Andrew Chesworth’s animated adventure is a neat and adorable tribute to the likes of Disney and classic Merrie Melodies tunes. It’s that classic tale about friendship, and commitment and loyalty above all else. While I was originally assuming this would be about a lot more, “The Brave Locomotive” keeps its intentions firmly planted in the more innocent side with a story about wicked companies and sticking to what works.
Linus the locomotive and his engineer Henry are living their best lives, but suddenly confront obsolescence in a changing world. The railroad company is obsessed with growth at all costs. The march of time looms large, but the best friends keep on and on.
I really did enjoy a lot of what “The Brave Locomotive” had to offer in the realm of aesthetics and animated prowess, as the short is light-hearted and fun to watch while also delivering some very subtle social commentary. I’m just fine with social commentary as I likes my animation to have some substance. The voice cast also do a bang-up job narrating the short through some great vocal performances that help punctuate the narrative very well.
I wish we could have been allotted at least five more minutes, but overall, that thankfully didn’t hinder Chesworth’s animated film when all was said and done. In spite of the short run time, “The Brave Locomotive” is a fun, and sweet story with a lot of inventive character design and a classic tale of adversity. It feels a lot like a storybook come to life and I wouldn’t mind seeing this celebrated more by like minded animation fans.
Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival occurs in San Jose March 7th – March 17th.