Life, Animated
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Life, Animated'' is a 2016 American
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...
by director Roger Ross Williams. It is co-produced by Williams with Julie Goldman, Carolyn Hepburn and Christopher Clements. ''Life, Animated'' is based on journalist
Ron Suskind Ronald Steven Suskind (born November 20, 1959) is an American journalist, author, and filmmaker. He was the senior national affairs writer for ''The Wall Street Journal'' from 1993 to 2000, where he won the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writi ...
's 2014 book ''Life, Animated: A Story of Sidekicks, Heroes, and Autism'', which tells the story of his son, Owen Suskind, who struggles with
autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...
and learned how to communicate with the outside world through his love of Disney animated films. Upon its release, the film received generally positive reviews from critics and won numerous awards including the
Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...
award for Best Direction and the Special Achievement
Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in American cinema and television. Origina ...
. It was also nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film The Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film is an award for documentary films. In 1941, the first awards for feature-length documentaries were bestowed as Special Awards to '' Kukan'' and '' Target for Tonight''. They have since been bes ...
category at the
89th Academy Awards The 89th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best 2016 in film, films of 2016, and took place on February 26, 2017, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Californ ...
, but lost to '' O.J.: Made in America''.


Synopsis

Owen Suskind was diagnosed with autism at the age of 3. As Owen withdrew into his silent state, his parents almost lost hope that he would find some way to meaningfully interact with his world. That way was found through animated films, especially ones by
Walt Disney Animation Studios Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that produces animated feature films and short films for the Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a s ...
, which provided Owen a way to understand the world through its stories to the point of creating his own. This film covers the life of Owen and how he communicates with the help of Disney and his family. However, Owen soon learns as well that there is more to real life, such as relationships and breakups, than what Disney can illustrate in animation even as his family prepares itself for an uncertain future with him.


Cast

* Jonathan Freeman as the voice of Jafar *
Gilbert Gottfried Gilbert Jeremy Gottfried (February 28, 1955 – April 12, 2022) was an American stand-up comedian and actor, best-known for his exaggerated shrill voice, strong New York dialect, his squint, and his edgy, often-controversial, sense of humor. Hi ...
as the voice of Iago * Alan Rosenblatt * Owen Suskind as himself *
Ron Suskind Ronald Steven Suskind (born November 20, 1959) is an American journalist, author, and filmmaker. He was the senior national affairs writer for ''The Wall Street Journal'' from 1993 to 2000, where he won the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writi ...
as himself


Production

The animation is done by Mac Guff (not to be confused with Illumination Mac Guff, now known as Illumination Studios Paris, an animation studio founded by Mac Guff but later purchased by Illumination Entertainment and produced films such as '' Despicable Me'' and '' The Lorax)''. To secure the rights for the clips and characters used in the film, Williams showed the unfinished product to the heads of department put together by Disney Productions president Sean Bailey. Williams referred to it as "the day I made the lawyers cry" after the end of the presentation. The films selected for the film were "100% Suskind".


Reception

The review aggregation website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
reported a 94% approval rating based on 116 reviews, with an average rating of 7.71/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "''Life, Animated'' offers a heartwarming look at one family's journey, and a fascinating message that's more than enough to outweigh its unanswered questions." On
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, the film holds a score of 75 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
''s critic Lanre Bakare praised the film and said, "It's a beguiling mix of animated storytelling and narration that doesn't flinch from exploring the emotional highs and lows that accompany a life with autism."
Kenneth Turan Kenneth Turan (; born October 27, 1946) is an American retired film critic, author, and lecturer in the Master of Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California. He was a film critic for the ''Los Angeles Times'' from 1991 ...
of ''
LA Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper in the U.S. and the large ...
'' lauded the film and said, " illiamsspent two years on this project, and the trust everyone involved placed in him allowed for an emotional honesty that is ''Life, Animated''s greatest strength." Writing for '' Variety'', Justin Chang wrote, "This latest film from Roger Ross Williams ('' God Loves Uganda'') teems with insights into how children's fantasy can and can't bridge a developmental gap, but works on an even more basic, emotional level as a warm testament to a family's love and resilience." ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
''s Duane Byrge called it "a documentary gem." Ann Hornaday of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' positively reviewed the series and said, "''Life, Animated'' makes fascinating points, about the power of cinema, about meeting our loved ones where they are and, as Ron says, about who gets to decide what constitutes a meaningful life" ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
''s chief film critic
Peter Travers Peter Joseph Travers (born June 27, 1943) is an American film critic, journalist, and television presenter. He reviews films for ABC News and previously served as a movie critic for ''People'' and ''Rolling Stone''. Travers also hosts the film i ...
said, "In no way does Owen's story claim to be a cure-all. Instead of false hope, it offers up possibility, the chance of a stimulus that might get past the blocks of developmental disorder. That's more than encouraging. ''Life, Animated'' is truly inspirational." Writing for ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'', Noel Murray said, "On the list of Disney-related 2016 releases about child-rearing and handicaps, this one goes just above ''
Finding Dory ''Finding Dory'' is a 2016 American animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Andrew Stanton, co-directed by Angus MacLane, produced by Lindsey Collins, and written b ...
''. What it lacks in wacky hijinks, it makes up in hard truths." Reviewing for '' RogerEbert.com'', film critic Sheila O'Malley wrote, "Powerful and emotional, without being manipulative. It is deeply inspiring, without trying to be. It is honest about Owen's struggles, and the struggles of his family." ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
''s Joe McGovern also lauded the series, saying, "The Suskinds' humongous hearts are obviously in the right place and their openness is to be admired and encouraged - even if a book, more than a movie, remains the better venue to fairly and honestly tell Owen's extraordinary story." Some publications however were more critical towards the film. In a lukewarm review of ''
Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...
'' David Parkinson wrote, "A touch twee at times, but the use of classic and original animation is admirable, while Owen emerges as the king of sidekicks." Film critic Anthony Lane of ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'' said, "Owen has made immense progress, to which ''Life, Animated'' is a stirring tribute, yet it leaves a trail of questions unanswered or unasked." ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''s Jeannette Catsoulis quipped, "Belaboring the cartoon connection, the director leaves the family struggles that enrich Mr. Suskind's 2014 book of the same title stubbornly veiled." In a less enthusiastic review for ''
Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...
'' Clayton Dillard stated, "It never addresses Disney's wholly manufactured stranglehold on turning adolescent desire into a consumerist impulse."


''Land of the Lost Sidekicks''

An exclusive short, based on Owen's
fan fiction Fan fiction or fanfiction, also known as fan fic, fanfic, fic or FF, is fiction typically written in an amateur capacity by fans as a form of fan labor, unauthorized by, but based on, an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted ...
featuring a younger version of himself and his favorite Disney sidekicks battling against the evil Fuzzbutch, was released on The Wrap in 2016. Sidekicks used in the film: * Baloo from ''
The Jungle Book ''The Jungle Book'' is an 1894 collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, who ...
'' (1967) * Timon and Rafiki from ''
The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...
'' (1994) * Iago and Abu from ''
Aladdin Aladdin ( ; , , ATU 561, 'Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with '' One Thousand and One Nights'' (often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of the original ...
'' (1992) * Lucky Jack from '' Home on the Range'' (2004) * Sebastian from ''
The Little Mermaid "The Little Mermaid" (), sometimes translated in English as "The Little Sea Maid", is a fairy tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. Originally published in 1837 as part of a collection of fairy tales for children, the story foll ...
'' (1989)


Accolades


References


External links


''Life, Animated''
on A&E * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Life Animated 2010s American films 2010s English-language films 2016 documentary films 2016 films American animated documentary films American documentary films American films with live action and animation Animation fandom Autism in the arts Disney documentary films Disney fandom Documentary films about animation Documentary films about autism Documentary films about children Documentary films about fandom Documentary films about Jews and Judaism Films based on non-fiction books The Orchard (company) films Sundance Film Festival award–winning films Annie Award–winning films Films directed by Roger Ross Williams Non-fiction books adapted into films English-language documentary films 2016 independent films American independent films