This has some very surreal images to it as it shows a chase going on inside people's heads as they dream. One particular theme gets repetitive, especially since it is very silly looking and is supposed to be terrifying.. a parade of toys.. it looks really cool the first 30 times you see it, but then it gets kind of repetitive. Our main character is Paprika, a girl that can enter people's dreams to help them but does she really exist? We aren't sure of that or how she exists for most of the movie. What's missing from this movie is exciting violence and explicit sex, some "spice" for a movie named after a hot spice would be nice now wouldn't it? But it's bland in that area, relying instead on the Japanese fetish of menacing people with cute giant toys instead.
This movie reminded me of The Cell a bit, the animation is very very good, with thought put into the artwork and sets, but the repetitive scenes of the parade is an obvious cheat to cut down on the amount of animation work per frame. Overall this is definitely a charming movie if you are watching under the influence and in the mood for something surreal. Just don't hold your breath for anything sexy or violent, it's more of a dream mystery whodunnit.
This movie reminded me of The Cell a bit, the animation is very very good, with thought put into the artwork and sets, but the repetitive scenes of the parade is an obvious cheat to cut down on the amount of animation work per frame. Overall this is definitely a charming movie if you are watching under the influence and in the mood for something surreal. Just don't hold your breath for anything sexy or violent, it's more of a dream mystery whodunnit.