In Into The Wonderwoods, a 10-year-old Angelo dreams of becoming an explorer and a zoologist. When he hits the road with his family to visit his beloved granny, his distracted parents leave him behind at a rest stop. Left to his own devices, Angelo decides to cut through the forest in search of his family. He enters a dark and mysterious world inhabited by strange creatures, some friendlier than others…Into The Wonderwoods by acclaimed filmmakersVincent Paronnaud and Alexis Ducord will come to major digital platforms on June 24.
Evaluation comments:
“Into The Wonderwoods is an eclectic, fanciful animated film that tells the tale of 10-year-old Angelo, a middle child with a vivid imagination who finds himself needing to find real courage in a mysterious world. Created by two award-winning French filmmakers, Vincent Paronnaud and Alexis Ducord, Into The Wonderwoods opens with Angelo imagining himself as the star of a movie, The Adventures of Angelo the Adventurer. When his grandmother becomes seriously ill, he goes with his family to see him, but Angelo (in true middle child fashion) accidentally is left behind at a rest stop. The intrepid Angelo sets out to get to his beloved grandmother’s house; however, he first winds up in an unusual, magical world – the Wonderwoods.”
“Once Angelo enters the Wonderwoods, he finds himself in the strange land populated with odd characters, and encountering more adventures than he could have dreamed up for his imaginary movie. Coming to offer him help – to varying degrees of success – are a friendly bird who is really a cross-dressing squirrel, an enormous, mysterious lawn creature (something like a grass-covered Iron Giant), and an elfin blue girl sprite. They all find themselves in conflict with an evil mastermind, Ultra, who is determined to destroy the Wonderwoods in a quest for power.”
“The filmmakers propel the movie along by stitching together a crazy quilt of cinematic styles (sci-fi, action-adventure, satire, environmental warning, and a lost child tale, to name a few) that keeps the action flowing and the humor ever-present. There is an appealing free-wheeling quality to the storytelling, with musical sequences popping up every now-and-then and a couple very nice flashback sequences done in a retro cartoon style. All of the characters are very memorably imagined, and the vocal actors give their characters distinctive identities.”
“The plotting isn’t conceived for strict narrative logic. The family, for example, doesn’t actually realize that Angelo is ever missing. This results, however, in one of the film’s comic highlights: the series of hilarious exchanges between Angelo’s dad and the car’s chatty AI Driving Direction Assistant, who undergoes an existential crisis. Also, while there are a few potentially scary moments, Into The Wonderwoods ends in an upbeat fashion (without giving away too much of the ending, Angelo and his family do have a happy reunion with his grandmother).”
“Regarding parental advisories, however, there are a couple to note. Early in the film, during the family car ride, Angelo’s dad shouts a curse word that Angelo is tricked into repeating. And it seems weird that another word wasn’t dubbed in. Late in the movie, Angelo gives Ultra an arm (not finger) gesture (the French call the “bras d’honneur”) that parents might not appreciate their child imitating.”
“Overall, Into The Wonderwoods stands as a wildly entertaining movie that delivers an impressive mix of action sequences, comical escapades, heartfelt moments, and even a few references for adults to catch.”