Cryptozoo

Cryptozoo is an oddly-animated feature that rambles along like it was a storybook adventure crafted in the Seventies - when details were blurred in a haze and stories for children were not always safe.

Honestly, Cryptozoo accomplishes the goal of any good fantasy and science fiction story by crafting a timely tale set in a timeless fashion. Unfortunately the chosen medium and distinct art style highly restricts what should be a tale of openness and inclusion.

Animation is, theoretically, budgetless. The artist can sculpt and paint and render imaginative, unseen worlds and bring them to life. Why then does Cryptozoo look like flipbook doodles on the corners of a Dungeons & Dragons module?

The animation is certainly an acquired taste. Fortunately, its rudimentary style does not totally diminish the compelling story of social relevance. Fiction like this is what opens conversation regarding the importance of freedom and the rights of all. Including animators with questionable art styles.

I tried liking it, but maybe my mindset wasn't great to give the movie a chance. Its weird to watch, social kind of animation. The tone was immediately set in the first 10 minutes. I think this is one of those that, you either like it or you don't, type of thing. For me, nope, not my kind of movie, but a solid 6 nevertheless.

Though I didn't really love the linear, rather flat, style of animation throughout this film, I did quite enjoy the underlying tales of mythological beasts that constitute the "Cryptids". They are things like unicorns and yeti. Animals about which science is in abject denial but that put all forms of art into ecstacy. Naturally, these beasts are constantly being sought after so "Lauren" and "Joan" come up with the idea of finding them somewhere safe to live, where scientists can peaceably study and maybe even learn from them. The one that's missing is the elusive "Baku". This creature can eat people's dreams and so is also a target of those who, as ever with mankind, wish to exploit it's powers for military purposes. Can they find one then keep it safe from their well-resourced and malevolent pursuers? It's only as they encounter more and more of these usually quite benign beings that they consider whether or not these frequently beautiful and playful creatures should remain as they have been for centuries. Hidden from the eyes of man. Albeit set in a fantasy world, this does offer us a little food for thought about the relative merits of scientific advance for the sake of it, without any great consideration for the specimens or their "humanity" and there's plenty of imagination employed by auteur Dash Shaw to mix together stories of culture, religion and adventure into an enjoyable hybrid of animated creations that fantasise creatively.

Cryptozoo is one that fascinated me even before watching. Cryptozookeepers try to capture a Baku, a dream-eating hybrid creature of legend, and start wondering if they should display these beasts or keep them hidden and unknown. The movie is entirely animated in an interesting style in a way the story couldn't be told any other way. As creative as an idea Crytozoo may be, the final product didn't always work out the way it should. Of course, the animation is the stand-out of it all. It's very unique and has moments that are just beautiful. Specifically the end of the second act and most of the third happen to be the most interesting visually and story-wise. Most of the movie is based on how strange it is so we lose the characters and why the stakes are so high. One character named Phoebe is the only one that I really connected with. She's a cryptid so we get her point of view on the subject. There are many themes of zoos and animal cruelty which is a good aspect to think about. Also, symbolism and ideas from well know stories - like Adam and Eve - are prevalent throughout. Even though the most striking aspect of the movie is animation, I wonder if the animation were "better animated" the effect would be different in some cases, but that really isn't an issue. This is quite an entertaining watch solely based on curiosity of it all. Most people are divided on this, but it seems they like it more than they didn't like it. I will revisit this in the future to see if the feeling is still the same. Overall, it's alright but should've been better.

Charmingly bizarre and utterly unique. This film is not for everyone. But what I appreciate about this film is that is pushes the boundaries on cinema, it preservers the voice of the filmmaker rather than peddle to market expectations.

It's also a commendable animation feat considering the small crew and budget. Hopefully it will help pave the way for more independent artists to express themselves in the future.