REVIEW: Lu Over the Wall

Courtesy of GKids

Before we talk about this intriguing-yet-flawed tale from prominent filmmaker Masaaki Yuasa, I should probably make it clear that I’m not a big anime fan. It’s not that I hate the genre, but its inherent quirks and tropes have never appealed to me. In fact, these characteristics tend to make me disconnect instead of engaging me emotionally or intellectually.

I’m in no way faulting anime for this – it’s totally a “me” issue, weird personal baggage that I’m bringing to the viewing experience. Despite my many attempts to give the genre a chance, I’ve accepted that it’s just not my cup of tea. So keep that in mind when reading my take on Lu Over the Wall, Yuasa’s visually striking but narratively slight film.

A modern spin on Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid” (one that takes even more creative liberties than Disney’s version), the story centers on Kai (Michael Sinterniklass), a shy, quiet teen who feels out of place in his small fishing village. The only thing that makes him happy is writing songs and anonymously posting them on the internet. However, when two of his classmates discover his hobby, they invite him to join their band.

During a practice session, their music draws the attention of Lu (Christine Marie Cabanos), a young mermaid whose fins turn into legs when she dances. As Kai gets to know Lu, he opens up to her in a way he hasn’t been able to with other people – including his father and grandfather. But when word of Lu spreads to other villagers, their long-held prejudices and superstitions about mermaids put everyone in danger.

The animation style in Lu Over the Wall is gorgeous, sometimes astonishingly so, and the film is packed with terrific music. I especially liked the weird, various designs of Lu, her father and the dogs that the young mermaid memorably rescues from a local pound. However, these admirable traits are in service of a story that quickly runs out of gas despite the movie’s far-too-long running time of 112 minutes.

You get a good sense of where the movie’s going within the first half-hour, and then it plays out pretty much the way you’d expect. It just takes so much time to get there thanks to a handful of subplots that are meant to add depth to various townspeople, but aren’t nearly as interesting as the main story. After a while, these tangents ended up making my eyes glaze over instead of making me invest deeper in the film.

But, like I said, your mileage may vary. Fans of the genre will likely enjoy the movie far more than I did, even though I didn’t dislike it by any means. I’m just not sure who it’s for: the story’s too childlike for teens and adults, but it’s too long and sluggishly-paced for younger viewers.

Lu Over the Wall is rated PG for some peril and thematic elements.

Grade: B-