Boy & the World

A deceptively simple drawing style is employed by Brazilian filmmaker Alê Abreu to deliver a stinging condemnation of economic exploitation in this essentially wordless Oscar nominee for Best Animated Feature. Boy & the World portrays the impact of industrialization on rural areas and traditional lifestyles from the viewpoint of a young boy who is drawn in stick-figure form with accentuated eyes and rosy cheeks. The lad lives in a hut at the edge of an idyllic forest where he gambols about while doting on his flute-playing father. When financial need forces the dad to hop a nearby train to search for employment elsewhere, the boy follows him—first to a camp for migrant farm workers and then to the city, where goose-stepping troops and tanks fill the streets and workers toil in textile mills that are run by black-suited money men. Things change when the boy is accidentally carried off to the abodes of the wealthy—elegant palaces that literally float in the air. Abreu's message about the dangers of uncontrolled capitalism and globalization is obvious (made more so by a live-action montage of factory laborers), but it feels less heavy-handed when seen through the eyes of a child, and the animation–by turns impressionistic, kaleidoscopic, vibrantly colorful, and darkly noir-ish—makes for a visually dazzling experience. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a “making-of” featurette (26 min.), a music video for “Aos Olhos De Uma Criança” by Emicida, and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are bonus DVD, digital, and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a decent extras package for this Oscar-nominated film.] (F. Swietek)