If you somehow learn about this film without seeing any promotional material, I strongly implore you to go in blind. It’s a fine film with some off pacing and developments toward the end. Still, Ride Your Wave offers an excellent emotional foundation, incredibly stylized animation, and the catchiest five second opener to a song that you will ever hear twenty times in an hour.

Jojo Rabbit is a stupendous movie about growing up, moving past childhood naïveté and opening up to the world around you. I was shocked and amused to see Taika Waititi go all-out on the Nazi Germany premise, which he utilizes to its fullest absurdity. The film almost flawlessly pivots between excellent comedy, underlying tragedy, and studied character drama—perhaps one of the best example being Jojo’s second-best friend Yorki and his unfurling escapades—with a few hiccups along the way. Many scenes also feel distinctly Wes Anderson-esque. Inspiration is cool to a point, but some scenes were definitely toeing that line.

This film tastefully touches on bullying, redemption, and the feeling of being a social pariah. It's also flawlessly animated with a strong emotional core comprising the bulk of the story. My only reservations with this film are with regards to many characters who feel introduced, briefly utilized, and then put aside for the sake of the plot.