Il bambino che scoprì il mondo

Boy & The World is a film about a young boy who goes on a journey to find his father in the big city. Along the way, he sees many things, and meets many people. This is the most basic description of what I consider to be one of the best animated films ever made. Let's dig in.

First of all, for a film marketed towards children, it can be quite challenging in different ways. One way is in what it is as a film. The fact that it has absolutely no dialogue and is driven by music and visuals alone is very daring. Another way is in some of the subjects it tackles. This includes things such as the negative influence of industry, the oppression of art and creativity, and the underwhelming reality of adulthood.

I mentioned that the film ditches all talking, instead going for visual and musical storytelling. So does it achieve this goal? Yes. Oh my god yes. Every image that this film throws at you is absolutely gorgeous and full of things to look at. The music is absolutely beautiful, and I'm not lying when I say that I found myself getting chills well an often due to the music. These two factors are what propels the movie and turns it into the great experience it is.

Now let's talk about the overall effect. It was unbelievably effective for me. This is the only film that ever made me weep. I urge any movie fan, or any fan of animated films, to watch this. It is a brilliant experience, and it touches on every emotion I can think of. Happiness, sadness, humor, love, and many more that aren't coming to mind. Go. GO. WATCH IT NOW.

Sweet, beautiful, wordless animated film, telling the charming, endearing and sometimes sad story of a young boy from the country going in search of his father who has moved to the city to earn money for the family.

The film seems an attempt to see through a child's eyes, and it succeeds, leading to images that are surreal, wondrous and odd, and that don't always make literal sense. Imagine how the high tech modern world would seem to a small boy of say 5, wandering in alone from the countryside. The film captures that feeling

Done in a simple, colorful, handmade style that's the opposite of most computer animation we see these days, recalling artists like Joan Miro, there's a heartfelt quality that goes with the handcrafted nature of its slightly surreal and beautiful images. Truly universal, there's not a single word of real dialogue, just some occasional gibberish-speak. There's also great Brazilian music that changes personality with the boy's adventures, along with a nice lesson for kids about the loss of the beauty of nature in the industrial world. Quite special.

The boy is sadden when his father leaves on the train to find work in the big city. He goes off into the big world in search for his father.

This is a Brazilian animation nominated for an Oscar in 2015. The animation style is colorful stick figures. It has a very unique look. It doubles down by having limited rudimentary dialogue done in gibberish. I do wonder if this would function better as a short, maybe half hour. The theme does get deeper as it delves into globalization and modernization. It's a slow turn into this darker material that is most disconcerting. There is a reveal at the end about the boy and the father which is probably confused especially without dialogue. It could have been done straight forward.

Greetings again from the darkness. It may not be Pixar, but this wonderful film from Ale Abreu is absolutely worthy of its Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature, though it's heavier on message than story. It's a wonderful reminder that one of the best features of animation is that the look can be unconventional and still be effective.

The stick figure boy is on a mission to re-connect with his father, who left the family's country home to find work in the big city. For Abreu's film, the boy's real purpose is to be our tour guide through this exploration of the state of the "civilized" world. It's an adventure that provides the boy (and us) insight into cities, the sea, the countryside and agricultural life. It's also an examination of the loss of childhood innocence as we are exposed to reality.

A rare hand-drawn presentation is also mixed-media, as it utilizes a few real news clips to emphasize the cluttered, damaged world. It's a different approach in making the arguments regarding climate change, carbon footprints and socioeconomic imbalance. The hand-drawn core here is more complex than what we initially believe. Colors explode onto the screen, and the visuals often carry multiple meanings in depicting the intended message.

Dialogue is minimal and often garbled in a manner that reminds of any adult in the Charlie Brown comics … but we are never confused on what is being conveyed. In addition to the visuals, sound effects play a huge role, as does the music from composers Ruben Feffer and Gustavo Kuriat, and Brazilian jazz favorite Nana Vasconcelos. It's a unique approach to reminding us that our harsh treatment of the planet could play like a horror story or dangerous adventure to the innocent eyes of a child.

It's such a lovely film. Both visually and emotionally rich, one of the most colorful and imaginative animated films I've ever seen. Nearly dialogue-free, one of those films that best portrays the power of the relationship between image and sound. Quite literally perfect, not a thing I would change about it. I don't think it's a stretch to call it perhaps one of the best animated films ever made, surely one of the best I've ever seen. I really hope it gets seen by more people because it would be a shame if it went unnoticed as a whole, truly. Just wonderful in every way. The score deserves even more mentions as well, together with its sound editing.