‘Icarus and the Minotaur’: The flight of impossible friendship

Converted into one of the titles that gave more prestige to the Miniminci category in the last 67th edition of the Seminci of Valladolid, ‘Icarus and the Minotaur’ becomes the introduction letter of Carlo Vogele, an animator who worked for Pixar in projects such as ‘Toy Story 3’ or ‘Monsters University’, which presents its debut film, bringing to the cinema one of the best-known legends of Greek mythology, that of the young man who flew too close to the Sun, Icarus . A hand-made animated film in the spirit of a classic tragedy designed for a family audience.

Luxembourg’s representative in the Best International Film category at the 95th Academy Awards, Vogele is committed to going back to basics, with a feature film with an aesthetic that evokes other great European animation titles such as ‘The Bears’ Famous Invasion of Sicily’, ‘Calamity’ or ‘Pachamama’. The uniqueness of his nationality gives the production a uniqueness that recalls the importance of co-productions in the European film industry, as it is a co-production with other French-speaking countries such as France and Belgium, both countries with extensive experience in animation .

Despite having worked for Pixar, Vogele makes a length that is very reminiscent of the style that could already be seen in his acclaimed short ‘Una furtiva lágrima’. The result is a fabulous cure with the flavor of a classic tale, once again calling upon the power of traditional animation. A fable that reinterprets the myth of Icarus to transform it into a tragedy about friendship, combining it with the legend of Theseus and the Minotaur, which allows both classics to be reinterpreted without renouncing their traditional spirit of Greek tragedy. Furthermore, he adds a much more complex reading relating to the young man with the winged feathers.

A story with the soul of a timeless classic, with exquisite animation

The myth of Icarus is usually related to excessive ambition and dire consequences if someone gets carried away by the desire for greed. However, Vogele, who co-wrote the screenplay with Isabelle Andrivet, reinterprets it as an act of love and brotherhood., from the scion of the architect Daedalus from the beast, the Minotaur, called Asterion. Precisely, Vogele’s film explores the figure of the monster with the body of a man and the face of a bull, whose intimidating appearance hides an affable heart. It’s also charming how Vogele captures some elements of Greek mythology with a didactic meaning, such as the fact of narrating the conception of the creature, son of Queen Pasiphae and the Bull of Crete.

Exploring the human side of the beast and how he befriended the wax-winged youth allows us to tell a story with a classic and timeless spirit, with animation that alternates the traditional with an avant-garde style and characters that perfectly convey the essence of Greek mythology, who tried to give some kind of answer about the origins and nature of the world. Vogele signs a splendid feature film, one of those rarely seen in current animation production. Here you can see the intentions of a director who tries to compete with filmmakers of the stature of Michel Ocelot, Anca Damian or Rémi Chayé, showing his own style that knows how to bring that balance between the author’s gaze and the commercial approach. ‘Icarus and the Minotaur’ stands as one of the most fascinating animation proposals of this 2022 and already aspires to be a timeless jewel.

Note: 9

The best: Its careful animation style and how the myth of Icarus can be reinterpreted without losing its classic spirit.

Worse: The limited distribution it will have as it is more of an author proposition than a commercial one.