The visuals are stunning, even 10 years later. But I still find Dory and Marlin two of the most annoying characters Pixar has ever created. I must have no sense of humor.

Compared with the director’s other work, Paprika is a huge disappointment. This is Satoshi Kon’s “Star Wars Episode 1”.

Kon and his animation team fill the screen with CG-assisted mayhem, but other than Paprika’s flight scenes (particularly the Tinker Bell-like sequence), none is particularly compelling. The plot is full of holes and leans heavily on anime clichés, dialogue is mostly techno gibberish, and in stark contrast to all Kon’s previous movies, there is no emotional core.

I criticize because Millennium Actress is one of my favorite movies of all time, and it pains me to see Kon miss so badly here.

An emotional punch in the gut. This was an exhausting 2.5 hours. Heavy-handed? Manipulative? Overwrought? Yeah. But there's no denying that the storytelling and visual style are really impressive. Hard to recommend, but I enjoyed it.

Dreamy, inventive, and fun, somehow without being too gimmicky. Worth a second viewing.