I didn't see this initially because the trailer was so frequin' irritating, and the design seemed to follow that late 90's dysthetic sensibility. My husband got it as a gift, though, and my children were watching it, and I got hooked in. It's actually very charming and thought provoking.
I guess I have to wonder whether being raised by a penniless single woman is better than being raised to the age of 13 in an institution with no parents. Clearly, when the woman dropped him off, she hoped he would be adopted by a family, and he was, eventually. But if he'd told her (he has a time machine) that said family would be 13 years in coming, would she have re-thought?
I suppose it's a refreshing counterbalance to most kids movies that give more emphasis to talents than to choices (to use the Harry Potter shorthand). But... but...
Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
Dysthetic?
Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :
I had no desire to see this until one of my siblings pushed me into watching it at Christmas. I actually quite enjoyed it, even though sometimes it was just weird for weirdness' sake.
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
Yeah, the villain with the bulby nose and the swollen body on pointy legs. It was a design method where people made things ugly.
Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :
I don't think "dysthetic" is the opposite of "aesthetic." I'm not even sure it's a cromulent word.
Posted by Elmer's Glue (Member # 9313) on :