Mosley: Film Review

Mosley: Film Review 

Vocal cast: Kirby Atkins, Rhys Darby, Lucy Lawless, Temuera Morrison, John Rhys-Davies
Director: Kirby Atkins

Two decades in the making, and with a more intriguing approach to animated fare, Kirby Atkins' Chinese / New Zealand co-pro is certainly the kind of film that deserves praise rather than scorn - even if the tone is a bit all over the place.

Atkins voices Mosley, a Thoriphant (a sort of cross between dinosaur elephant and plasticine) creature that's known only life under the yolk, working on a farm. Mosley's heard of the Uprights, a race of early Thoriphants that walked upright and had hands, and never knew life under the oppression of man.

One day, forced to the edge, and with his family under threat of separation, Mosley finds himself spurred into action and on a quest to discover his race's past and their future...

Mosley has an intriguing story, a mix of mystical and mythical, that borrows from the likes of Kubo and The Two Strings, and which shows ambition in telling a different story than you normally get in animation these days.

Initially, the film's computer animation doesn't stand out because of the muted palette, and a fractured tone that jumps about, but look past these initial faults, and stick with the film because the elements click together and begin to soar.

While some of the younger end of the audience may fidget a little, and while some of the emotional edges seem a little muted like the colours, Mosley offers a tantalisingly different story that rewards as time goes on.

Coupled with a soaring orchestral score, Mosley's animation and mythology gel together nicely in the final furlong to provide something that offers a resonance that's missing early on.

That doesn't mean it's all perfect sailing to get there, but Mosley's pleasures outweigh its occasional pain point to offer a slice of New Zealand family fare that shows promise in difference and a future in the New Zealand animation industry.