Search This Blog

Thursday, December 21, 2017

Phantom Boy (2015)

I really liked this movie, and it was a nice window into two things.  One is that since this this film was not even in the final five for an Academy Award, that there really are quite a lot of quality animated films being made.  The second is that there are some very serious topics being addressed in the cartoon world.
Leo, a boy with cancer, is able to float outside of his own body at night, swooping through the skies over the glamorous lit-up city of Manhattan. At a certain point, his phantom self starts to lose its density and needs to go back into the body, still lying in his sick bed. But at least he has those escapes, that feeling of freedom and perspective.
Leo is in the hospital, where he meets Alex, a cop with talent and the ability to ruffle feathers.  He has been injured by The Man with the Broken Face.  This dangerous villain is out to cripple Manhattan unless his demands are met.  Alex has no difficulty using Leo's ability to leave his body and float around the city, giving Alex and his reporter friend all the details they need to save the city.  It is kind of corny, kind of funny, and kind of serious, as Leo's parents grapple with their very ill child.  Very well done.

No comments:

Post a Comment