April and the Extraordinary World (2015)

22 February 2020

The problem with alternate reality style movies is that it can often get absorbed in its own world building. This story wraps itself around the disappearance of scientists keeping the world in the steam age. The story specifically follows the Franklin family across several generations as they try to discover "the ultimate serum".

I don't understand why this family cares about finding this serum, given that it screws up their lives so much and since left in an electric-starved world there would be a lot more interest in that realm than eternal life. April even cares about this serum more than reuniting with her family, which seems even more contrived. The clichéd mad scientist plot device gets used a lot for this story, and I feel like if you're going to do it at least go all in (like in the graphic novel The Manhattan Projects, where they went insane on technological advancement).

The animation is decent and fits the mood well. The plot and acting are fine but I feel ultimately forgettable overall. The most memorable part of the story is the world building, and it's conventional to Cyberpunk (undoubtedly trying to appeal to that fan base). It's ok but without teeth. 5/10