Genre: Documentary/ Drama/ Animation
Runtime: 89 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Ron Suskind, Owen Susking, Jonathan Freeman, Gilbert Gottfried, Alan Rosenblatt, Walter Suskind, Cornelia Suskind
Description: A coming of age story about a boy and his family who overcame great challenges by turning Disney animated movies into a language to express love, loss, kinship and brotherhood.
Review: Disney movies form an important part of someone’s childhood, for many people. For Owen, the one “Life, Animated” focusses on, Disney movies were the key to learn how to communicate with the world.
Owen is a kind, talkative toddler when all of a sudden he stops speaking at the age of three. And his developments is behind as well. His parents, Ron and Cornelia, learn that he is autistic. They don’t know what Owen’s future will be like and how they can communicate with him. One thing is certain: Owen loves Disney movies and watches them constantly. The discover that Owen is trying to form his life through the movies and characters and this way also starts talking to his parents again. And for years to follow, they use Disney movies to help him grow up.
When the cameras start following the family, Owen is in his early twenties. And still Disney movies lead him in this world. He bases emotions on scenes from the movies and they help him to open up a new chapter in his life. But now he is an adult, it’s become harder to teach him about things that don’t appear in Disney movies. They always have happy endings. But things like sex or heart ache are hard to understand for Owen.
Owen manages to express in words what autism is and how he has been trapped in his own body. We see him leave his home, to live on his own. A very big step for both Owen and his family. Something that Owen tries to deal with by watching “Bambi” and “The Lion King”. Both movies where the young characters are suddenly on their own.
The documentary is very positive and doesn’t only focus on all the things Owen can’t do. We see him speech about autism and with that we see the proud faces of his parents. As Owen states, many people think people with autism don’t want to make human contact. They want it more than anything, but simply don’t know how to reach them.
What’s also beautiful, are the animated parts of the documentary. It’s a story that Owen wrote, about a boy that became the protector of sidekicks in Disney movies. Because he never feels like the hero himself, he feels like the sidekick.
“Life, Animated” is a beautiful story, a clear portrait full of emotions. It shows us who Owen is. It could’ve been an over-sentimental film, but they kept it very light. Which makes it even better.
Rating: 4,5 / 5
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