"My Life as a Zucchini" was nominated for Best Animated Feature for the 2017 Academy Awards but lost to "Zootopia". It's a shame, as 2017 offered three very deserving films (I would also include "Kubo") and only one could take home the award. Perhaps my love for "My Life as a Zucchini" is influenced by my work as a social worker and therapist, as the story is a hopeful tale about children who have been shamefully abused by their parents...a common problem I had to deal with on the job.

The story begins with a child stuck in the attic of a horrible home while his mother is downstairs getting drunk and violent. When she tries to enter the attic to beat the boy, he panics and slams down the trap door...and the mother falls to her death. Soon the child is being talked to be a very kind police officer, Raymond, and he's surprised to hear that the boy's mother just called him 'Zucchini' and that's the only name he knows. Fortunately for poor little Zucchini, the man is touched by this case and regularly visits him in the children's home where he is sent to live.

As for the children's home, seven children reside in the place and they are given kindness and love. It's actually a pretty nice place, but your heart goes out to the children and the hell they've had to go through during their short lives. Most of the story is about Zucchini and how he adjusts to the place as well as his falling for a girl who arrives soon after him, Camille. And, fortunately, the picture, while VERY moving and sad, has a nice happy ending.

This is a very, very special stop-motion film. While it's very artistic and well done it is something more...it's very sweet and has a depth to it you really don't expect in animation. The Swiss film is available in both the original French language version and an English dub (which is very good) on the same DVD. Perhaps other versions are also available, but on the DVD I saw these were the two language choices. Well worth seeing...but have a Kleenex or two handy just in case.

'My Life as a Courgette' was the last of the five 2016/7 Best Animated Feature Oscar nominees viewed by me, and that it is (to me) the weakest of the nominees and still manages to be a very good film is testament to how great the other four films ('The Red Turtle', 'Kubo', 'Moana' and the winner 'Zootropolis', so very stiff competition) were.

There is not a whole lot wrong with 'My Life as a Courgette'. At just over an hour it is a little too short and it did have a story that was deserving of a longer length, and the depiction of orphanages (usually a dark and unhappy environment that people can't wait to leave) is rather rose-tinted. Otherwise, it is a beautifully done film that has much more to it than the quirky if silly title, the cute-looking characters and bright colourful visuals make out. Not classing these attributes as bad things in any way, but it is so easy hearing and seeing it advertised to get the wrong idea about 'My Life as a Courgette', thinking it will be a quirky film with children as its primary target audience, bright colours and witty humour when actually there is much to the film than that.

It is a beautifully animated film certainly. It is very vibrantly bright and colourful, with parts of truly haunting atmosphere, a vividly immersive world and meticulously detailed backgrounds and overall visuals from the little things to the bigger effects. Just as good are the eye-catching character designs that are modelled smoothly and even with the oddball looks look and behave very authentically, for characters they are very unique and charmingly unusual (what other title character has blue hair and a red nose?).

Furthermore, the music score is appropriately atmospheric and whimsical, while the writing has quirks and poignancy. The story could have benefited from a longer length but still charms, amuses and moves, with a surprisingly sober tone, while not being afraid to take risks and brave more difficult subjects with sensitivity and never heavy-handedness. This is including one of the boldest opening sequences in any animated film (perhaps the boldest since that for Disney's 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame'). Everything is paced beautifully too.

Characters are very easy to warm to and have engaging, distinct personalities. Voice acting in both the American and particularly French versions is very emotive.

On the whole, beautiful film and has much more to it than one would think. 8/10 Bethany Cox

The way they made this film was very original, and good originality is very valuable and worth watching. I love stop-motion, in this is an excellent stop-motion, because of everything in the film impressed me. The characters are very original, even the name that the main character has is amazing. The screenplay embraces so many genuine topics, as love and the different ways it can be shown; it has humor but it also wants to make you cry and fall in love with each character. The production is incredible, amazing, out of this world; and I couldn't ask for more, it made me want to cry because of this simple but outstanding production! This motion picture is really worth watching, is very touching; and if I could only watch one movie for the rest of my life it will be this one.