In the future the world is in ruin. Life and society kind of slink along. A young orphan girl with the ability to talk to the whales (if there are any left) is recruited by a band of pirates who need her talent to get passed the "volcano whale" where a great treasure lies.
Incredibly dark and down beat tale is not for kids, its a very adult story of greed and the end of the world.
Let's cut to the chase- I'm mixed on the film. Running a scant 70 minutes the film feels extremely over long. Much of the first half or so feels like the film is spinning its wheels until it gets to the ship traveling to the island guarded by the whale. Once the crew begins the confrontation with the whale the film kicks into high gear and the story and the animation come together in perfect union.
Sadly I don't think it's enough to save the film which by that time has had way too many MOBY DICK allusions and moments that take too long to go anywhere.
While not a terrible movie it's the sort of thing that is going to be best appreciated by animation junkies who won't mind singing the praises of the sequences that outshine the film as a whole.
The Fantasia screening is happening as this posts.
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