Damn. I forget how dark children’s stories can be, and Olivia Loccisano’s animated tale, Pocket Princess, is about as dark as it gets. Once upon a time, there was a young girl named Anna who became fixated on completing the set of dolls she collected from boxes of Medieval O’s. Her collection is almost as complete without the princess doll. Now, at the bedside of her dying mother, her last gift is a doll from the collection, but sadly, Anna already has that one.
Now living as an orphan to the evil priests, Anna becomes the worker/slave of the twisted priests. One night, in a dream, Anna is transformed into one of the dolls. The dolls suddenly speak and tell Anna she must engage in a terrible journey to find the princess. Hoping to escape the priest, she agrees to the perilous journey.
“Her collection is almost as complete without the princess doll.”
First, I love the animation of Pocket Princess. Its stop motion is reminiscent of the old Gumby series, as most of the puppets and props are made of clay, and the movements are made through the manipulation of the day. I’m particularly fascinated by using clay as Anna makes bread and cleans her room. Let stop-motion animation never die.
The story itself is delectably dark. The opening line of the short says it all. Is this tale for children? It goes into some dark territories, but yes, it’s for children, specifically those who might have a sinister edge to them (my prayers for you and your family). The darkness and evil get progressively nasty, and I’m falling in love with this story every moment.
Filmmaker Olivia Loccisano takes us on a dark, twisted journey as a Grimm’s fairy tale is brought to life. Want a chilling yet captivating story that doesn’t hold back? Pocket Princess is one animated gem you won’t forget.
"…Let stop-motion animation never die."
