Mia and the Migoo
2008 [FRENCH]
Animation / Family

Plot summary
One night Mia has a premonition. So after saying a few words of parting at her mother’s grave, she sets out on a cross continent journey, though mountains and jungles in search of her father, who has been trapped in a landslide at a construction site on a remote tropical lake. In the middle of the lake stands the ancient Tree of Life, watched over by innocent, bumbling forest spirits called the Migoo, who grow and change shape as they please, morphing from small childlike beings to petulant giants. The Migoo have been disrupting the construction to protect this sacred site – and now together with Mia they join in a fight to find Mia’s father and save the Tree, with the future of life on Earth hanging in the balance.
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.BLU 1080p.BLUMovie Reviews
Heavy-Handed, But Has Its Heart In The Right Place
What should have been been one of the best animated films of the year gets lost in the final third
Mia's dad is working on a cursed construction project in a haunted forest. Sensing something happened to him she heads off alone to see him. Along the way she meets a variety of weird and wonderful people, and the Migoo, a group of forest "spirits" tasked with guarding a tree at the heart of the world.
This is a beautifully animated film seems to be a painting come to life. Its a visually rich and magical film to look at, producing repeated whispers of "Oh Wow" in the audience. Its truly a film with a look all its own.
Unfortunately the story, which is magical and enchanting for just over two thirds of its running time kind of goes off the rails in the final third as the eco message at the heart of the story is sledgehammered home and the too many plot threads and characters are found to be going nowhere.
Don't get me wrong I really liked most of this film, I just didn't like the sudden turn to into a sermon. The film was doing fine until it started to get preachy. (I won't get into the ending which is more a stopping rather than a conclusion since it leaves so much just hanging) Worth a look if you get a chance, but I'd wait for DVD.