Purely Joyful Movie!

Overrated

Let's be realistic.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Flatland won't get any flattery from me.It looked like it was going to address some interesting political matters, but I had to give up after 20 minutes despite my passion for animated films. I have no problems with visual minimalism but,first of all, this piece seriously overuses text insertions, half of which we don't even have time to read entirely. If one is incapable of telling his story through drawings, one should seriously consider using a narrator.Secondly, what I found really, really upsetting was the sound. The acting is uniformly terrible, and some of the voices are painful, plain and simple. Unbearable. I'll never know if a good story was told here, for it was unwatchable due to the poorness of its delivery.On an irrelevant side-note, I couldn't help but think there's a simple mistake in the design: women are lines while men are shapely. I would have imagined the opposite. And I wonder why everyone had to be so straight. As if 2D wouldn't accommodate curves...

This movie is a great portrayal of the Abbott book. The graphics are very well done and shows what can be done today with some determination and a home computer. I think someone who didn't understand the concepts of the universe and how our perception of dimensions controls what we believe will have their eyes opened to the possibilities raised if dimensions we don't know about exist.The weaknesses I see in this film were in the one-dimensional voices. There was little emotion and passion. It sounded like something I would hear in an elementary school production. Some of the transitions between scenes seemed awkward and occasionally it was unclear exactly what was supposed to be happening, though I find many films based on books have this problem.All in all the movie is a success. I highly recommend it as an entertaining and educational experience and a nice change from the standard Hollywood fare.

Literally. Flatland by Edwin Abbott Abbott was a little gem of a book which could not be pigeon-holed into a specific genre over a hundred and fifty years ago and as a result ended up on Science Fiction shelves. Combining Geometry and Philosophy (and even Religion), it was an allegory on the human condition, describing a very rigidly-structured Society where square pegs aspired to fit through round holes.The plot focuses on A. Square, who is led to a series of epiphanies on the Nature of Reality itself to the realization that not only is there an existence beyond his two-dimensional plane in the form of a 3-dimensional universe, but that further dimensions are implied. He learns that appearances are not necessarily all they seem.Difficult to conceptualize in its reading, Llad Ehlinger, Jr. has managed to graphically express this evolution of the mind. Despite these worlds being populated exclusively by geometric shapes, we are drawn into the story and feel A. Square's transformation as though it were our own, which it hopes to be. Flatland itself is appropriately extremely two-dimensional, yet has endearing qualities. From our hero's perspective, he is at first confused, then exhilarated as he is lifted into the three-dimensional world. We are taken along for the dizzying ride. This is only the beginning for A. Square, who then postulates other worlds with both less and more dimensions. Ehlinger has a sequence which can only be an homage to 2001: A Space Odyssey as multi-dimensionality is explored.As if this were not a big enough task to tackle, Ehlinger expands the storyline by applying some of the original concepts of Governments to their logical path to War. Flatland, both the book and the movie, can be appreciated at many levels. By adding an extra layer, Ehlinger has actually simplified the book.I enjoyed this movie. It is mind-bending and thought-provoking, with a graphic element integral to its message. A potentially too-heavy treatise is lightened by very humorous details, such as the warbled battle cries of female lines in Flatland, who need to both sway and make noise at all times in order to be seen when not approached from their sides, so as not to pierce unobservant polygons! There is more than meets the eye to this unusual independently filmed and marketed movie. One viewing may not be enough.

I have to say, I love this film. I bought is as soon as the special release was available and my DVD is numbered #11! The detailed animation in this film is very impressive. The intricate inner workings of the Flatlanders blew me away. I mean with a bunch of characters on the screen you could see all of their eyes blink, hearts beat, etc. I was simply amazed at the level of detail. I never read the book but the story is really great. It really makes you wonder what's beyond our 3D world. My kids loved this film also. They keep asking if they can watch it again. It's really cool to see the different things the kids pick up on, and how they interpret the film. The film is deep on many levels. The music was spot on and fit each scene just right. I would highly recommend this film to anyone! I'd love to see this in the theater. FLATLAND THE FILM RULES!!!