Having recently seen “The Triplets of Belleville,” which was nominated for Best Animated Feature in 2004, but lost to “Finding Nemo,” I was very much looking forward to seeing Sylvian Chomet’s second animated film, “The Illustionist.”
Both the “The Triplets of Belleville” and “The Illustionist” are hand animated, and very reminiscent of 1960’s Disney films, the stories however, are much more complicated and adult. Also, both movies are completely void of spoken word, which presents a challenge for the animators who must keep the viewers engaged.
“The Illusionist” is a story of a magician in Paris and Edinburgh during the late 1950’s struggling to find work in an era where television and rock bands are starting to take hold. As a traveling artist he happens upon a young girl who believes his act is real, true magic. She moves with him to Edinburgh where they develop a father-daughter relationship. Just as a father would want to make their daughter happy, the magician conjures up shoes, dresses, coats, which the girl believes to be magic. Sadly, for the magician he must take on odd jobs to support the girl’s increasingly expensive tastes. As the girl remains naïve, the characters that the two are friends with, and the magician himself, must deal with the harsh realities of life.
This movie was beautiful, nuanced, and quite sad. Though this isn’t the most eloquent analysis of a film, it’s the best way to describe it. I really enjoyed it and think it’s a shame it will lose out to “Toy Story 3,” which is just as deserving of Best Picture as “The King’s Speech” or “Social Network.”
