Cryptozoo (2021) by Dash Shaw

[cranefly]

[Seen on Kanopy]

Animation about cryptids in high demand and being hunted to extinction.  Cryptids are imaginary beasts, except they aren't imaginary herein.  A gorgon puts in an appearance.  There are will o' the wisps.  A Japanese dream-eater.   There's tentacles near the end, but not many.   Oh, and yeti is in there.  The whole movie serves as a good compendium of the world's mythic beasts.

A woman is trying to locate and rescue cryptids.  She does this by putting them in a safe, cryptic-friendly zoo.  A military man is trying to capture or steal them for use in warfare.   Additionally, the question is posed, Would cryptids be better off just left to hide out and fend for themselves in the wild?

Setting the movie's rather farfetched premise aside, this is one of the smartest animations I've seen.  People talk like real people.  Issues are debated without a clear divide between good and evil.

The only voice actor I recognized was Michael Cera.

Recommended.

[Drunk Monk]

Ya know, I just added this to my queue last week. Good timing!

[Drunk Monk]

At first, when that couple gets naked and bangs in the woods, I thought the bore a disturbing resemblance to Mr & mrs cf, which gave me pause. But that went a different direction quickly and my misperception was cast aside when they shared that joint.

There was a lot more nudity and swearing than I expected going into it. A one point Stacy popped her head in and gave me her ‘what the heck are you watching?’ comment - not a question because she doesn’t really want to know.

I too enjoyed this. The animation style was unique and it took me a bit to settle into it but once the story got rolling, it started really working for me. I liked how the various cryptids were multicultural and was delighted to be reminded of that oh so Japanese yokai the Baku, the nightmare sucking pig. I loved how the Baku was depicted. I also really liked the gorgon. The kraken was ok - tentacles are always a plus.  Missed the yeti entirely but it prolly posted on the wrong thread as yetis do. It was an imaginative story that kept me searching for some sort of moral. 

I particularly liked the tarot scene, which I found to be clever and authentic. 

Recommended for D00Mer who enjoy unique animation (and I’m not talking pop Pixar).