My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea

<<

Under the Radar

>>

This is an interesting little jaunt that I couldn't really help but appreciate. Its overall weirdness blends with a surprising form of animation that, although reminiscent of elementary school artwork, remains ultimately captivating. 

The story centers on two best friends, Dash (Jason Schwartzman) and Asaaf (Reggie Watts) who attend Tides High School - a school located at the edge of a cliff and above a fault line. They write together for the school newspaper. The paper's editor, Verti (Maya Rudolph), one day assigns a solo project for Asaaf, which ultimately angers Dash, leading him to write a hurtful article about his best friend.

The article makes their Principal, Grimm (Thomas Jay Ryan) put a blotch on Dash's permanent record. This causes Dash to break into the school archives to retrieve his record, but in turn finds out that the school's overall structure isn't up to code. This will eventually lead to an earthquake that sends the... well, "entire high school sinking into the sea".

Added to the cast are a few recognizable names like Lena Dunham and Adam Lustick, but perhaps most interesting is Susan Sarandon as a bad ass, survivalist lunch lady, who helps everyone to try to survive this literal sinking ship of a school.

Going back to the animation style, I couldn't help but appreciate it. The story is a recap a major even during high school, being told by a high school student, so the style fits actually quite well, as it's somewhat juvenile looking. But what's fascinating about it is that the atmosphere of the story also gets animated. This movie shows you emotions with its flow of animation, and it really makes for a great, overall art piece of a film.

In the long run, this was one of those movies I really appreciated for myself, but I can't necessarily just recommend it to anyone and everyone. I think in order to really appreciate this film as a whole, you'll need to have at least a bit of an appreciation for artsy films, because this most certainly is that. It's almost like watching someone's dream unfold before your eyes.

The film can currently be found on Netflix (Canada) if you feel like giving it a whirl. It runs an easy hour and 15 minutes, so it's simple enough to sit though. However, I'd warn not to treat it as just another animated movie so much as an experience. I really enjoyed it for myself.

4/5 

---