People Who Talk With Stuffed Animals Are Kind (2023)

People Who Care About This Premise Are Kind

I wanted to love this movie, really I did. The premise sounds unique and wholesome. Covering the subject of plushies and why people might feel attached or drawn to them and their comfort was great to see on-screen in theaters, but short lived. I don’t wanna be too harsh on the film since I admire its efforts and attempts at doing something different. You can tell the film was made with love and a passion and understanding for adorable stuffed creatures.

If I had to describe the film in two words it would be “soft” and “melancholic/sad”. There’s a lot of sweet and cute moments, especially with the wide range of plushies on featured. I admire the film’s sympathetic approach to youth and mental health. While it’s not perfect, it’s rare to see films that solely make it the focus within the context of plushies. There are a few neat moments where the direction shifts and even some plushie POV shots. The OST is entirely instrumental, besides the ending credits, and consists of an arrangement of funky plucks and strings.

Each character faces their own struggles and cope through talking to a stuffed friend. Besides the main semi-love interest, the other characters are given little screen-time and even less is known about them. There is a brief moment that touches on a conflict of a queer character, but aside from them, the side characters are not all that interesting. This films is ambitious and wants to address so many topics, it winds up under-developing most of them. The movie’s biggest demand, however, is its runtime and pacing. Despite the average runtime, this movie felt FAR FAR LONGER. I left the theater feeling like I had been there for 3 hours and even checked my phone a few times, which I try to avoid at all costs. There’s nothing wrong with a slow burn and I expected the movie to be a slice of life with a slower pace. But OH BOY, was I not prepared for how slow it felt.

The film also briefly deals with the topic of sexual harassment and assault that I think is worth mentioning. Thankfully it’s not shown on screen and treated in a serious manner, but I DID NOT expect that topic to pop-up in my cute plushie movie. I just wanted to warn people since I didn’t see it mentioned as a warning for the film. Worth mentioning is also how I didn’t notice any licensed character plushies out of the like 50 stuffed animals that were in the film! I can only imagine how many plushies they got and what they did with them after. I hope they were donated or given away, they’re too cute!

If you are interested in the film, it can be worth watching for the experience and warm premise. I don’t think there is much of a rewatch value, but I’m sure some people will like it more than I did. I wish the filmmakers and actors all the best, I hope to see them in future projects.

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