Jaewoo Kim’s review published on Letterboxd:
One of the biggest compliments I can give this movie is that I’m rarely thinking about how good the animation is in this thing. Part of that has to do with how smooth and fluid the production is, but it’s also due to how engaging and emotionally involving this all is. I’ve always known how fun this film is—how can I not with all the Wes Anderson-isms—but I was also caught off guard with its emotional core. To me, it’s always been a warm and friendly film, but it’s also honest and insightful. Like in his other works, there’s a subtle air of sadness to it that doesn’t disrupt any of the lightheartedness, but still persists. I must’ve lost sight of that, but now it’s impossibly to miss. And then the ways in which the movie’s optimism overcomes that is all the more euphoric.
Of course, then there’s all the other stuff that makes it good. It’s entertaining, hilarious, colorful, and, despite the PG rating, full on Wes Anderson. From Whackbat to the symmetry to the matter-of-factness of the voice acting, they just all work so well with what’s presented here, especially in stop-motion form. I’m still not fully sure what that wolf scene means nor do I understand why it was that particular moment that made Wes want to make this film, but there’s something kind of fantastic about that, isn’t there?
