Directed by John Henry Hinkel and written by Ethan Pakchar, a recently widowed pianist who has an unexpected (and musical) visit from a songbird. Despite his paralyzing grief, the bird helps him heal in more ways than one.
There are some who vastly underestimate animation, those who categorise it for children, not understanding the sincere depth and range of emotion that it can have. Morning Joy is a great example of that, it encapsulates a difficult time and a need to find new joys in life to help handle the grief. It’s the type of story that is surprisingly touching, there’s a great communication of all the issues it’s exploring and the feelings that go with them.
Especially in that music is a fantastic outlet to expand and embrace the themes of the story. Both in how its widower works out his emotions and in how it accents the story. Particularly matching his frustration and overflowing anger with jazz, they’re a perfect pairing. John Henry Hinkel creates an atmosphere which is filled with thoughtfulness, it’s complex emotions added to simple sweetness. It has a classically Pixar-esque warmth to it, family friendly and with a big heart.
The animation style itself is genuinely lovely to watch, it’s both traditional and modern. Playing with a classic hand drawn touch but the movement and editing fall more into today’s era. It also has a great use of colour, it’s distinct but evolves as Morning Joy progresses. Starting out with a more muted palette before gradually warming up and brightening as the feelings open up.
Morning Joy leaves you with a warm feeling, it’s lovingly made and filled with a caring atmosphere. It’s extremely well put together, with each detail adding to the next. The animation style is entertaining to watch unfold and the story is genuinely touching. That simple, sweet experience is undervalued in cinema today, so it’s always great to see filmmakers capturing that essence.
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