Are you ready for (adorable) monsters?
On the heels of Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein, and just in time for Halloween, comes a whimsical spin on the Frankenstein story, the animated comedy Stitch Head. It’s the first family film of the holiday season, heartwarmingly written and directed by Steve Hudson (True North). Undeniably self-aware and filled with equal amounts of kid-friendly and Monty Python-style humor, Stitch Head brings Guy Bass’s book series to life with charming, colorful vibrancy and carries with it a positive message about friendship and self-worth.
Stitch Head is named after the titular character, Stitch Head (Asa Butterfield, Sex Education), a Frankenstein-esque creation by a mad professor (Rob Brydon, The Trip series). The professor operates in Castle Grotteskew, looming above the small village of Grubbers Nubbin. he first of many monstrous creations, Stitch Head is charged with orienting each new monster to its castle home, its “almost life” existence, and the rules of being quiet and non-monstrous, so as not to spark the attention of the nearby villagers (i.e., an angry mob!). Stitch Head and his monster brethren, including the professor’s latest creation, Creature (Joel Fry, Cruella), are quickly forgotten as the professor mentally moves on to his next bold creation as soon as the previous one comes to life. The result of this ongoing cycle is a castle orphanage of anxious child-like monsters. But when a traveling freak show, led by the financially motivated Fulbert Freakfinder (voice actor Rasmus Hardiker), rolls into Grubbers Nubbin, Stitch Head is discovered and lassoed into stardom, only to end up needing his monster family to help remind him about the value of best friends and family.
Kids will love the monsters in Stitch Head. With a few exceptions, the monsters are primarily combinations of two or three different animals, and each has a unique personality. The animators and voice acting bring the creatures to life in hilarious and heartfelt ways. Butterfield’s vocal performance as Stitch Head is well-fitting, as the actor brings his innocent, voice-cracking timbre to the character. Fry’s frantic goofiness as the voice of Creature will easily win over kids; meanwhile, the dry British humor emitting from Freakfinder and the assortment of silly villagers can keep the adults invested.
The film has much to say about childhood innocence, especially through Arabella (Tia Bannon, The Midnight Sky), a precocious village girl who represents the idea that ignorance often breeds fear. Arabella is the heart and soul of Stitch Head, and her good-natured curiosity is what drives warring freaks, humans, and monsters towards harmony. And while Stitch Head comes to a clever but abrupt conclusion (followed by an overused dancing montage end credits), it keeps the film under ninety minutes and thus keeps kiddos happy.
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Stitch Head opens in theaters on Wednesday, Oct. 29th.
