This charming animated film (which doesn’t have any dialogue) is imaginative but it does feel slightly too long.
Toe Yuen Kin-to has created such a wonderfully charming family friendly film about three insects (a butterfly, grasshopper and spider) who get lost in a big city and have to go through a lot of unexpected adventures in order to return home.
It is really fascinating to watch as the 3D generated characters are placed on real life locations in Taiwan, cleverly putting them in real-life situations that insects have to face all the time. Whether it is avoiding birds, navigating hoovers or escaping after being captured by humans, there is certainly plenty of action along the way.
But what is also clever is the way in which the lack of dialogue actually makes it feel really grounded and believable – using only the motions of the characters and a wonderful score to convey just how the characters are reacting and feeling to each scenario. This highlights the power of imagination in many ways – the audience can imagine the conversations the characters are having – whether it is the grasshopper and spider misunderstanding each other or the butterfly and the grasshopper bonding, there is plenty of emotion shown without a single word being spoken.
The story is really well structured as well, with plenty of laughter interspersed with the drama and action, with some of the best moments involving a robot hoover and a lizard chasing the grasshopper. It is gentle and charming from start to finish, with a lot of attention paid to detail.
What I would say is that the story does seem to run out of steam slightly towards the end, with the ending feeling as though it can be tightened up slightly which could lead to some fidgeting from younger viewers. This being said you feel invested in the character’s journey across the city back home and by showing the audience the world through their eyes it makes it really endearing, highlighting how wonderful and scary the world can be.
There are plenty of things to be taken away from A Mighty Big Adventure, but what I particularly took away from it was that friendship can be found in different places – no matter the differences that we all have.
A Mighty Big Adventure is endearing and charming in its simplicity and it definitely leaves you with a smile on your face.
Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️