Junk

"If Jasper O'leary excelled at one thing..." it would be eating. Junk, however, excels at several. Beautifully animated, oft-times in a multi-layered Victorianish city-scape full of cheering details, the film's stop-motion sensibility is charming. Having its own poster concealed in its own title sequence is just one of many moments that delight.

The production design of Kirk Hendry's film is top-notch. There are some truly striking locations, some parts The Ladykillers, all smog and soot and trains and juxtaposition, others more The Bat-Man, all grand statuary and Burtonesque industrial necropolis and queasy hyper-Americana.

A vertiginous crane, the shadowy physicians, the Leviathan-punctuated roiling seascape all invite ever further attention. Michael Burges' character design is strong and Janine Forrester's music neat, the credits in the form of a sketchbook amuse. The mixture of light and tone, the use of near silhouette, the novelty of "jackhammer soup" all seem pitch-perfect. Barry Clayton's rhyming narration just adds to the pleasure. Indeed, 'narration' isn't quite right; Junk is framed as a book, and it is read to us cover to cover.

How, where, and why one animates are as important as what; from parkland to smelter Junk has got quite a lot. To beat an old drum, though, it's vision that's key - starving Jasper's story is something to see.