Underdog

I watched this movie because I loved the studio's first movie "Leafie, A Hen into the Wild", and was hoping for the same bar of quality and impact. Needless to say I was kinda disappointed, but I did walk away from this while not satisfied, at least content with what I got.

I was looking for certain strengths this studio instilled in their last movie and I more or less got them here. I like the South Korean voice performances because they carry so much emotion and realism, which makes emotional or tense scenes all the more impactful. I like the characterization where animals exemplify human ... qualities while staying believable. I like that this studio isn't afraid of embracing concepts such as death and tragedy, so you're always on the edge of your seat wondering if things'll work out for everyone. And I liked the animation, although their jump from 2D to partial 3D did leave some jarring scenes that didn't blend well, but for the most part the 3D looks stylistic and passable enough to be believable within the 2D environment.

That being said, there were qualities from the studio that carried over that I didn't like, along with some other downsides that irked me. I don't get this studio's fascination with scatological humor as they use it as a device for comedy to lighten the mood, when all it does is gross me out. No, I didn't find the whole bit where the dog eats deer poop while the cast continues to mock him for it for the rest of the movie funny.

I also didn't like how the stakes are somewhat cheapened due to some leaps of logic taken after moments of realism. Without giving too much away, some characters learn survival techniques in a very short amount of time after lives of leisure. Also, some forces of impact are dangerous, while others are means of cartoonish slapstick or as a device to progress. Unlike for Leafie, I had to suspend my disbelief for some of those scenes which wasn't very fun.

Still, my advice, don't go in with high expectations. There really is a lot to appreciate in this movie.