MovieChat Forums > Life, Animated (2016) Discussion > Watch "How to Dance in Ohio" Instead

Watch "How to Dance in Ohio" Instead

posted 8 years ago by fmpol
6 replies | jump to latest

"Life, Animated" was like a long, unimaginative and heavy-handed Disney infomercial. No doubt the film community (and Disney in particular) will cynically applaud this doc and its testament to the magic (and even curative) power of movies. It may even be rewarded with an undeserved Oscar nomination.

Please don't misunderstand me - if the hype for this documentary gets people to watch and it in turn gives viewers a greater understanding of autism, then that's great.

But if you're thinking of watching this film for its insight into autism, I would urge you to instead watch "How to Dance in Ohio". How to Dance may strike some in the autism support community as too upbeat a snapshot, but ultimately its different approach gives the viewer a far greater understanding of and compassion for the struggles of living with autism. It is a film that lets the viewer observe, wonder and learn, instead of relying on a heavy-handed narrative approach.

I know that it's not an either/or proposition - one can watch both docs and gain a different insight from the two. But realistically, most people are not going to seek out multiple documentaries on the same subject. If you are only going to watch one, then do yourself a favor and take the compassion of "How to Dance in Ohio" over the cynical hype for "Life, Animated".

[–] elsephen 8 years ago

How about "Watch 'How to Dance in Ohio' also"?

It's not a competition and this is a great documentary.

[–] nihilistic_tyranny 7 years ago

In regards to how insightful this documentary was about autism, it wasn't. I don't think the intention of this film was to provide that information. It barely even goes into the clinical definitions, and I feel like that was deliberate.

I completely understand your criticism of the film for being a Disney infomercial. The biggest thing that struck me as odd was that at NO POINT did Owen ever talk about any non-Disney animated films, but if you glance over his film collection, you'll see quite a lot of non-Disney stuff. I understand that Disney was the focus...but I do have to wonder if the filmmakers were paid off by Disney to use them exclusively. This dilemma was on my mind within the first ten minutes of the film, and I'll probably go back and pause the scenes where Owen's movie collection is on display.

So either the film includes only Disney because that really is precisely what Owen watches 99% of the time (remember that Owen says he's been to the movie theater lots of times) or there's something else going on behind the scenes (possibly something financial or legal?)

Either way, it's a decent documentary so long as you're not looking for a thesis on the autistic spectrum.

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law!

[–] benman46 7 years ago

No the filmmakers weren't paid off by Disney, in fact Disney weren't allowed to interfere in any way. The film wasn't supposed to be an investigation into autism, that's been done many many times before. It was about an individual case, and how he and those around him found their way to deal with it. The reason they stuck with Disney and not the other movies is
patently obvious from the beginning. Deal with it.

[–] nihilistic_tyranny 7 years ago

Can you really say it's "patently obvious"?

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law!

[–] benman46 7 years ago

Oh yes.

[–] kimdragonchild 7 years ago

I'm watching the movie, right now, and I couldn't agree with you more.

I don't know why some posters want this to be an autism documentary when it's a story of this one particular individual who found himself and found a means of communicating and dealing with things, specifically through Disney animated movies.

It's an amazing story and I'm so touched by it.

http://jerzygirl45.wordpress.com/