Coming Of Age Archives | Otaku No Culture

Marcel the Shell, Only The Lonely

Marcel the Shell is a sweet coming of age story about how to enjoy life at its fullest, any way the wind blows.

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

Coming to theatres beginning July 15, 2022

Marcel the Shell is lonely, and as for where his family went, nobody knows. They were taken away when the last human occupants of their home parted ways. It was by accident, and he doesn’t hold ill will, but not even Dean, his new human friend, can help. When this man discovers this strange Fraggle Rock world after he moves in that abode, his reaction is to be kind and film his life as he takes each day as it comes.

Jenny Slate is marvellous as the voice of this chitin. I found her voice brings a sense of wonder and innocence not too different from how other children go wow when discovering the world.

As for whether a slug exists inside the shell, I’m fairly sure there’s nothing. He’s as alive as those black soots from My Neighbour Totoro and I liken him to a fairy. Plus, I’m willing to say that this stop-motion and live action film by Dean Fleischer-Camp (who also co-stars) owes a small debt to this Studio Ghibli film. He found a home that’s very rustic.

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Riki the Rhino Aims to Tease with its Conservational Message

Ultimately, Riki the Rhino is about how he can learn to hold his head up high with or without his signature snout.

Uncork’d Entertainment
Available on Google Play Beginning July 5th, 2022

Riki the Rhino can easily get missed when parents are looking for wholesome animated films for their kids to watch. Thankfully, this film can be streamed too, as it’s uncertain if every big box store will carry the home video release.

This work not only teaches the value of friendship in the same vein as Disney’s The Lion King, but also animal conservation. In order to deal with the latter in a non-violent way, the fights are no less threatening than what one sees at Spanish bullfighting.

It won’t win huge awards because CGI is less than stellar. The production and pixel art is similiar to the effort put behind A Turtle’s Tale, and that’s only because in other countries (Indonesia, in this instance), the production houses don’t have the computer render farms PIXAR has. However, in terms of its narrative, every word and action counts here.

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Belle. You Can’t Fight This Feeling Anymore…

At this film’s core is the music that’s just as inspiring as an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical.

GKIDS
Jan 14, 2022 (North America)
Feb 4 (United Kingdom)
MIld Spoiler Alert

Mamoru Hosoda’s Belle is a triumph on many levels. Not only is the animation astounding because it had assistance with Cartoon Saloon (with Studio Chizu producing), but also it goes beyond being a simple fairy tale. There’s a message of hope in this tale about Suzu Naito (Kaho Nakamura), a young teen who lost all sense of feeling. As a child who saw her mom die, it’s easy to understand why. Nobody else was willing to help a random kid stuck in the middle of a raging river but this courageous woman did.

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Trying to Figure Out Life’s Little Problems in Definition Please

L.A. Asian Pacifc Film Festival
Regal L.A. LIVE:
A Barco Innovation Center
Sept 25, 2021
4:00 pm

Sujata Day’s debut movie Definition Please offers a Bollywood-style charm about Monica Chowdry (played by Day) dealing with life many years after winning the spelling bee as a child. Her friends and family are proud. They assumed big things would be in store for her later in life. None of that fame stood the test of time and it seems she’s transfixed with living in the comfort of what is familiar instead of taking on new challenges.

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[Fantasia 2021] Are You Lonesome Tonight? All the Moons, A Movie Review

If there’s ever a vampire movie to breathe new life to a subgenre that’s struggling to bring fresh ideas to the fore, I’d have to say All the Moons is it!

Playing at Cinéma Impérial
Aug 19th, 2021
Montreal, Quebec

Available Aug 21, 2021
to Stream On Demand
Tickets can be purchased here

Spoiler Warning

If there’s ever a vampire movie to breathe new life to a subgenre that’s struggling to bring fresh ideas to the fore, I’d have to say All the Moons is it. Not only do we have a charm in the style of an early del Toro film (Pan’s Labyrinth) but also it takes an idea from Anne Rice’s Interview with a Vampire. The latter goes in a completely different direction with it; we see Claudia’s story unfold too quickly and for this film, it has to be told in 100 mins. The tale that’s presented here is a game changer, as it never once identifies the vampire as pop culture defines it.

The girl we meet here (skillfully played by Haizea Carneros) doesn’t even know what this undead bloodsucker is. She’s rescued. Much of the movie plays out like a dream as she tries to understand her condition.

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[Fantasia 2021] Is It Just Rock n’ Roll in Hellbender?

The world that’s constructed is fascinating as it may be drawn from hedge witch traditions.

Encore Performance Aug 16th
Coming Soon to Shudder Network

The best part of Hellbender are the punk rock performances which acts like intermissions this film’s story beats. This mother-daughter grassroots act is fantastic (we need a soundtrack release) and one detail I’m fairly certain this film is making is in how the matriarch is slowly controlling how her teen can express herself. From changes in makeup to full on goth (complete with a prerequisite black crown stolen from Mordor), Izzy (Zelda Adams) seems comfortable. When the outback of the New England world is her playground and there’s a babbling brook and a tiny waterfall in their private property, I’m jealous.

It’s civilization that this teen is told to afraid of. Her mother (Toby Poser) and grandmother experienced it, if the introduction is any indication, and they hate it.

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