Penguin Highway Episode 1: Episode 1

The animation from Studio Colorido is gorgeous 🐧 The way Aoyama approaches the mystery like a science project is so charming. The summer atmosphere feels warm and nostalgic. The Lady's secret is both whimsical and bittersweet. The floating "ocean" in the forest is such a cool visual. The farewell scene hit me right in the feels. Aoyama's determination not to cry at the end broke my heart in the best way. This film is a hidden gem.

This movie kicks off with such a unique energy that I was immediately attached to it. The main character seemed interesting to me. The animation is incredibly bright and crisp, making the suburban summer setting feel super inviting. It moves at a soothing pace that kept me grinning overall. The narrative also felt fresh aside the dialect of the storytelling.

What a convoluted movie I just watched... And I loved every single second of it! It was a light hearted film that changed tonally in the midway point, but got its whimsy back eventually over the course of the movie. The music is nice, adding to the mystery or giving us momentous experiences uplifted by its score, but where the film shines is from the over the top story, and its gorgeous animation. The animation is crazy, the liquid, the physics defying backgrounds, the fluidity of fast paced movements and the morphing was insane. Can we talk about the penguins they were adorable. The artists truly captured the cute silly antics penguins would get up to in real life, I loved their mannerisms. The penguins stole the show!