Had heard nothing but good things about 'The Red Turtle', including that it was nominated for a Best Animated Feature Oscar (up against very stiff competition with the likes of 'Zootropolis', 'Kubo' and 'Moana'). Also am an animation fan and saw that it had a Studio Ghibli co-credit, so high expectations were raised even higher.

Finally seeing 'The Red Turtle', there is not much else to add to what has already been said. While it is an unconventional film and will perplex some, 'The Red Turtle' is a beautiful film, in visuals, storytelling and emotions. It perhaps runs for a little too long in length, particularly when the story structure is somewhat more suited to a short film. Otherwise, 'The Red Turtle' is deserving of its praise and its Best Animated Feature Oscar nomination was a worthy one even when up against such stiff competition where all the nominees were very good to outstanding in their own way.

'The Red Turtle' is very beautifully animated. It's simple rather than elaborate or flashy, but this simplicity is done very elegantly and still boasts some exquisitely imaginative moments. The backgrounds are meticulous in detail and the colours are ethereal and bold. All the characters are drawn with taste too. The music score not only adds a lot to the storytelling and emotions, it even gives them a greater impact. There is a haunting atmosphere, whimsical energy and understated lushness to the music here, and the clever sound effects work well too.

A wordless, dialogue-free film (apart from the odd sound effect) 'The Red Turtle' may be, but that's not a strike against it. There are many instances of things resonating volumes without the use of words, this is true of 'The Red Turtle' with its wide and varying range of emotions conveyed poignantly and with a sense of wonder. No matter how slight the story structure, the atmosphere is so rich and the visuals such a feast for the eyes that to me the film never became dull. Loved the timeless fable/folk tale feel to the story as well.

From personal opinion, 'The Red Turtle' was one of the most emotional films of 2016, making me resonate with the profound subject matter and care for the charming characters. There is a little nail-biting drama, some fairly symbolic romance and the cycle of life story is profoundly engaging. The ending is very affecting, though will (and has done) perplex some, and the characters charm.

Overall, a thing of beauty. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Red Turtle is the sort of film that you'll either love or you'll hate and it's the sort of picture many artsy folks will love and the general public will find baffling and dull. And, although I am a film critic, I found myself in the latter category and really had to struggle to stay awake as I watched this animated film.

This film by the Dutch-British animator Michaël Dudok de Wit has a very unusual pedigree. It's a joint French-Belgian and Japanese production and is the first non-Japanese film funded by Studio Ghibli! It's also unusual in that there is no dialog in the film whatsoever….just a couple screams. And, with no dialog you are essentially watching a silent film with lovely music.

When the film begins, a guy becomes lost at sea and washes up on a lonely island. He works hard to try to escape his prison-like setting but several times a massive turtle inexplicably derails his plans. Eventually, he attacks the beast and nearly kills it…and soon repents of this and tries to keep the creature alive. Now here is where the film gets really, really weird (and the implications are disturbing if you think about it)….the turtle magically becomes a woman and the pair fall in love. Soon they have a son and the son seems to have a strong affinity for hanging out with sea turtles. Pretty weird? You betcha! As to what's next, see for yourself. But be forewarned…the film is slow…glacially slow. And, it's certainly not for all tastes. However, on the plus side it is original, the animation very nice and the music quite evocative. But, the music also lulled me to sleep and the story just left me baffled. Do not take small children to this one…they won't be able to sit still for it and will demand to go home! Instead, it's more a film for very select audiences…folks who can look past the strangeness and slowness of the film. As for me, I really couldn't look past this and found the film rather devoid of fun and was a bit of a chore to watch.

This Japanese anime from Studio Ghibli is one that was getting a lot of praise and high ratings from critics, Mark Kermode saying it is "compassionate", "magnificent", and "a beautiful work of art", so I was really hoping for something special. Basically a nameless man has been set adrift by a furious storm and struggles to swim in the furious ocean waves. He wakes up alone shipwrecked on a small and deserted tropical island, rich in resources, including fresh water and fruit, a variety of small animals and a dense forest of bamboo trees. The man builds a raft from bamboo, and attempts to sail away from the island, but an unseen creature beneath him crashes into and destroys the raft, forcing him to swim back ashore. He attempts to escape again on another raft, but his plan is again foiled by the sea creature. He tries a third time to escape the island, his raft is again destroyed, but in the water, he finds the creature facing him, it is a red turtle, it does not harm him, and he swims back ashore. That evening, the man sees the red turtle crawling on the beach, attempting to inland, in anger and revenge, he hits the turtle on the head with a bamboo stick, and pushed it over on its back. Halfway through building another raft, the man feels remorse leaving the turtle upside down and tries to save it, but it is too heavy to flip over. He desperately runs to revive the turtle with water, but it is dead, he falls asleep next to it. The turtle's shell splits down the middle during the night and to the man's surprise, he sees a woman lying inside of the turtle shell. The man tries to revive the woman, making a shelter over her to protect her from the sun, she awakes after it starts raining. The man notices her gone, searching for her, he finds her in the coastline, he gives her his shirt. The woman drags the empty turtle shell into the sea and sets it off, the man does the same with his half-built raft, the two soon form a strong and enduring romance. Some years later, the couple has a son who is a curious boy, who learns to swim after accidentally falling into a small cavern and forms a peculiar relationship with other turtles in the ocean. Growing up, the son grows accustomed to the island, then a tsunami hits the island, no one is severely hurt, but the island's forest is nearly demolished. After cleaning the island and burning the bamboo remains, the son has a dream about swimming away, he tells his parents its time for him to leave the nest and go into adulthood, he swims away with a trio of green turtles. The man and the woman remain and spend the rest of their lives on the island, growing old together, but still very much in love. One night the man looks at the moon over the ocean for the final time and closes his eyes, the woman grieves as he has passed away. The next morning, she lies next to him with deep sadness, holds the man's hand for one last time, and then transforms back into a red turtle and returns to the sea. This film has no dialogue, only the music score by Laurent Perez Del Mar and sound effects to tell the story, it is very simplistic, but with moments of tenderness, some action and a romance, and the art house style animation is beautiful and colourful, definitely a film with universal appeal, a most very watchable animated fantasy drama. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film of the Year. Very good!