FNC 2009: IN THE ATTIC Review

Animation occupies an important space at this year's FNC. Of all of the ones selected, In The Attic or Who Has a Birthday Today ? is the more classical of the bunch. Made for kids, it tells the familiar story of toys coming to life when humans are not watching. 

I honestly don't have much to say about this one and I'm sorry for anyone looking for a review. Yes, the stop-motion animation is gorgeous and there is some elements that are inventive in terms of changing the meaning of an object by giving it a new use (garbage bags, for exemple, become a dangerous black sea and pillows are beautiful clouds). On a purely technical level, the movie is perfect and shows a lot of care and talent with its attention to details. 

The problem with In the Attic is the complete lack of edge. It doesn't carry the self-reflectory humour of Toy Story or a dark tone that could have pleased to an adult audience. The childish innocence of the film and its voluntary lack of subtext are strangely surprising because you quickly come to the constatation the film has nothing to tell besides a cute, maybe timeless, story. 

Here's the main problem with In the Attic: it is an empty film. It might be what a young audience is looking for, but an older cinephile can only wonder why he's watching something that has nothing to give him.