Life, Animated
Seen it?2016 | 91 min | Documentary
Friday Night Flickearly ratingWhy it’s a Friday Night Flick
Critics loved it (94% on Rotten Tomatoes) and it drew serious awards attention. Make plans for this one.
Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.Is it for you?
- Who'll love it
- Made for the curious. Critics rate it higher than audiences do, so it rewards patience more than it chases thrills.
- The mood
- Eye-opening.
- The pace
- Moves along nicely, at 1 hr 31 min.
- What might put you off
- Rated PG. Worth a look first if you have very young kids.
- Audiences were cooler on it than critics.
At three years old, a chatty, energetic little boy named Owen Suskind ceased to speak, disappearing into autism with apparently no way out. Almost four years passed and the only stimuli that engaged Owen were Disney films. Then one day, his father donned a puppet—Iago, the wisecracking parrot from Aladdin—and asked “what’s it like to be you?” And poof! Owen replied, with dialogue from the movie. Life, Animated tells the remarkable story of how Owen found in Disney animation a pathway to language and a framework for making sense of the world.
How it earned its rating
- CriticsVery strong
94% on Rotten Tomatoes, 75 on Metacritic
- AudiencesSolid
7.4 out of 10
- AwardsStrong
Won 1 Critics' Choice Award: Critics' Choice Documentary Awards: Outstanding Achievement in Graphic Design or Animation. Won 1 DGA Award: Directors Guild of America Awards: Best International Documentary. Also nominated for 1 Oscar, 2 more Critics' Choice Awards and 1 more DGA Award. Plus 10 other awards.
- Reach & staying powerWeak
Streaming release that reached a small audience so far; interest faded quickly after launch
- Buzz & cultural impactWeak
About 11K people sought it out in the past year
Trailer
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Cast & crew
Directed by Roger Ross Williams
- Owen SuskindHimself
- Ron SuskindHimself
- Jonathan FreemanHimself
- Gilbert GottfriedHimself