The Breadwinner

The power of story. This story will stick with you. An animated film about a child living in very real, very challenging times and circumstances. One of the 90th Oscar nominees for Best Animated Film, it is an adaption of book written by a Canadian author, of over 20 works, telling the story of children in their lives all around the world. Great story. Great story within a story. Great voice performances. I give this film an (you guessed it) 8 (great) out of 10. This will be a story that will generate conversations across age divides. [Animated True to Life Drama].

Another super flick from Cartoon Saloon! After watching and enjoying the Irish Folklore Trilogy from the studio, I simply had to check out their one other film to date: 'The Breadwinner'. I actually think that's kind of a boring title to be honest, but thankfully the film is anything but. It follows the lines that you'd, or at least I'd, expect given the subject matter, but it still adds extra weight to the story alongside plenty of heart. Saara Chaudry leads the voice cast excellently, with those behind the young Canadian putting in solid performances too. The animation, as usual for this Irish animation company, is exquisite. I'm eager to check out Cartoon Saloon's next film, with 'My Father's Dragon' due out at some point this year. Four films in, they haven't put a foot wrong with their releases yet. This 2017 production is very good - 8/10 from me, but it's a borderline 9/10 tbh.