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From the wondrous intrigue to the heartwarming moments. Being a joint production between France and Latvia, Flow is an animated movie that strays completely away from the usual anthropomorphic animals that walk and talk like humans or possesses mannerisms similar to them. This isn't your ordinary animated film with those characteristics. Since there's no audible dialogue amongst them throughout, their actions speak volumes. To me, that serves as a callback to what Disney had done with Fantasia and DreamWorks' Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. The main characters don't speak at all as they don't need to because they seem to keep the audience focused on the narrative.

The story begins with a stray black cat in the woods, fleeing from a group of dogs chasing it down. Suddenly a massive flood arrives and the animals nearby seek higher ground. Much of the surrounding land is submerged completely in water, so it's up to several of these animals to put their differences aside and work together to brave this new world.

I was left curiouser and curiouser on how this entire movie can go without any dialogue, but I applaud director Gints Zilbalodis and crew for crafting this that I remained speechless. With movies like Waterworld, Avatar: The Way of Water, Moana, and Life of Pi coming into mind when thinking about life adrift on a vast waterscape, it's enough to ensnare the senses by going on an odyssey of self-discovery. The flood serves as a test to see which of these animals can brave this aquatic environment and survive long enough to see what tomorrow may bring. Thinking about what I've learned in literature class in school regarding Aesop's fables, Flow utilizes several elements from them along with a moral to tie back what has transpired. Through each experience a few of these animal characters face in this supposedly human-free world, it leaves a message of adapting, embracing, and accepting what has now become.

From what I've seen, this is a faith-themed anime film that explores a wondrous story of finding one's purpose through music and experiencing friendship along the way. From director Naoko Yamada of A Silent Voice comes the tale of a teen at an all-girls religious school. Totsuko Higurashi is able to see colors in people, which is a scientific phenomenon she can't explain, giving off an aural effect that best reflects their personalities. She befriends a fellow student named Kimi Sakunaga with an uncertain future herself, but has a passion for guitar. They together then meet a cram school student named Rui, whose ambitions are also music rather than medicine as his family tradition suggests. The three bond and learn about each other's daily lives and personalities, while forming a music band to express themselves in song.

From a religious standpoint, weaving the Catholic faith into this film creates a sense of wisdom, belonging, and a connection. But most importantly symbolizes how it points out the Lord works in mysterious ways. Guides these characters to show they're not alone and have each other with a sense of warmth and comfort, even in their most troubling of times.

I've watched both the Japanese original and the English dub and regardless of the language, the thematic elements convey an emotional response. Totsuko sees colors in people, feels conflicted of pursuing her music passion, and keeping it a secret from her school's nuns by telling white lies. It goes against her beliefs in the church, but she does so out of fear. The songs are also notable standouts. Voice actors Akari Takaishi and Kylie McNeill gave great singing performances as character Kimi in both languages. The latter VA known for the English dub of Mamoru Hosoda's 2021 film Belle still gives a pleasant musical performance that I tend to bob my head to the beat.

While there was some lagging on some scenes that made me not entirely understand what was happening and that the entire movie was not as emotionally impactful as Yamada's 2017 film A Silent Voice, I'm still reeling from the experience. The Colors Within's exploration of real-world situations through friendship and platonic love is so impactful that there's nothing romantic going on and that's okay. The themes of forgiveness and acceptance really resonated with me. Can't wait to see where the filmmakers will go next!

I was blown away in this next chapter of Sonic the Hedgehog! Given how its preceding movies helped set the stage for the titular protagonist over what was to come, there's plenty for me to say regarding this latest adventure surrounding the speedy, blue hedgehog and his allies. It took even more elements from the original video games dating back to the 90s and early 2000s and integrated them into this third installment's story with usual tongue-in-cheek gamer gags, fan service, with both intriguing and humorous references to ponder about.

Following from the events of the second film, Dr. Robotnik (aka Eggman) was seemingly destroyed along with his creation the Death Egg. However, he emerges from the destruction when a new threat named Shadow from the confines of the secret organization GUN escapes his prison to wreak havoc on humanity. It's up to Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles along with their human allies to take on this new foe and in the process learning more about this organization's past and apparent ties to Eggman himself.

Sonic's human allies Tom and Maddie Wachowski return once again played by James Marsden and Tika Sumpter respectively, along with a dual role featuring Jim Carrey back as arch foe Dr. Ivo Robotnik and long last grandfather Dr. Gerald Robotnik. They all gave impressive performances as they balance out each other well with their animated costars voiced by Ben Schwartz (Sonic), Colleen O'Shaughnessy (Tails), Idris Elba (Knuckles), and latest addition Keanu Reeves as the antagonistic Shadow. Keanu's performance of giving Shadow a ruthless demeanor and clouded belief is like a cross between his other character John Wick and antagonist Mewtwo from Pokemon: The First Movie, as the latter too was placed in suspended animation with a strong resentment and desire to purge humanity through his own sinister means.

Some may nitpick over the human characters being unnecessary and are not given enough screen time. I say they serve as a means to help push the story along into how it should all play out, despite how limited they appear onscreen. The dual role Carrey played is notable for this, as it's pretty interesting that he's basically playing off of himself in the most humorous and clever of ways. Jim mentioned in an interview that he found it to be a challenge as he compared his performance to that of fellow comedian Eddie Murphy who has played multiple roles in a few of his own movies. He must've taken a page from him to learn how easy it can be to play more than one character. Director Jeff Fowler has done it again and I show nothing but utmost respect for what he has captured by tackling the game mythology and allowing his team to creatively assemble this world to the best of their skills. Another video game film successful in my book. My mind was blown with not just how it ended, but it opened the door to more possibilities of what awaits judging by (no spoiler!) two additional scenes. A real adrenaline booster!