Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

This documentary follows a family and its struggles to break through to their autistic son and brother, which they eventually do through the medium of Disney movies. The film follows the autistic son as he leaves home to live on his own in an assisted living facility, while it recounts the evolution of his condition and its effects on the family."Life, Animated" is a perfectly fine film and one that I enjoyed without feeling especially strongly about it. It's an interesting if not fascinating peek into the world of autism, but the parts of the film I found most compelling were the brief interviews with the older brother, who is terrified at the prospect of a future where he is single- handedly responsible for taking care of his brother. There was a whole other documentary to be made out of that.And the Disney company couldn't have asked for a better commercial. At first I was amazed that the filmmakers were able to get rights to all of the Disney clips shown throughout, but then I thought about how much free publicity the company would get from this film alone and was no longer surprised.A nominee for Best Documentary Feature at the 2016 Academy Awards.Grade: B+

I'm an autistic Disney fan and I like this film.Finally a positive portrayal of autism and animation. I was also one of the lucky ones:awesome family (grew up with two older sisters), love of Disney and non-Disney cartoons, etc.Only problems are the sex talk (understand why he would struggle over this as I prefer to be single myself and no, don't suggest Disney porn!) and I feel that I'm more higher-functioning than Owen (no offense).As for sidekicks: Nick Wilde from Zootopia, Kronk from The Emporer's New Groove, Baymax from Big Hero 6 (new school Disney and deadpan minimalist extraordinaire), Vinny from Atlantis:The Lost Empire and BEN from Treasure Planet (Owen got Lucky Jack from Home on the Range) And my villain would be named Fuzzbutcher (grown up version of Fuzzbutch as I also suffered from OCD).Also, read the book too.

A film with the premise that this has and with that specific story and subjects in front of the camera was always going to be very emotional. The key is not to make a film like this overly emotional, overly contrived, and overly manipulative. I don't think the film is. It earns its sentiment and it's able to sensitively look at these people without actually exploiting them. It's quite a special story, not one that many documentary filmmakers would be telling, but one that really brings a lot of issues into perspective. It's fascinating and definitely recommended for audiences not very familiar with autism. It may break your heart but it's also very uplifting.

I just saw this film at the SF Film Festival. This film gives you an up close and personal experience of having someone in your family develop autism at a young age after seeming to be fine for their first few years of life. They have home movies that show him playing normally and interacting with the family. Then you see the changes in him and see what it's like to take a child to doctors and try to figure out what's wrong and how to help him. This would be a heart wrenching tale except that this child develops an interest in Disney movies and the parents finally realize that these films are a way to connect with him. His life is entirely changed by that recognition and over time you see him at age 23 able to be an independent young adult. The animation in the film is wonderful. The young man becomes a storyteller too, inspired by the Disney stories. This is a different kind of Disney film but I predict it will last for eternity alongside all the other Disney classics. Kudos to all involved!