Belated Halloween Special: Film Review - Nocturna

There is a lot of lamentation, among animation fans and filmmakers, about the disappearance of 2D animated films from mainstream theaters. I am among those who mourn. Not that there is anything wrong with 3D animation of course (It would be intrinsically hypocritical of me to say so) However, I’ve always held the highest regard for 2D animation. There is just a certain artistry to hand-drawn stuff that is hard to replicate with 3D techniques. Movement, color, shape, and volume; pull it all off correctly and you can have something really beautiful, a moving painting, a living illustration; where realism is readily traded for the utterly surreal.

You’ve probably never heard of Nocturna. Indeed, I wouldn’t have unless I was in the right place at the right time. It was produced in Spain, but the work done on it is the cumulative effort of many animation studios spanning several countries on both sides of the Atlantic. The list of financiers and production houses that have backed the film and helped bring it to life is very long. It takes almost a full minute to get through all their logos at the beginning of the film. And for their sake, I thank each and every one of them for their efforts. Nocturna is the end result of an extraordinary international effort to produce a feature length 2D animated film in a climate that has mostly discarded the medium (for the time being) to short films and television. And for what it’s worth, the film succeeds wonderfully.

Our protagonist is Tim; a nice name, very easy to remember. Tim lives in an Orphanage (I assume) where there’s no mom and dad to find comfort in. Which is quite unfortunate for Tim because he certainly needs a great deal of comforting. Tim is friendless, unhappy, and a bit of a coward. He has a very deep-set fear of the dark. But in the world that Tim lives in, there is no such thing a nightlight. So Tim finds comfort in the stars, in particular one star that he calls Adhara which he has taken as his own. Every night, he manages to open a window that peeks out onto his star, allowing him to fall asleep in it’s comforting light. But then, after one particular bad day, his star suddenly disappears.

Enter the world of Nocturna, a land that only exists during the twilight hours when children should be sleeping peacefully in their beds. The inhabitants of this land are responsible for everything that’s supposed to happen while you sleep; from bed heads to chirping crickets and even to bed-wetting. Of special importance is the Cat Shepard, the creature responsible for all the cats that prowl the rooftops of the city at night, who are thus each responsible for enticing children to go to sleep with their mews. The Cat Shepard is the first creature of Nocturna that Tim meets, and is the first creature that Tim tries to tell about his star plight. And although the somewhat agitated Cat Shepard is reluctant, Tim manages to convince him to take him to Nocturna headquarters so he can find out what has happened to his star…and several more which have disappeared in the meantime.

The story is simple, straightforward, but poignant; depending greatly on traditional character development, specifically the relationship between the Cat Shepard, who only seems to be friends with cats, and Tim, the loser who just doesn’t have any friends. The growth of their relationship takes center stage, even above the two’s ultimate goal; to find out why the stars are disappearing. Trust is made and broken; loyalty is tested and displayed. And in the end, Tim grows. He matures. And he’s able to sleep without snuggling against the motherly embrace of the stars. It’s a completely enjoyable growth: Tim is a cute little scamp, so there’s no way we’re going to be cheering against him. And the Cat Shepard-–despite being a little stubborn at first–is as loveable as a teddy bear. We want them to grow close and make that bond that they both seem to be missing. And that’s exactly what they do.

But perhaps the most enjoyable part of the film is watching all of the inventive ways that the filmmakers came up with to explain just how the nightlife works. Letter carriers arrive to tell you your dreams in your sleep, style obsessed robots give each kid a unique bed-head hairdo, a full orchestrated ensemble makes all those creepy creaks and groans that your house makes in a strong breeze, flying creatures drunk on water go about dispensing dew on everything in sight. These sequences are funny and delightful and seem like they could have been taken from any classic children’s book. They keep us interested–even more so-–they keep us fascinated with the world that we are in.

I don’t think I have to say much more about the art-direction and animation then that it is completely fantastic. Just look at the screenshots; the character designs are unique and interesting. And the backgrounds are enthralling and complex. And when everything’s moving, it becomes especially exciting. Watching this movie will take you back to Disney’s hey-day when it was the forefront of 2D animation. I do not wonder why there are so many financers to this project; such clean, well-done animation would be very expensive. And when you’re not Disney or Dreamworks, money can be a little hard to come by. I just hope that a company in the US picks up the film so I’m able to buy it.

Nocturna is a beautifully animated piece of fiction, brimming with fantasy, adventure and heart; it delves into our childhood fears of what (literally) goes bump in the night and dispels them with imagination and creativity. And in a world which stills seems to be getting over the novelty of 3D animation, it’s refreshing to see at least someone sticking to tradition.

Check this film out…if you can. Unfortunately, this movie hasn’t been released stateside. You can import it, but it’s expensive and the DVDs only come in the European PAL format. This is one of the only times that I directly recommend you see this movie by any means possible.