But Birdboy has his own joys and sorrows, the former being flying and his ability to seed the scorched earth with new life via glowing acorns and the latter being the murder of his father by police who misunderstood his purpose. He is not too sure how long he can continue in his life, and in the meantime Dinky and her friends plan their escape, while trying to avoid the clutches of the trash- dwelling rodents who call themselves "the forgotten children".... This is an animated film that began life in 2012 as a short and was subsequently expanded to full length by the two directors, Alberto Vasquez and Pedro Rivero. It is beautifully wrought, a piece of gorgeous (if often bleak) drawing, and the characters really get under your skin. But oh, it's so tragic for everyone involved; although the final images show a kind of beautiful transcendence, by then this viewer's heart was already completely broken by the pathos of it all. If you don't mind having your heart broken by film (as I don't), then give yourself the haunting pleasure of seeing this film!

It's hard to watch this film and finish it and think of any other that is similar to it. Truly, a very unique piece of animation that ventures into the horror category in ways films like Coraline (which could be deemed as "animated horror) did not. The voice acting is amazing and expressive, and the animation does so much to really portray this very unique and distinct voice. This is surely a film that needs to be seen and congratulated.

I recently was lucky to grab a seat in it's limited English release in NYC and I'm very glad I went out of my way to watch it. NYC theaters are loud and responsive, it spoke well of this film that the audience grew quiet and attentive 20 minutes in. While the film has it's comedy and of course features solely animated animals, it reaches amazing depths and tells a fully entertaining and visually captivating story. There is nothing immature or young about this film. The animation is wonderful and feels wholly original without shoving style into your face. The writing is superb and crisp, never feeling heavy handed nor childish. Each character has its own story, even if you don't get to see it, you feel their story through their design and dialogue. I was amazed to learn this was the two directors first feature length film, and while it is based on Vasquez's own comic (which explains their talent in story telling and character development) the ability to translate the story to a fully engaging film. I'm very excited to see what comes out of this team in the future.