Sucker Punched

Rating: 10/10 (29 June 2013)

Only mild/vague spoilers here...
I expected this to be a saccharine fairy tale following the usual Pixar/Disney formulas and exuding that Hollywood morality that can grind on adults. Nevertheless, I watched it anyway to see what all those good reviews were about.
OK so it did start out along those lines, but with the odd dark/adult curveball thrown in.
As the story unfolded though I found myself continually surprised as it touched on some very adult, tragic, and controversial themes, all the while maintaining a very tongue in cheek story book style. A hard balance, but they seemed to manage it well.
Towards the end of the film, it really starts to grab you by the scruff of the neck and slap you about. That's when you realise you've been suckered into thinking you're watching a children's story when really it was a pretty heavy adult dose all along.
The animation was extremely impressive. Like Wallace and Grommit on absinthe. While the lack of colour annoyed me a little, I understand why it was done that way given the ground it was covering.
Word to the wise: bearing in mind it has the look and feel of a children's animated film, personally I would most definitely not let children under the age of 14 watch this. Like I say it touches on some very adult/heavy themes and you could end up with some very upset, confused kids with some difficult questions for you afterwards!
All things considered, I was very pleasantly surprised with this surprisingly emotional wolf in sheep's clothing. I've got to confess that when I started watching this I was considering how bad a review I would give it, so hopefully that gives you some idea of the dramatic turnaround.