by Jake Bourgeois, Contributing Writer
I’ve always had a soft spot for animation. More years than not, at least a couple of animated features find their way onto my top 10 list. So, I’m setting out to shine a light on some films that may have passed you by. The idea with Animation Celebration is to take a look at some underseen gems — so no Toy Story or Frozen here.
Let’s get started.
This month, with no real preconceived ideas for the column, I felt like going in a fantastical direction and went on the hunt.
I stumbled upon a European flick that I’d never heard of which seems to have a decent enough reputation: Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart. It’s based on the novel written by Mathias Malzieu, who not only wrote the book, but the screenplay as well, and co-directed the film with Stéphane Berla. As unique as the title is, it sets our scene fairly clearly. We follow our protagonist, born on the coldest day of the year. His life is saved by a midwife who replaces his heart with a clock. As he grows up under the care of the midwife, his heart comes with three rules.
- Never touch the hands of the clock.
- Keep your emotions under control.
- Never fall in love.
It immediately caught my attention as being a little different than most of the other European indie films I’ve covered here. While most have a very artistic feel — like something straight out of an art museum — this one feels like something more likely to be produced by Tim Burton or one of his acolytes with its 3D style, but no less artistic as a work. It’s the first, and only, feature film produced by Duran Studios, which was bankrupted before the film was actually released.
Given its limited filmography, I was surprised at the company’s history of visual effect pioneering. That really stands out in the animation. Even being a decade old at this point, there are some quite impressive moments of animation. What really stands out are the eyes; their shine and life really draw your attention to the characters — particularly in an opening scene with tears. Aside from that, there are some really inventive sequences, including an opening tracking shot, a song where people are made into mechanical beings, a stop-motion film set, shadows coming to life, and perspective shifts. It’s an animated film that, though it certainly has an overall feel, changes things up within vignettes quite frequently, always giving you something new to appreciate.
Story-wise, it’s pretty vanilla. The story is one that’s formed the basis of fairytales the world over — a young hero looking to discover the world after being largely sequestered in their guardian under the guise of safety — it’s freshened up by the unique cyberpunk spin. He’s not the only one with some special enhancements; everything really creates quite the creepy vibe and has a couple pretty dark moments for a PG-rated animated film. I mean, it’s a “family” movie that has Jack the Ripper as a literal character, though he’s not the only famous cameo in the film.
The film is also a musical (not surprising given that the lead creative heads a rock group), and the music has both pros and cons. When it came to the actual singing, the songs themselves didn’t do a whole ton for me. The instrumental aspect, though, I adored. I thought the score works perfectly with the chilling atmosphere that the film attempts to create. The band Dionysos (helmed by Malzieu) is responsible for both.
As far as an underseen film goes, it’s quite easy to find at the moment, as it’s making the rounds on the free streaming services, which has positives and negatives. On the positive side, it’s available to watch quite easily, if you don’t mind a few advertisements. However, it does come with a catch. There’s only one version I could find, and it was the English language version, not the French. I obviously would have preferred to watch it in its original language, but I suppose it’s slightly less noticeable for animated works than live action, if still a bit disappointing.
As a whole, the experience for me was a little uneven, but there’s a creative charm that I can’t help but admire. As a work of animation, it’s unique and worth giving a try.
I’m excited to continue to geek out on some great animated work you may not have had a chance to catch. Next month, Foster will be taking over with another underrated animated film.
You can read more from Jake Bourgeois, and follow him on Twitter and Letterboxd