When it comes to American animation, the vast majority of animation fits reasonably neatly into one of two categories: family-friendly animation from the likes of Disney, Pixar and Dreamworks, or adult animation on television (best represented by the likes of The Simpsons, South Park or Family Guy). There are some exceptions, naturally, but that's the general scheme of things.
Don Hertzfeldt's astounding It's Such a Beautiful Day doesn't really fit into either category. It's definitely not family friendly, but nor does it gel with what usually constitutes 'adult animation'. What it is is a work of wild imagination, thematic complexity, and general maturity that puts it heads and shoulders above most, if not all, contemporary animation from America or anywhere else.
The film started life as a series of three shorts, and put together they just about constitute a 'feature' with a running time of around an hour. Yet there's more to take in and appreciate during that relatively lean running time then many directors manage in their entire careers.
It's Such a Beautiful Day follows a hat-wearing stick figure called Bill. Over the course of the film - when it's not showing flashbacks or dream sequences - Bill's mind and body start deteriorating due to an unnamed disease. Hertzfeldt uses the setup to explore themes like memory and mortality in a frank and insightful way.
If it sounds dark, that's because it is at times. But while the subject matter can be challenging, it's also full of surreal humour, sardonic wit and plenty of fantastical ideas. What appears at first to be a minimalist style evolves radically over the course of the film, with lots of colour, experimental tangents and even plentiful use of live action footage. It owes more to Terence Malick than it does to Pixar.
It's a dense film, and its skillfully fluctuating tone can take some getting used to. But it's hypnotic viewing too, a marathon of emotions, ideas and themes over the course of its running time. It is funny and heartbreaking; life-affirming but without cheap sentiment.
It's Such a Beautiful Day is definitely among the most audacious and successful debut features of recent times. Hertzfeldt is working on his second feature, but earlier this year released a new short - World of Tomorrow - which easily lives up to the potential shown in Beautiful Day - and then some. He also worked on a very well received Simpsons couch gag.
It's hard to tell where he'll go from here - but there's no question if will be absolutely fascinating.
It's Such a Beautiful Day is available on Netflix and iTunes. The director is currently running a Kickstarter campaign for a Blu-Ray release featuring the film and a selection of his short films
