INTO THE WONDERWOODS
Starring: Dario Hardouin-Spurio, José Garcia, Prune Bozo, Yolande Moreau, and Philippe Katerine
Directors: Alexis Ducord and Vincent Paronnaud
QUENTIN
Truth be told, I don’t watch a ton of animated movies. It’s not that I don’t enjoy them, per se, but so many of them are unabashed toy commercials aimed at children. There is no real weight behind the storytelling, and it’s hard to tell which ones are worth my time. Enter Into the Wonderwoods, a charming and delightful spin on Alice in Wonderland that features beautiful and varied animation, as well as a surprisingly emotive score. I admit it’s a small sample size, but it’s one of the better animated movies not named Spider-Verse that I’ve seen in a while.
AMARÚ
Into the Wonderwoods is an ultimate trek into your inner child, using multiple animation styles to wander through the vast imagination of our adventurous protagonist Angelo (Dario Hardouin-Spurio). Its myriad of quirky characters and locales feels like Terry Gilliam made a kids version of The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Many of its weird bits are just the right amount of offbeat, while others are too unorthodox or trippy to be interesting (particularly a pedestrian villain slapped amongst much more fascinating characters), but following our young hero through his wondrous journey provides enough heart to care how this tale ends.
PAIGE
Into the Wonderwoods is a straightforward, yet endearing movie that unexpectedly moved me. Despite a few superfluous subplots that take away from the primary theme, the general storyline of the film is powerful enough to leave an impression on its viewers and serve as a reminder of the importance of how imagination can help one deal with life's challenges. In addition, the use of alternating 2D and 3D animation styles to depict our protagonist Angelo's (Dario Hardouin-Spurio) journey between his fantasies and the real world really impressed me. All in all, the heart of this French film is in the right place.
This film was reviewed by Quentin as part of Bitesize Breakdown's coverage of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.