Poupelle of Chimney Town

I have mixed feelings about this movie. Some things in it were good, others not so great. First of all, the animation is really unique. The character models are largely done in CGI which sadly leaves a lot to be desired. The movement is choppy at times, it sometimes looks a bit artificial and there are moments (like the opening Halloween dance) where I just couldn’t believe what I was watching, and I generally didn’t like it very much. Fortunately, most of the backgrounds are classic 2D animation, so I quite enjoyed the setting of Chimney Town, which had an interesting vibe and a certain charm. The characters themselves weren't exactly likable. They felt like some weird 3D version of Rugrats most of the time. The cinematography doesn’t help much either, although it's clear that the cinematographer likes to experiment, offering shots from unexpected angles such as characters’ POVs or a scene as if straight out of a platformer. It often looks weird rather than interesting, though, and it’s disrupting the flow of the viewing experience. What was great was the music, which was powerful and did a good job of illustrating what was happening on screen. I also have mixed feelings about the overall story. On the one hand, it’s full of all kinds of clichés, and so many of the big surprises (like who Poupelle really is) are revealed too soon. On the other hand, there are some pretty powerful and emotional moments that work for the viewer. Overall, it was quite an unusual show. I feel like the creators wanted to experiment a lot in terms of expressive devices, but stuck to the tried and tested formulas story-wise, which they managed to handle quite well. 5.5/10 (04/10/2022)