Diplodocus

Original Title: Smok Diplodok

Directed by: Wojtek Wawszczyk

Length: 93 min.

Country: Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia

Year: 2024

Premiere: Annecy 2024

Synopsis:After small Diplodocus loses his family and home to a mysterious fog, he travels through realms to team up with a series of other characters to find his way home. Turns out early on that the fog is an eraser, and that, outside their world, a comic book writer is cancelling all his past projects to start anew...

RATING: 3.5/5

REVIEW

Diplodocus is an ode both to the works of Baranowski and to the power of animated cinema itself, making for one of the most inventive works of the last years in this field.

Diplodocus is perhaps the most inventive storyline that an animated film has seen in years: somehow, a talking dinosaur, a failed magician, a philosopher donkey and sweet eyed onions are all characters that coexist in the same universe, and make sense. It is, as if a child's fantasy has been brought to the screen, that of the inner child of illustrator Tadeusz Baranowski, whose works served as the source for the story and design.Yet, one does not have to know his opus to properly enjoy the film, it works excellently on its own feet.

What makes Diplodocus so creative is also its metafictional nature, which is never rubbed under the nose in an annoying way, but is organically part of the storyline. Every representational choice in the film makes entirely sense, including the use of CG animation for the bulk of the narration. 

While the film is targeted to a children audience, adults will find it as entertaining. Several inside jokes (nothing vulgar), references - such as the mythological sirens, here turned into fog horns, even some interesting philosophical questions about the role of the artist and of art, of self consciousness, are all very carefully woven into the thread of the story, providing a series of interesting topics of discussion for all ages.

Seeing Diplodocus is really an emotional journey for all ages: nostalgic of childhood for adults, for children, a creative story that they can relate to, and most importantly, a film that feels as an unique experience, that feels free of boundaries.