Life, Animated Review (2nd Anniversary Special – Part 1)

Hello everybody, this is George Harvey (aka the Autistic Blogger). And today, I have a very special post for you to commemorate the 2-Year Anniversary of this blog. Since June 2015, my site has been viewed over 2500 times, by people in 60 different countries. So before I begin, I just want to say a big thank you to everybody who’s supported me, and I hope to bring you even more great content in the future. It’s been hard work keeping up with my writing. But seeing how popular it is makes it all worth it in the end. With that said, let’s talk about Life, Animated.

Some of you may remember back in 2016 I wrote a piece on BBC Two’s new drama series, The ‘A’ Word. Beforehand, I gave my thoughts on Autism and how it’s represented in the media. Some depictions are praiseworthy, like The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, while others have been downright insulting (e.g. Channel 4’s The Undateables). Then one day, I was watching a video by one of my favourite YouTubers (Animat), when I stumbled across this gem of a documentary.

Life, Animated follows Owen Suskind, a 23-year-old man with Autism. What I found most intriguing about it was the story and it’s unique presentation. You see, Owen is a big fan of Disney films. So much so, they were all he could think about growing up. This made life challenging for him as he couldn’t connect well with reality. Even his family had trouble understanding his behaviour. However, Owen’s obsession provided a unique insight into his condition (e.g. the way it affects his speech, body language and thought-process). Furthermore, it exposed some of the lesser-known benefits of having Autism. Through pencil animations, interviews and other content, the documentary explores how Owen has made the most of his condition and used Disney films to make sense of the world around him.

This premise alone blew me away. Many Autistic people do struggle with direct communication. So they find other, more creative ways to express themselves. Some do it through music or drawing pictures, others – like me – write down what they feel. And others use their hobbies or interests as metaphors. In the case of Life, Animated, I don’t think it could’ve worked any better than with Owen and his Disney films. It takes a complex subject like Autism and pairs it with something the whole world can recognise. Not only does this make the documentary a perfect guide to Autistic behaviour, but it shows how influential Disney really is.

When I saw Life, Animated for the first time, I knew it was one of the best portrayals of Autism I’d ever seen. A simple summary wouldn’t do it justice. So for this anniversary, I decided to breakdown the movie and explain, in my own words, just how masterful it is. Please enjoy:

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The movie begins with some home video footage of a young Owen Suskind. We see him as a regular little boy growing up with his family, and watching Disney’s Fantasia (1940). There’s nothing too out of the ordinary. We then cut to years later with Owen as a young man. It’s clear from his body language, glassy eyes and occasional mumbling to himself that he’s severely Autistic.

Straight away, I can relate to Owen’s behaviour. When I was younger, I would often wonder about, remembering my favourite TV shows, movies or video games. They were so exciting that I’d forget where I was and start reciting their dialogue. Owen does a similar thing here. Throughout the movie, he quotes lines from famous Disney films.

After attending a special class on social skills, Owen heads home and introduces himself. He explains he will be graduating in a month’s time and moving into his own apartment. Something he’s both nervous and excited about.

These scenes introduce the movie’s overall theme of independence. Anyone will tell you that living alone is a big challenge, even for the best of people. But when you have Autism, it feels like a near-impossible goal. The main concern is how the condition affects our ability to perform simple tasks. It’s not that we aren’t capable of doing them. But sometimes our minds struggle to focus on them properly. We’re so used to the things we love and understand (TV shows, movies, video games, etc.) that anything unfamiliar can feel incredibly nerve-wracking. Because of this, our brains instinctively try to reject new information, even when we want to learn it. This is why most people with Autism have learning difficulties. It’s easy to get distracted from life when you have such immense passion for what you love.

Back onto the movie, Owen’s love of Disney is established. In his room, we see numerous Disney posters and memorabilia. They range from classics like The Lion King (1994) to modern films like The Princess and the Frog (2009). We then get our first glimpse of the parallels between Owen’s life and Disney.

Owen plays a VHS of Peter Pan (1953) – immediately becoming entranced by it. He fast-forwards to the part where Wendy explains she has to grow up and possibly give up her stories. This mirrors Owen’s own concerns about his the future, i.e. leaving behind his childhood, and possibly his Disney movies. He then fast-forwards to the climactic swordfight between Peter and Captain Hook. He copies everything the characters say and do, clearly knowing the movie off by heart.

I can relate to this as well. When I was younger, I didn’t just recite specific dialogue. I would act scenes that were playing inside my head. This goes back to what I said about having immense passion. If you watch, read or listen to something enough times it becomes embedded in your mind. You can then replay it, from beginning to end, with almost pinpoint accuracy – Autism gives you that kind of photographic memory. True, it can distract you and cause learning difficulties. But there are benefits to it as well. Having such an extensive memory makes you an expert on the subject. You can then use that knowledge to make a real difference in the world. We see how Owen does later in the documentary.

But I digress. Following the bedroom scene, things delve into more personal territory.

We’re shown some more home video footage of Owen and his dad, Ron, sword-fighting as Peter Pan and Captain Hook (1993). According to his parents, this was the last time Owen was recorded before he “vanish[ed]” (i.e. began developing Autism). The changes, they say, came very quickly; his lack of sleep, deteriorating motor skills and his language breaking were the early signs. Concerned, they took him to a special facility, where he was officially diagnosed with Autism.

This section is one of the highlights of the documentary, for me. I remember being Owen’s age (3 to 4-years-old) when I was taken for my diagnosis. I wasn’t aware of it at the time, of course. I thought I was just spending 30 minutes in a play room, with a friendly lady. We spoke together, arranged toys in a line and even made up a story about Thomas the Tank Engine visiting Sesame Street. I had no idea my behaviour was being monitored or that my parents were watching from behind a false mirror. But now it all makes sense. That was the day my parents found out I was different. The day they discovered I might never attend public school or even talk properly. Seeing how devastating the news was for Owen’s parents, I can’t image how mine must’ve felt. It really does feel like the child you’ve raised and loved has gone. And, no matter how much you want them to, they never go back to the way they used to be. I respect the movie for being so sincere about the impact Autism can have on the parents as well as the child.

I should say at this point, everything I’ve mentioned so far takes place in the first 15 minutes of the film! Life, Animated still has plenty more inspiring scenes to come.

Continued in Part 2: https://georgeharvey2015.wordpress.com/2017/08/01/life-animated-review-part-2/

(Image courtesy of: http://www.tulsakids.com/Web-2016/Life-Animated-at-Circle-Cinema/)