We the Animals Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

We the Animals Blu-ray Movie Review

A compelling drama exploring an inter-racial family and the coming-of-age of a young boy

An absorbing and unique coming of age drama, We the Animals is an odyssey of a multi-racial family united by their love and friendship. The film is an adaptation of the novel by Justin Torres. Executive produced by Michael Raisler (Beach Rats, The Cold Lands) and Philipp Engelhorn (Beasts of the Southern Wild, Sorry to Bother You), We the Animals takes viewers on a strange trip with quirky characters, sketch animation, and complex emotions at every corner of the page.

The young Jonah (Evan Rosado) is facing his future one step at a time as his family travels across country. Jonah is growing up in an offbeat family with interracial parents: a difficult father (Raúl Castillo) and a compassionate mother (Sjeila Vand). Attempting to survive the day-to-day chaos of his unusual family dynamics, Jonah is similarly struggling to come to terms with his newfound homosexuality.

Jonah and his clan of brothers live moment to moment and each youth seems to know no boundaries. Each sibling is like a wild and free spirit full of energy. Jonah day-dreams of another world with his creative imagination (and animated sketches come to life for his own fantasies). Will Jonah find an understanding of what it means to be human?

Despite the non-traditional family narrative explored, the storytelling is compassionate towards the characters and the dysfunctional family unit. The main theme focused on is the vital importance of having an imagination. The cast of young actors are terrific for their age and use freestyle and clear improvisation to carve out their respective roles. Evan Rosado creates a compelling character as a young child actor who clearly has a gift for performance.

Taking flight one moment at a time.

The production design by Katie Hickman (Gimme the Loot, Before You Know It) is sparse and surprisingly effective given the low-budget nature of the film. The film feels natural and raw in approach. There is a sense of true craftsmanship behind the filmmaking on We the Animals. The production is clearly the result of hard work from the team who contributed to the film.

The cinematography by Zak Mulligan (The Outsider, The Most Dangerous Animal of All) is undeniably hypnotic. The unusual visuals are stylistic and seem to careen between feeling futuristic in tone and nostalgic at the same time. Part of this is due to the smart use of visual effects by Dorian West (The Woman Who Wasn't There, Imagining Mina) and the surrealism created through the animated sketch scenes with art by Mark Samsonovich. The animated portions prove to be one of the most unique aspects of the filmmaking. These scenes use colored pencil drawings with stick figures and the simplicity of these elements is surprisingly potent.

Jeremiah Zagar (Remains, In a Dream) directs We the Animals as if it is a non-traditional family film. The spirit of the story is about coming-of-age and the complications family can pose even when there remains true love between all members of the family unit. The beauty of a family unit (even under the harsh circumstances seen in this film) is also a central component of the story.

Zagar created a film that feels like an art house movie aimed at youth and families (so it falls into a niche category that seems to defy ordinary expectations). The screenplay by Daniel Kitrosser (Bar Crossed Lovers, Old Days) and director Jeremiah Zagar remembers to focus on characters first and foremost and that is part of the strength of the filmmaking. We the Animals is a creative, unique, and bold example of filmmaking. A fascinating and risky experiment that largely works (even if it never reaches for greatness).

We the Animals Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented on Blu-ray from Eureka Entertainment, We the Animals features a 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition presentation in the 2.35:1 widescreen aspect ratio. The film has a clean aesthetic with good color reproduction throughout. The film was shot on 16mm film and has a naturalistic and organic quality. Sometimes the production seems to be in an odd stratosphere as everything about the film feels modern but the vintage aesthetic of the photography.

Nonetheless, the outstanding visuals of the film are crisp and beautiful throughout: both the live-action and animated sequences are a sight to behold. The texture and detail of the photography gives life to the sky and the beautiful hues of the outdoors. Sometimes the film delivers a soft appearance that seems to be intentional and as part of the dream-like quality of the photography. The softness in some scenes is source related to the 16mm footage and is as intended as part of the artistic experience.

We the Animals Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound track. The lossless audio mix is surprisingly vital. Though the film has a simplistic surround sound presentation with little surround sound activity during much of the film (as there are almost no interesting sound effects throughout the film), the track has strong fidelity and is crisp and smooth. The surrounds are used primarily for expanding the music score and making the track more enveloping through the music. With regards to the score, the music composed by Nick Zammuto (Shape of Things to Come) adds a sense of surrealism to the filmmaking which works wonders and is vividly reproduced through the high resolution audio track.

We the Animals Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Animationism (HD, 3:12) a short feature-film with a combination of live-action and animated scenes. The filmmaking is experimental and reminds one of a high quality student film. The animated pieces and special effects are blended into live-action footage with ease. The short makes an interesting impression. Presented in Uncompressed PCM 2.0 16 bit in the 2.35:1 widescreen aspect ratio.

Meet Evan (HD, 1:01) is a short introduction to one of the 11 year old stars of the film. Evan delves into his part as one of the lead characters in We the Animals.

Meet Isaiah (HD, 1:01) features another young star of We the Animals talking about his involvement in the film, showing his audition footage, and what his approach was to acting in the production.

Meet Josiah (HD, 00:57) features the young 9 year old actor talking about how he became involved in the project (his first acting role) and shows him practicing during production. Josiah speaks about his hopes and dreams for the future.

Making We The Animals (HD, 2:53) features the cast and crew discussing the production of the film (from the first day of filming to the later moments towards the end of the production). Shows behind-the-scenes footage of prep work done for various sequences with the crew bringing the actors through the motions of the scene creations. (Such as a sequence where one of the boys rides his bike into a big lake.)

From Book to Film (HD, 2:54) features the author of the novel talking about the development of the project and his involvement in helping to bring the film to the big screen. Discusses the adaptation process and what it was like to get the filmmakers involved in the project and adapt his work.

How to Make We the Animals in 60 Seconds (HD, 1:01) features voice-over from one of the young actors in the feature-film as the process of filmmaking is discussed (from casting, screenwriting, directing, editing, production development, re-shoots, music, special effects, and more).

Joel Improvises (HD, 3:38) is a short sequence not included in the final cut of the feature-film. The sequence features improvisation from the young boy, Joel. The character discusses what it means to become a "player" in the romance field and what it is like to try and get involved with women (as he gives some advice to one of his siblings about the "playa" lifestyle).

VFX Breakdown (HD, 3:44) features a slide-based comparison of the development of the visual effects featured in We the Animals. The filmmaking process in explored with detailed visual elements put on full display and explored with visual cues to let audiences know which parts were edited to add in interesting and unique visual effects.

We the Animals Trailer (HD, 2:27)

We the Animals Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A unique and compelling family drama, We the Animals is a curious experience that takes viewers on a strange journey with a coming-of-age story exploring a family of inter-racial youth living life in the moment. The film is a fascinating creation which occasionally blends animation and live-action as sketch-drawn scenes showcase stick-figure characters. The Blu-ray features a strong presentation (managing to present the 16mm footage at its best) and the release is jam-packed with extras. The release comes recommended.