Art And Humanity Collide In Life, Animated

Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs turns 80 years old. Think about that for a second. This movie is only 20 years away from having existed for an entire century. While Snow White and her diminutive pals may be the oldest film in the Walt Disney Animation Studios library, it's far from the only movie the studio has created that's endured throughout the decades. Thes likes of Jiminy Cricket, Dumbo and Mickey Mouse have been entertaining kids and adults alike for so long now, it's impossible to imagine the current pop culture landscape would even exist without them. But how do films like these manage to keep going on from generation to generation? Maybe it's because for many, these Disney animated films aren't just movies but a way to understand the world around them.

As an Autistic individual who had a tumultuous childhood stemming from the complications arising from my Autism, I can attest that cinema, especially Disney-based cinema, was certainly a foundational part of my younger years, and it turns out, I'm not the only one had an experience like that. Owen Suskind, the subject of the fantastic documentary Life, Animated, is another Autistic individual whose very existence was molded by Disney animation. As told by Owen's parents in interview segments of the documentary, at the age of 3, Owen showed signs of having severe symptoms stemming from Autism that made verbal communication beyond just gibberish impossible.

And then, on his older brother's ninth birthday, Owen is able to eloquently explain his brothers morose attitude by noting that his older sibling is like Peter Pan and Mowgli in that he doesn't want to grow up. The young boys fixation on Disney movies becomes an instant way for his parents to communicate with him and connect with him, something they had previously thought impossible. Life, Animated follows through Owen's difficult childhood by way of interview segments from both Owen and his parents and also dives into documenting footage of Owen moving out into his own apartment as well as a recurring dialogue-free animated segment that visually retells a story about sidekicks Owen has written.

It is through these various mechanisms of storytelling that the tale of Owen's remarkable life is told and it lends the film not only a sense of visual variety but also allows the viewer to get a glimpse into the psyche of Owen and how he processes the world around him. On a personal note, it was quite the incredible experience to hear the descriptions both Owen and his parents on what it's like for Owen to navigate a world in constant motion and change and realize how accurately their anecdotes related to personal experiences I had growing up with Autism. Life, Animated is an incredibly authentic first-hand glimpse into the life of an Autistic person, one whose genuine nature is a tremendous accomplishment all on its own.

The various pieces of footage compiled together for this documentary are edited together by David Teague into a cohesive feature that never lets the large amount of events it covers feel like it's overly sprawling or unfocused. Instead, they manage to coalesce together to skillfully depict how far Owen has come as a human being living day-to-day as an Autistic individual. Segments detailing Owen's youth may be the strongest of the entire motion picture, which is no insult to the rest of the movie but rather a testament to the incredibly powerful testaments from Owen's parents on how they felt realizing their son had Autism and how they came to terms with helping him communicate with others.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't getting teary at these portions of Life, Animated, which show that it's not just Owen we're getting to know here. It's also his parents and their experience of raising a child with Autism that is given ample time in the spotlight. Y'know, the truly amazing thing about this movie is how director Roger Ross Williams takes the time to make a motion picture that examines a person like Owen Suskind, someone whose been frequently bullied and socially ostracized, and showcase him as a fully-formed human being. As both an Autistic person and a purveyor of high-quality cinema, I thank him so much for doing that and giving us all a great movie like Life, Animated.