halseyad

While the animation is active, the music is catchy, and it was an all-around good movie, there were a few areas that just landed outside the bullseye. For starters, a lot of the story is told through song. Beautifully written, but hard to follow for most kids. I spent more time than I wanted to explaining some of the context to my daughters mid-film. Secondly, they throw a LOT of different themes together at the end. They should've chosen one idea and stuck with it. It ends and you're left wondering if it was about the importance of family, the acceptance of different gifts/people, the effects of blame v the benefit of radical ownership, or even how you don't have to be special to be special. The last standout critique is about Louise. She has magical super strength, so having her voice actor strain to sound deeper (more masculine) wasn't needed and it was distractingly bad. Women, even those who are super strong in reality, sound feminine. When the actor sings, she clearly has a lovely voice. When she's not singing, it sounds strained and unnatural. Overall, I think our family will have it on a decent bit, but it wasn't 100%.

If I could go back, I wouldn't waste my time. However, it does get to episode 5 or 6 before it really tanks, so I had to finish on principle. The enticing part is the sly Mr.&Mrs. Smith monster hunter vibes sprinkler with eerie moments. The second half of the season takes a HUGE turn and you wonder where the acting went. I'd you watch, be ready for characters making ridiculous changes in allegiance, the worst "sneak around a military base" scene on film (ep.7), a force token gay relationship side story, an eye-rolling theme about the innocence of monsters, and a villain that doesn't ever do anything really sinister.