Call it a mini-Monsters, Inc., Louise Johnson's animated A Monster's Calling finds a shape-shifting monster playing on the fears of three sleeping siblings: taking an "under-the-bed" approach with the youngest girl, adopting a menacing dinosaur look with her older brother, and trying numerous scare tactics with the teenage sister--none of which appear to even faze the WWIII-proof slumbers of adolescent R.E.M. sleep. Stymied, the monster eventually picks up a popular magazine and begins idly flipping through it, until he comes to a turned-down page that gives him an idea. While it's questionable whether a breast joke--especially one related to female tween and teen self-image--would have the desired effect on the "all ages" referred to on the video jacket, this nicely drawn, broadly humorous look at the negative ways in which we are governed by our fears and anxieties is recommended, overall. Aud: J, H, C, P. (R. Pitman)
A Monster's Calling
(2001) 6 min. $129. National Film Board of Canada. PPR. Color cover. Volume 17, Issue 3
A Monster's Calling
Star Ratings
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