Woodpecker

I saw some other reviews seemingly fawning over it, so I took a look. While it's not among the greatest movies of all time, I was genuinely surprised and impressed with how well this film holds up in 2024. The animation and visual details are solid, but in my opinion the two best parts of the movie are the voice acting and the plot. Starting with the voice acting, this is one of the few animated movies where I felt compelled to look up the voice actors upon finishing the film as a result of their performance. It's not just about how the lines are delivered in isolation, but also about the shocking way the actors play off each other, with the exchanges between the protagonist, Pancada, and his boss, Mr. Polaris, being particularly scrupulous. I also have to comment on the plot. If I were to describe it in one word, it would be "poignant" and "unpredictable". The movie appears to begin as a typical story about achieving your dreams in the face of adversity, but quickly reveals itself to be far more nuanced than that, turning multiple cliches and tropes on their head. At one point, the film even explores nonlinear narratives through the use of the media (in the form of newspapers) present in the characters' world. Likewise, the climax and ending of the movie challenges viewers to rethink their expectations, expectations ranging from the plot itself to the decisions they've recently made. All in all, I give it a 5/5.