Nocturna (2007)

An orphan boy named Tim is afraid of the dark. However when the stars start going out in the sky he finds himself exploring the world of the night his new friend, the cat Shepard, to find out why.

Directors:

Adrià García, Víctor Maldonado

Writers:

Adrià García, Víctor Maldonado,

Stars:

Imanol Arias, Joe Lewis, Molly Malcolm

2 wins.

Cast

Credited cast:
Imanol Arias	...	Pastor de gatos (voice)
Joe Lewis	...	Whisperer (voice)
Molly Malcolm
Robert Paterson	...	Cat Sheperd
Natalia Rodríguez	...	Estrella Polar (voice)
Lloyd F. Booth Shankley	...	Tim
Carlos Sobera	...	Sr. Moka (voice)
Joshua Zamrycki	...	Mr. Pee (voice)

Storyline

An orphan boy named Tim is afraid of the dark. However when the stars start going out in the sky he finds himself exploring the world of the night his new friend, the cat Shepard, to find out why.

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Plot Keywords:

fear | creature | night time | cat | fear of the dark | 

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Family | Fantasy | Mystery

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Details

Official Sites:

Filmax [es] Gebeka Films [fr]

Country:

Spain France

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

11 October 2007 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Gece ve Pisiler

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmax Entertainment, Animakids Productions, Filmax Animation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in Troldspejlet: Episode #40.4 (2008)

User Reviews

The stars at night are big and bright...

It's always nice to accidentally stumble upon a movie that didn't get the praise and recognition it rightly deserved in the first place. It's even nicer when it's animated.

The story starts with Tim, a night-time fearing orphan who takes great refuge with mother nature's night-lights, the stars. After a prank by some of his fellow orphan brothers, he scrambles up onto the roof so the dark doesn't envelope him. And this is when he notices that the stars are beginning to disappear. But luckily for him he then meets the Cat Herder, his new found friend and ally to figuring out the mystery of the missing stars.

The story itself isn't strong enough to carry you alone, but thanks to a creative world and unique artistic style that reminded me of a Tim Schafer game in ways, the movie combines all aspects of film-making to create something worth-while and memorable.

At the movie's core is Nocturna; the name of the magical land that controls the night and sleep for all the little boys and girls of the world. In this land there's a Cat Herder that is in charge of all the cats that purr you to sleep. There's a trio of hair-dressers that give you 'bed head'. There's even a bothersome little man who with a tiny whisper, will have you wetting your bed. And that's just for starters.

With a tried and true, but rather simple story about courage, and not being afraid of the dark at it's center, you're not really blown away by any story arc. The delivery of it's message through imagination is the real saving grace. Because of the art style and professional voice work, the movie will eventually rise above it's unfounded place in that big well of under-appreciated films.