Where to find it: Netflix
Length: Two hours
Synopsis: He made another antifascist fairy tale
Recommendation rating: 3/5
What I like about it: visually stunning, some clever scenes
What I don’t like about it: generally miserable, target-audience confusion, tonal whiplash, songs
Review:
This career-defining passion project for del Toro is definitely a well-crafted stop-motion animation but is alienatingly hard to connect with. Certain scenes seem very unsuitable for children, while others – especially a “poop and fart” song – seem entirely unsuitable for adults. Like all his works, it’s a beautiful masterpiece that I had no fun with and am in no rush to watch again.
Content notes (may contain spoilers): violence, war, grief, peril