From the writers and producers of the bizarre talking animal superhero movie The Jungle Bunch, this film is the latest from French studio TAT Productions, which is dangerously close to outright saying “This was made by garbage”. Originally named Terra Willy (renamed because I’m assuming they didn’t want parents to think this featured grisly emasculation), it’s about a boy who gets stranded on an alien planet and, with the help of his robot Buck, tries to survive long enough to get rescued.
The animation is certainly better than I remember Jungle Bunch having, as the rubbery textures here work with the alien terrain and wildlife shown. Kudos are also due for the variety in the creatures we see, ranging from stalactite crabs to what can only be described as a wobbly breadloaf on legs, and the scenery can get legitimately pretty.
Of course, the biggest problem from Jungle Bunch makes an unwelcome return: The lip sync. It’s that special kind of botched dub job where not only is the actual synchronising of visuals and audio close to non-existent, but the delivery sounds strained across the board in a vain attempt to fit with the lip movements. However, this reaches a bonus level of horrid when it kicks in that the lip sync is just as awful with Buck, a character who doesn’t even have lips. I didn’t even realise such a thing was possible.
And again, much like Jungle Bunch, the wild disconnect with the dubbing is insanely distracting, which is annoying as it’s difficult enough to stay invested in a film where not that much is actually happening. The bulk of the narrative is just Willy and Buck adventuring across the planet, running from the wildlife, and doing what they can to make sure their rescue signal gets out there.
As familiar as the main premise sounds, banking as much on space isolation as it does with good ol’ fashioned ‘boy and his dog/alien/robot’ tropes, the film never ends up doing anything with it. No arc about Willy learning to survive in a harsh environment, no relationship between him and any of the non-human characters that’s worth investing in, not even an admission of how ostensibly cool this premise is, of a kid playing No Man’s Sky for real.
It’s quite a shame, as the animation is pretty good and I can at least see this managing to entertain the young’uns for its relatively-brisk run time. But between the sporadic pacing, the lack of writing chew, and the frankly embarrassing localisation, I don’t think any adults who get dragged into seeing this will be as impressed. But hey, considering the average for indie animated films around here, I’m counting my blessings that this isn’t as nightmarish as the crap I’m used to.
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