Life, Animated

20162016
SS
1h 32min

7.5/10

Documentary Comedy Drama

A coming of age story about a boy and his family who overcame great challenges by turning Disney animated movies into a language to express love, loss, kinship and brotherhood.A coming of age story about a boy and his family who overcame great challenges by turning Disney animated movies into a language to express love, loss, kinship and brotherhood.A coming of age story about a boy and his family who overcame great challenges by turning Disney animated movies into a language to express love, loss, kinship and brotherhood.

7.5/10

5.8K

Director
- Roger Ross Williams
Writers
- Ron Suskind(inspired by the book by: "Life, Animated: A Story of Sidekicks, Heroes, and Autism")
- Emily Hubley(animation writer)
- Kate Rose(transcripts)
Stars

Top credits

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 19 wins & 25 nominations total

Videos3

'Life, Animated': Voice

Director
- Roger Ross Williams
Writers
- Ron Suskind(inspired by the book by: "Life, Animated: A Story of Sidekicks, Heroes, and Autism")
- Emily Hubley(animation writer)
- Kate Rose(transcripts)
All cast & crew
See more cast details at IMDbPro

Owen Suskind was a boy of considerable promise, until he developed autism at the age of 3. As Owen withdrew into his silent state, his parents almost lost hope that he find some way to interact with his world in some meaningful way. However, that way was found through animated films, especially those of the Walt Disney Company, which provided Owen a way to understand the world through its stories to the point of creating his own. This film covers the life of Owen and how he manages to become as functional as possible with the help of Disney and his family to the point of having his own life. However, Owen soon learns as well that there is more to real life than what Disney can illustrate in animation even as his family prepares itself for an uncertain future with him. —Kenneth Chisholm (kchishol@rogers.com)

autism part animated independent living movie theater disney 32 more

Taglines
- His imagination unlocked an amazing new world
Genres
Certificate
- S
Parents guide

Quotes
Alan Rosenblatt: The image of autism in the early 90's was not terribly flattering.

Connections
Featured in 20/20: Finding Owen: A Boy's Story (2016)

Top review

10/10

WOW Amazing

I just saw this film at the SF Film Festival.

This film gives you an up close and personal experience of having someone in your family develop autism at a young age after seeming to be fine for their first few years of life. They have home movies that show him playing normally and interacting with the family. Then you see the changes in him and see what it's like to take a child to doctors and try to figure out what's wrong and how to help him.

This would be a heart wrenching tale except that this child develops an interest in Disney movies and the parents finally realize that these films are a way to connect with him. His life is entirely changed by that recognition and over time you see him at age 23 able to be an independent young adult.

The animation in the film is wonderful. The young man becomes a storyteller too, inspired by the Disney stories. This is a different kind of Disney film but I predict it will last for eternity alongside all the other Disney classics.

Kudos to all involved!

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