Nocturna is a magical, animated sleeper for tweens and up

Nocturna is a Spanish language film that was released in 2007.  It garnered a following and they demanded that it be released in English.  Imagine if Guillermo del Torro made a children’s animated movie that had enough creative creepy creatures to slightly scary, but were charming once you got to know them?  That is what I kept thinking while watching Nocturna.  It’s such a sweet film that is so good at creating an alternate world within plain sight that you care about and are interested in the freaky animated characters.

Nocturna is the world that takes over when we sleep.  Tim, a young orphan who lives in an orphanage is the main human character in the film. He sometimes fears the night and looks to a certain star to comfort him.  One night he can’t find his star in the sky, the light has been extinguished and other stars are quickly following suit.

Tim goes to the rooftop to check on the other stars and meets the Cat Shepherd.  The Cat Shepherd is just that, a large, hulking, top-heavy beast that is in charge of the cats at night.  At night each cat is in charge of a certain child to help them get to sleep and watch over them.

Tim is desperate to see his star and find out what’s happening to the ones that are disappearing.  He convinces Cat Shepherd to take him to Moka, the guardian of the night who might be able to help him find out what’s going on.  From there they go to Lighthouse of the Stars where they climb the massive staircase and find the last star still lit.  It’s a little teardrop shaped creature who explains to them some other nefarious things and the cause of them all.

The world that Nocturna creates is wonderful.  All of the creatures have a place and are beautifully drawn.    It’s easy to draw landscape parallels to some of Tim Burton’s animated works here too.  The city is classic European, with tight alleys, tall buildings and rounded roofs.  Nocturna is not anime, it has a classic animation feel, with aspects of the film popping like modern animation while some parts are soft and painted like anime.

Nocturna is a wonderful film that children 10 and up will love.  It is too dark for younger kids.  That’s a bit ironic because the story behind the big baddie is all about Tim conquering his fear of the dark.  Nocturna is worth seeking out.  It’s refreshing to see great animation and nice stories from other companies.