Life, Animated - Simple Expression

I recently watched Life, Animated, a documentary about a boy with autism and his experiences growing up and understanding the world through Disney movies. I watched it for research for my Applied Animation module, but thought it was worth putting up here for PPP since it was so well-made.

The documentary used animation and live-action to tell the story of Owen Suskind, by recounting his childhood through his parents' words and home videos, and then going on to show him coping with adulthood and his growing independence as he learns to deal with real-life issues.

One thing that stood out to me about Life, Animated was the way it dealt with Owen's autism in terms of representing it through animation. I have seen a lot of films or adverts about autism that show it as scary and chaotic, but Life, Animated simply expressed how Owen loves Disney, and used beautiful lineless animation to represent his childhood and endless imagination. 

I also loved how seemingly simple the animation was. By keeping it fairly sketchy and rough, there was emphasis that could be put on colour and lighting, rather than focusing on the detail. This also reminded us that Owen's mind is childish, not exactly neat and tidy, but this isn't a bad thing. It reminds us of the drawings Owen has done - messy, but still full of character.

Ultimately, Life, Animated gave a new insight into the ways that animated films can impact someone in a way that is unexpected. I cannot even begin to imagine how honouring it would be to know that the animation you worked on has allowed a child to communicate with the world again. The documentary really emphasises how important animation is beyond providing a few hours of entertainment - how character design choices matter so deeply, how the relatable struggles of characters can help someone in the same situation.