a great ecological adventure for the youngest (on Blu-ray, DVD and VOD)

Artistic note: (3.5/5)

summary

Lubicchi lived in the middle of huge chimneys whose thick smoke always covered the sky of his city. He wants to prove to everyone that his father is telling the truth and that, despite the clouds, there are stars. One Halloween night, the little chimney sweep meets Poupelle, a funny creature that he decides to leave to explore the sky.

• Original title: Eiga Entotsumachi no Puperu
• Media tested: Blu-ray
• Genre: Japanese animation
• Year: 2020
• Director: Yusuke Hirota
• Cast: (VO voice) Masataka Kubota, Mana Ashida, Shingo Fujimori, Rina Honizumi, Kazuki Iio, Sairi Ito, Eiko Koike, Jun Kunimura (VF voice) Philippe Katerine, Fanny Bloc, Xavier Fagnon, Chloé Berthier, Éric Metayer, Tony Marot, Marie Nedelec, Anaelle Manquet
• Duration: 1 h 40 min 16
• Video format: 16:9
• Movie format: 2.39/1
• Subtitles: French
• Soundtracks: DTS-HD MA 5.1 Japanese, French
• Bonus: 10 stickers of movie heroes
• Publisher: Arte Editions

Art commentary

In 2016, Akihiro Nishino, an actor converted to children’s books, published “Entotsu-chou no Poupelle” which was translated into France in 2018 under the title “Poupelle and the city without a sky”. This highly successful work is the result of crowdfunding and the competition of about thirty related artists who designed an amazing graphic universe. But Akihiro Nishino, unwilling to stop there, struggled to achieve an anime adaptation On the other side of the sky which was born in 2020 under the direction of Yusuke Hirota. Intended for a very young audience, from 6 years old, the plot, very simple and clearly understandable, narrates the friendship between Lubicchi, a young chimney sweep, and Poupelle Halloween, a fantastic creature and trash person made up of remains . This obscure duo will do everything to prove that the blue sky and the stars exist above the layer of smoke that continues to cover the city’s skies. This dystopia, initially quite pessimistic, evokes many deeper themes; totalitarianism, friendship, the stranger, mourning, ecological disaster. But the simplicity for this story, where the outcome is easy to predict, is out of place in the luxurious visual design (shining palette, stunning sets, sophisticated lighting and acrobatic framing) and impressive sound animation. On the other side of the sky is the first film of Yusuke Hirota, who has proven himself as a graphic designer and started the adaptation project in 2017, devoting more than a year to pre-production. The artistic work, created by Kôichi Satô and Kenichirô Akimoto, combines for the design of the city “Chimney” the digital image in 3D and in 2D, two methods that complement each other: the graphic result is noticeable. For the design of his film, Yusuke Hirota cites the influence of Studio Ghibli, various anime (Akira, Ghost in the Shell) and other cartoons (Sylvain Chomet, Disney, Pixar, Spider Verse) by Tim Burton! If the ecological and empathic message seems to be adopted, On the other side of the sky does not really delve into the complex meaning of its various themes, no doubt because of the children, the film prefers to emphasize the missing father, the family and friendship, in short, the great feelings that are a bit cliché. The humor is often privileged (the inexhaustible Scoop) and the action too ubiquitous (the mine train sequence seems Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom…). But through its aesthetic brilliance and the virtuosity of its animation, On the other side of the sky is undeniably a pleasant work to watch and entertaining to follow with a large audience who will appreciate the successful French dubbing (Philippe Katerine). happy

Technical Comment

Image : HD copy, good definition, anime resulting from 2D and 3D computer work, very good lighting management, bright pictures, dense black, brilliant color grading, colorimetry from cold ambient to bright warm colors

His : Japanese 5.1 mixing, very clear dialogues, great dynamics benefiting from many action scenes, music by Youki Kojima and Yuta Bandoh and songs by Hyde and Lozareena, amazing spatialization with great immersive surround effects ( mine train, boat arrival, flight, storm, etc.) and solid bass distilled by the LFE channel; VF 5.1 clear and dynamic, smooth dubbing with, among others, the voice of Philippe Katerine, very good spatialization

Our opinion

Picture : (4/5)
Sound mixes: (4.5/5)
Bonuses: (1/5)
Packaging: (3/5)

IMDb : https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13276012/

Blu-rays and DVDs are available on Amazon

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