Sometimes it seems that Disney has a monopoly on fairy tales, because in the end it has built an animation empire based on it, but over the years it has inspired more and more creators around the world to count their own stories.
And in this case, ‘Mavka, Guardian of the Forest’ Ukrainian mythology strip to tell us an unlikely love story between two very different worlds.
Fantasy Capulets and Montagues
‘Mavka, Guardian of the Forest’ is a Ukrainian animated film from the studio animagrad that has arrived this April 28 in Spain by the hand of Selecta Visión, which is not only in charge of bringing anime. In addition to the original version, it can also be seen dubbed in Spanish, Catalan and Basque.
But to the mess, this is the story of Mavka, a forest spirit who is chosen as the new guardian of the place despite the fact that she is neither the strongest nor the most prepared candidate. Her mission to protect the enchanted forest is complicated when she meets Lukea music-loving human who is looking for a magic sheet with which to cure his sick uncle.
The two soon connect and love arises, but their towns have been at odds for years and the forest soon finds itself threatened by humans seeking to seize their magic.
‘Mavka, Guardian of the Forest’ is a lovely love story that mixes the best of the most modern animated films with classical elements of Ukrainian mythology. The protagonists are adorable and from the first moment you want things to go well for them, and it’s nice to see how the film takes its time to get to know each other and the world where the other lives.
Unfortunately, the wheel is already invented and ‘Mavka’ doesn’t get wet with anything new either that we haven’t seen in other stick movies like ‘Tangled’ (because it even has its evil mazado twin duo and the influence of Disney is very noticeable), but it’s still charming entertainment. And recovering the good spirit of ‘Ferngully’, there is no shortage the environmental plea in defense of natural resources and the protection of the environment, adding another layer to the confrontation between humans and forest creatures.
Obviously, nor can this Ukrainian studio be judged by the level of animation achieved by Disney or DreamWorksbut it remains very good compared to what we are seeing in European animation in recent years with a very drinkable finish.
It is only the second feature film by Animagrad, who also had to pause the film after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine and finish the project at home. So taking all this into account and the seven years of work, it must be said that the animation holds up very well on its own and leaves us with a really beautiful finish that you can’t ask for more with the resources available.
‘Mavka, Guardian of the Forest’ evokes the best of classic princess movies and it is full of magic. But although it brings out the best, it also inherits many of the worst vices, such as too many unbearable secondary characters to have a thousand comic reliefs or the cute pets of the protagonists that still end up subtracting weight from the main conflict.
If we want a really nice animated film with a tender romance full of magic, ‘Mavka, Guardian of the Forest’ is going to give us the perfect entertainment, especially for the little ones. She’s not going to reinvent the wheel, but sometimes she doesn’t have to in order to have a good time.
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