Yamasong: March of the Hollows

I really enjoyed the puppetry - which harked back to "Team America". The cast was excellent. I wasn't riveted by the storyline, but we can't have everything. I find it refreshing to see novel animation, and I thought this fit the bill. I would like to see more of this type of work.

I guess my review is pretty the opposite of the one other review here. I found the visuals of this movie to be intriguing -- I'm always drawn to visually innovative movies. But the people who create these visually innovative movies, frequently don't appreciate that even the best visuals can't prop up a bad story. And this is a bad story! From the first few minute intro your heart sinks as you hear one damn cliche after another. No thanks! Everyone involved should have stuck to a short! Or admitted that they didn't know what they were doing, and befriended someone capable of creating a story more sophisticated than what a tween could write. Compare with the movie 9, also visually innovative, but at least the story wasn't awful from the first minute. Or compare with the Aardman movies (or Pixar), where the every bit as much effort goes into the story as into the visuals.

Pretty much what one might expect from the daughter of Jim Henson, the son of Brian Froud and Sam Koji Hale: a film of breathtaking beauty and a unique design sensibility. Every frame is filled with a visual inventiveness that is almost overwhelming. Add excellent characterization and a good story and you wind up with a film that is worth rewatching... By the way, "moving dolls" are more commonly known as "puppets."