Mavka: The Forest Song movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Mavka: The Forest Song

This animated fantasy hits theaters on August 15, 2023

RATING: PG

LENGTH: 1 hour 39 minutes

MOVIE REVIEW MOM GRADE: B+

IN A NUTSHELL:

The movie is based on the poetic play “The Forest Song” (Lisova Pisnya) by Lesya Ukrainka, which was based on Slavic mythology. It was directed by Oleh Malamuzh and Oleksandra Ruban.

Despite the dangerous working conditions in Ukraine now, the film studio that created this film was determined to keep working on the movie in order to share the Ukrainian message of love and peace around the world. Bombs were flying all around the team, yet they only stopped production for a few days. Amazing. The film began production in 2017.

This movie was the only Ukrainian project that was pitched at Cartoon Movie for two years in a row. I think American audiences will enjoy it.

THINGS I LIKED:

I wasn’t familiar with any of the voice actors because the original movie was filmed with all Ukrainian celebrities. The female lead was voiced by Nataliya Denisenko, while the male lead was voiced by Artem Pivovarov. What we’re hearing are the American voiceovers which include Laurie Hymes, Eddy Lee, Sarah Natochenny, Tom Wayland, Marc Thompson, Scottie Ray, HD Quinn, Nikki Thomas, Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld, and Mike Pollic.
The story takes place in Ukraine. What we see is a beautiful and magical land, very unlike the bombed-out areas of Ukraine we see in the news.
We get to see traditional Ukrainian clothing, as well as hear their music and language.
The movements of the humans and forest creatures are very realistic. Great animation work.
The rich colors make this movie beautiful to watch.
There’s a cute little sidekick and some other forest creatures that’ll make you go “Awww.”
Combat polka. Ha ha
There’s a lot of visual and spoken humor.
The Ukranian forest includes a lot of unique, imaginative creatures.
There is some lovely, original music, although the film could not be considered a musical.
Mavka isn’t just a Ukrainian film; merchandising for it has become popular all over the world already.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

The opening scene has a lot of exposition, but there are also more scenes that have to explain everything about this unique land and what happened to it.
The story repeats over and over how being nice is a weakness.
It’s extremely predictable.
Some of the voice talents sound like a cheap cartoon rather than for a polished feature film.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

No profanity. Yay! Instead, words like “heck” are used.
Humans and forest creatures fight.
We see a forest destroyed by fire twice.
A man and woman kiss romantically.
A dog slaps a man.
We see a skeleton head floating in the water.
There are a few scary moments.
This is generally a family-friendly movie.

THEMES:

Protecting nature
Human nature
Trust
Bullying
Greed and Power
Community
Sacrifice for the greater good
Love
Aging and vanity
Anger
Duty and responsibility
The power of music

FUNNY LINES:

“Not working is my dream job!” – villager
“Run! Move your foot sticks.” – Hush (Mykhailo Khoma)

INTERESTING LINES:

“Music is king of magic.” – Lucas (Artem Pivovarov)
“The only magic thing humans have is love.” – Lucas (Artem Pivovarov)
“A spark of rage has its price.” – The Guardian
“Love and kindness will always win because love is the most precious thing we humans have.” – Lucas (Artem Pivvarov)