★★★

An energetic adventure, the Eastern European animated film Journey to Yourland whisks audiences away to a fantastical world as seen through the eyes of 10-year-old Riki. A child of a pending divorce, Riki uses his complicated feelings about his family life to springboard him into the parallel world of Yourland.

Aiding him along that quest is a crystal energy source he possesses, sending him into a steampunk-inspired land of mechanical crows, a metallic robot named Metal Man, and Tidling, a quick-witted sentient monkey. Riki also discovers another young child dealing with complicated feelings and struggles in Emma, a red-haired girl who not only controls Metal Man, but seems to match wits with Riki in a variety of ways.

Director Peter Budinský spent nearly a decade crafting and completing his animated work, which feels not only episodic in terms of narrative storytelling but offers a presentation suited for an animated television series. While we can look past the smaller budget constraints, Journey to Yourland moves efficiently and is paced well. While you can certainly see elements of other films within its framework, Budinský and his team of four additional writers try to dig deep and provide greater meaning behind the events unfolding on screen.

For older kids, this may appear to skew towards a younger audience. A younger audience may find themes of divorce, death, and parental conflict hard to contextualize. And though sometimes the film struggles to find a message that resonates consistently, an overall message of acceptance and understanding transcends.

With all of the heightened energy and steampunk-influenced characters and backdrops, Journey to Yourland finds its best moments when it speaks to the realness of change, loss, and companionship.

Journey to Yourland was viewed as part of the hybrid 2023 Children’s Film Festival Seattle, hosted by Northwest Film Forum. The film is presented in person on February 4, 2023, and available virtually, for the duration of the festival, from February 3-12, 2023.