Madagascar, a Journey Diary (2010)

This uses a variety of animation styles to take us on a whistle-stop tour of Madagascar. Taking a quick coffee, we are invited to a "famadihana" - a sort of funeral ritual deep within the island. Using a lively original soundtrack, we are then whisked off in a coach taking in the towns and the sights around this huge island before being deposited amidst some farmland where a hillclimb takes us to a small village full of thatched-roof houses and friendly, smiling, people. We are here for this ceremony to commemorate a recently deceased lady. Rice and pork on the menu then a procession to her tomb where the emphasis is very much on joy tempered with respect. Meantime, some racoons are playfully enjoying the scene and the community continues it's daily routine as we proceed to explore the rest of this island, largely untouched for centuries. It has a little of the tourist video to it, this, but in an interesting and engaging fashion. The scenarios are sometimes animated, at other times static as if we were sending a postcard. The character detail can be specific or broad brush and that mixture of styles helps keep this vividly coloured feature interesting to watch for ten minutes.