I remember not liking this movie very much the first time I saw it: The CGI felt dated even back then and some of the visuals were frankly ugly.
After a recent rewatch, I appreciate some aspects from it, such as the creative, almost surreal setting showing a clear influence from the films of René Laloux.
Also the plot turned out to be darker and much less childish than I remembered, dealing with some complex themes such as religious fanaticism and having to deal with hard choices in the face of adversity.
The villains were the most interesting aspect from it: Without them, the movie would be just another generic sci-fi movie for kids.
Some parts of the story felt a bit muddled and not very well explained, but despite this, Kaena was still a decent effort of making a different, more ambitious kind of CGI film in the early 2000s.
A shame Chris Delaporte and Pascal Pinon never worked in another movie, since they seemed to be very imaginative filmmakers. Is just that the technology wasn't up to par to their creative vision.
But the heart was at the right place.
After a recent rewatch, I appreciate some aspects from it, such as the creative, almost surreal setting showing a clear influence from the films of René Laloux.
Also the plot turned out to be darker and much less childish than I remembered, dealing with some complex themes such as religious fanaticism and having to deal with hard choices in the face of adversity.
The villains were the most interesting aspect from it: Without them, the movie would be just another generic sci-fi movie for kids.
Some parts of the story felt a bit muddled and not very well explained, but despite this, Kaena was still a decent effort of making a different, more ambitious kind of CGI film in the early 2000s.
A shame Chris Delaporte and Pascal Pinon never worked in another movie, since they seemed to be very imaginative filmmakers. Is just that the technology wasn't up to par to their creative vision.
But the heart was at the right place.