Ainbo

I sat down to watch the 2021 animated movie "AINBO: Spirit of the Amazon" together with my 11 year old son, as we had read that this animated movie was of the same type such as "Moana".

Well, "AINBO: Spirit of the Amazon" felt a bit like a poor man's watered-down variation of "Moana", perhaps. But it was by no means in the same league.

Sure, "AINBO: Spirit of the Amazon" was watchable, but the fact that this animated movie was more of a display of pretty and detailed CGI animation more than it was focusing on a solid and thoroughly thought through storyline, was just a shame, because it held back the movie. "AINBO: Spirit of the Amazon" had potential to be something akin to "Raya" or "Moana", for sure, but the lack of a well-written storyline or intricately detailed characters was holding it back.

The spirit animals were, of course, the glue that held the movie together, given their loveable nature and the things they did. But sidekicks can only do so much for a movie that is lacking in the story department.

It would have served the movie nicely if the characters in the storyline were more carved out and given more of personalities, drive and motivation, and such, but instead we are looking at nicely drawn animated characters that essentially were all one and the same.

Sadly then "AINBO: Spirit of the Amazon" just failed to be all that it could have been, and it made for a lukewarm viewing experience.

I am rating "AINBO: Spirit of the Amazon" a mediocre five out of ten stars.

The initial premise of the movie is decent enough and the for the first 20 minutes or so I thought this would get a 7. Points however dropped the longer the movie went on.

The story is a run-off-the-mill quest story made for children, plenty of things make no sense and especially in the second half it is all over the place. You can clearly see the influence from Disney/Pixar but it doesn't go any further than copying ideas without actually bothering if it makes sense storywise.

One of the worst parts, and one that annoyed me to no end, is that the main protagonist, Ainbo, never seems to solve any of the problems she faces. It's always the sidekicks that provide the answer (a blatant Timon and Pumbaa rip-off up to the point where they literally copied classic Lion King shots), or Deus ex Machina "Magic" explanations.

It's somewhat frustrating as a dad to bring your girl to a movie where a girl is the "hero" only to see that she, at no point, is able to do things herself. Even when she faces the big evil she just gets handed the right tools with no real explanation.

This movie had potential if they invested a bit more time in developing a decent story and character arc. As it stands: if you want an eco-friendly story about the rainforest: Ferngully is head and shoulders above this.

That summarizes all. I don't understand how do you spend so much money on an animation while almost utterly failing the storyline, dialogues, and characters.

Unlike many Disney/Pixar or Dreamworks animation, where the story appeals to the young and old alike, this movie only appeals to the very young.

With basic storyline and childish comedy gags, this will make the little ones laugh and entertained. But as an adult, I found it all tedious and very childish.

SUMMARY: Animation is good (not Pixar great but good) however the movies demographics is more for the very young (ie. 12 years and younger). Adults will be bored.

VERDICT: Entertaining for the kids, Avoid if you're an adult.

I caught a test screening of Ainbo in December (the only "test" being a moment of incomplete CGI towards the end), and, while it won't get the attention of kids due to the likelihood of no wide release, it'll probably drop on Netflix.

It's been a few months but I remember a good amount of it, in that while the first act comes off as a near plagiarism of much more well-known Disney films, namely Moana, Frozen and The Lion King, the plot takes its own turn in the second half and stands as more than above average. Its animation quality as well is on par with Disney.

Give it a look when it comes out. It may seem tedious at first but Ainbo is a worthy entry into international animation. 8/10.