Flow (2024)

After the memorably disappointing Moana 2, it seemed like the end of the line for animated films in 2024. While the leader of the pack was clearly The Wild Robot, there was not much else apart from the admirable Inside Out 2 and the humorously bizarre Memoirs of a Snail (it may be hard for me to listen to John Denver for some time now.) 

Then, as can only be described as a tsunami, entered Flow.

You could and should be easily forgiven for not knowing much (if anything) about this movie (I myself have only seen one trailer for it). The film comes from Latvia, from director Gints Zibalodis. The film centers on a nameless black cat, who encounters a flood of its home. Along the way, it meets various other types of animals (a dog, a capybara, and a lemur, to name a few) that will either help or hinder the overall goal of survival.

You may have noticed I did not link any actors/actresses to any of the aforementioned animals. That is because Zibalodis (who wrote the script as well as the music) uses real animals for their screen counterparts (minus the capybara, who has its sounds portrayed by a baby camel). Simply put, this is a film without any dialogue. 

Yet that does not mean the film is without the characters having communication. There was a fair amount of kids in the (relatively small) theater, and hardly any questions were asked like “What is going on?” or “What did he say?”. The film is easy to follow without the need of much explanation.

The animation is on another level…maybe even on levels undiscovered. I don’t know the program or process being used, but the result (along with many long takes) is mesmerizing.

Parents, the film is fine for kids, but there are indeed moments of peril that occur (one in particular when one animal is shunned by its own kind, which is really devastating). 

I mentioned how the film hits like a tsunami, but (as is the case in the film), it begins to slowly rise and take over your psyche long after the credits roll. Not long into the movie, I thought to myself “It would be cool if they ended it with this specific shot”. Well, it did that, but even more so.

Those who wish to seek Flow out won’t just find the best animated film of the year, but one of the year’s very best films, period.

Every aspect of this film is a borderline miracle.

Overall: