FILM
Night of the Zoopocalypse ★★½
(PG) 91 minutes
Any three-year-old who has ever thrown a tantrum knows what it means to turn into a monster, especially late at night. So why not tap into that knowledge in a computer-animated monster movie for the whole family?
Based on a concept from Hellraiser creator Clive Barker, the Canadian-French-Belgian co-production Night of the Zoopocalypse has to walk the line of being alarming but not too distressing.
A scene from Night of the Zoopocalypse.
By and large the balancing act succeeds, although parents need to think carefully before investing in tickets to a movie in which a glowing meteor hits a zoo one night after closing time and turns most of the animals into abominations out of H.P. Lovecraft.
A handful escape this fate, among them the heroine Grace (Gabbi Kosmidis), a cheery young wolf who just wants to be reunited with her pack. Her reluctant allies include a gruff mountain lion (David Harbour), an anxious ostrich (Scott Thompson) who sounds like Daffy Duck without the speech impediment, and a movie-mad lemur (Pierre Simpson) who supplies a running commentary on the structure of the story like Abed in Community.
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That last device might sound painfully over-sophisticated, but in fact the writing here is something of an afterthought. Whole sequences have no dialogue at all, and it’s happily clear that the co-directors Ricardo Curtis and Rodrigo Perez-Castro are visual thinkers first and foremost (both have worked extensively as storyboard artists in the animation industry, in and out of Hollywood).
Much of what they’re thinking about is how to make the most of a less than Hollywood-sized budget. Having the entire story take place after dark means that backgrounds can often be conveniently hidden in shadow, while the action is often bathed in lurid pink or green light (not always from alien sources – the zoo doubles as a fun park).
Most crucial are the character designs. Anything close to photorealism is off the agenda: regardless of species, the animals have ping-pong ball eyes and smooth rubbery bodies like squeaky bath toys, a resemblance highlighted when the scene shifts to the gift shop.
