3.5 out of 5 stars (above average)
The Amazing Adventures of Awesome is a short everyone should see. Using a simple but charming animation style, the film shows us the world through the eyes of a young girl on the Autism spectrum. As someone on the spectrum myself, I found this short quite impactful with its sweet music, colorful design, and mythical atmosphere. What The Amazing Adventures of Awesome does in a few short minutes is nail the general, small things that autistics might feel in their day-to-day lives, and I’m thankful for that.
We follow a young girl on the spectrum as she takes a day’s walk. She hears the sounds of kids playing, is taken in by the small animals she sees, and is overwhelmed by the loud noises of the world around her, but eventually finds a tranquil place to calm herself before heading home.
The Amazing Adventures of Awesome runs just over 5 minutes, but within that runtime it communicates some of the basic feelings and reactions some autistic children might have to the world around them. That choice to stay in ones’ own “bubble” as it were, fearful to talk to other kids when you feel more comfortable alone, being overwhelmed by loud noises whose origin is totally unknown to you, and being fascinated by things other would find mundane are all communicated visually here in a simple but highly effective manner. The animation and music go together well, the former being relaxing on the eyes and the latter inducing a sense of ease and discovery. This is a strong, effective animated short from Allison Brownmoore and I look forward to seeing what she comes up with in the future. See it.
PS: The film opens telling us that her own child was diagnosed with Autism in 2017. Thank you for making this. It means a lot. You can watch the film here: https://aaoa.co.uk/