The animation, the attention to detail, the dream sequences... What a treat! The squeaky, porcelain flesh animation of the human characters is not ideal, but the rest of the film is full of exquisite detail and various styles of animation that really make this a visual treat.
However, the plot leaves much to be desired. Perhaps some dialog and song lyrics fall short in translation. But this is not really the main issue. The real problem here is the lack of a proper story arc and character development. Except for Jack, and maybe his adoptive mother, characters are completely flat. They have no dimension, no motive, no real driving force. Sure, there is plenty of brooding mood and dark clouds and Gothic humor (of sorts), but these cannot substitute for story elements and development. At any given point in the "story," one is never sure why any character does what they do, really. Why is the bad guy, Joe, so against Jack to begin with? Sure, OK, he is a bully. And Jack hurts him. And he seeks revenge? How? A duel of wits? What? And why does the love interest leave with Joe? I know, she is upset that Jack didn't tell her that his heart will give out if he falls in love, oh, but wait, he did, and well, she kind of knew that, so what is exactly is the problem? And even if she is upset at Jack, there is NO reason she would leave, like leave leave with Joe... No reason. She seems completely indifferent to Joe.
In the end, the only truly impressive parts of the film are the dream sequences, where there is no real plot anyway. These excel and give a glimpse of the true potential of the film, and perhaps the vision of the creator.
On top of the lack of story arc that makes any sense and the lack of character development, the characters break into song rather randomly. Here, the awkward lyric translations really made us raise eye brows and look at each other quizzically.
In the end, we liked the dream sequences and the misfit family (+ the cat!) from Jack's childhood. I still would recommend the film for animation fans just for the visuals and the whimsical circus stuff, but do not expect anything deeper than a 12-year-old boy's fantasy of a love affair.
ps. Is she really supposed to be a flamenco dancer? Uhm, maybe check out some real flamenco, or not call her that. One or the other, because really, otherwise, it is an insult to flamenco and flamenco dancers to call her a flamenco dancer.
However, the plot leaves much to be desired. Perhaps some dialog and song lyrics fall short in translation. But this is not really the main issue. The real problem here is the lack of a proper story arc and character development. Except for Jack, and maybe his adoptive mother, characters are completely flat. They have no dimension, no motive, no real driving force. Sure, there is plenty of brooding mood and dark clouds and Gothic humor (of sorts), but these cannot substitute for story elements and development. At any given point in the "story," one is never sure why any character does what they do, really. Why is the bad guy, Joe, so against Jack to begin with? Sure, OK, he is a bully. And Jack hurts him. And he seeks revenge? How? A duel of wits? What? And why does the love interest leave with Joe? I know, she is upset that Jack didn't tell her that his heart will give out if he falls in love, oh, but wait, he did, and well, she kind of knew that, so what is exactly is the problem? And even if she is upset at Jack, there is NO reason she would leave, like leave leave with Joe... No reason. She seems completely indifferent to Joe.
In the end, the only truly impressive parts of the film are the dream sequences, where there is no real plot anyway. These excel and give a glimpse of the true potential of the film, and perhaps the vision of the creator.
On top of the lack of story arc that makes any sense and the lack of character development, the characters break into song rather randomly. Here, the awkward lyric translations really made us raise eye brows and look at each other quizzically.
In the end, we liked the dream sequences and the misfit family (+ the cat!) from Jack's childhood. I still would recommend the film for animation fans just for the visuals and the whimsical circus stuff, but do not expect anything deeper than a 12-year-old boy's fantasy of a love affair.
ps. Is she really supposed to be a flamenco dancer? Uhm, maybe check out some real flamenco, or not call her that. One or the other, because really, otherwise, it is an insult to flamenco and flamenco dancers to call her a flamenco dancer.