Life, Animated
A film by Roger Ross Williams
His imagination unlocked an amazing new worldA film by Roger Ross Williams
Runtime: 92 minutes
Closed Captioning included
A documentary by Academy Award winning filmmaker Roger Ross Williams based on a book by Pulitzer Prize winning writer Ron Suskind.
Imagine being trapped inside a Disney movie and having to learn about life mostly from animated characters dancing across a screen of color. A fantasy? A nightmare?
Life, Animated is the real-life story of Owen Suskind, the son of the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ron Suskind and his wife, Cornelia. An autistic boy who couldn't speak for years, Owen memorized dozens of Disney movies, turned them into a language to express love and loss, kinship, brotherhood. The family was forced to become animated characters, communicating with him in Disney dialogue and song; until they all emerge, together, revealing how, in darkness, we all literally need stories to survive.
"A RADIANT, uplifting story. The film is a DOCUMENTARY GEM." - The Hollywood Reporter
"deeply moving...a warm testament to a family's love and resilience" - Variety
"It's a film to which I believe everyone can relate, an EMOTIONAL POWERHOUSE." - RogerEbert.com
"INCREDIBLY MOVING documentary...a must-watch" - The Guardian