Not Recommended
MID 2 to LIGHT 5. I found some aspects okay but dislike others. Well, that was something. I've never watched feature-length propaganda, nor have I watched much pre-60s animation. This was a new experience for me, and, in both the propaganda and animation aspects, the movie was morbidly interesting. As a Pinoy, well... I think it should be obvious how I feel about the propaganda. Although, I want to note a caveat in my take. The way they depict themselves liberating the natives from those nasty whites sounds similar to nationalist propaganda in my home country. The somewhat messy relationship between the natives and the white menis a relationship heavily played upon in politics and rhetoric here, and I believe most Filipinos agree that being free from the Americans was approximately a good thing. *cue that famous Manuel Quezon quote*
Of course, Japan being the one to bring that liberation? Not at all true or justified. In many ways, the Japanese were worse occupiers than the Americans. (Not that America did nothing wrong, but Japan was brutal, to put it mildly). And we WERE getting independence soon anyway, so Japan's "well-intentioned intervention" was not needed at all. (I am being a bit overly specific here because the rhetoric also includes other Southeast Asian colonies that weren't due for independence).
Also, uh... "Devil's Island"? Really?
That said, watching propaganda is a very intriguing experience. The way they glorified industrialization and deforestation... The way they censor the violence in trying to make war appealing to children... The way the English/American officers spoke during the surrender negotiations about how "the war is on their side already" as if Japan was self-aware that she was losing... I feel like I have a more nuanced view on WWII Japanese ideology after watching this movie.
Not that I'll raise the score for this. None of this historical and academic value arises from the film's quality itself.
The production itself is amateurish but interestingly so. It looks like they were still trying to figure out how this "animation" thing is supposed to be done. Most of the movement is slow and takes far too many frames. Its sound design is messy. (I'm not talking about the static caused by old microphones. I'm talking about how the sounds don't consistently change with the cut, how the camera should've changed position but the ambiance sounds unchanged). The child actors suck (but in a kinda adorable way). Animation errors and missing frames aplenty. The facial animation is... morbidly fascinating (a.k.a. creepy AF).
However, I did unironically enjoy a few things about the flick. Here and there, there were a few hints of that early cartoon charm with all the singing and dancing. I liked how the film's overall premise is just a bunch of animals dancing and having fun with their *wartime* routines (until they go and stab some white men). It reminds of animation shorts I used to watch when I was younger which were pretty much just a bunch of fun kids and animals dancing and playing. The film accomplishes this appeal somewhat well, and while it's not the best at it, it achieves a state of fun bliss in a few scenes. Enough to make me rate some moments a light 5.
Animation-wise, the background art looks fine, some of the larger crowd shots have some dynamic compositions and animation, and the music shared the orchestral energy of all those old cartoons. Despite most of the movie feeling like the animators were still learning how to do everything, they got some things right.
The movie surprised me when they managed to get actual English voice actors to star. I don't know why they'd agree to such a role depicting them as horribly cowardly. Either that or they got REALLY talented Japanese voice actors, but I find that hard to imagine. Maybe I just don't watch that much propaganda. This might be a common occurrence if the pay was hefty enough to justify this humiliation.
To conclude, it's still propaganda, as you'd expect. However, you might learn some things on how the WWII Japanese viewed themselves, others, and their place in the world. As an animation though, it does have some charm to its aesthetic, despite the animators obviously still learning the craft.
