Almost entirely the work of one woman, Christiane Cegavske spent over 13 years on this stop-motion animated labor of love. She wrote the story, built the sets, and painstakingly animated the characters, which she designed and made by hand. It’s an incredible feat, especially since the result is such a cohesive and captivating movie. The basic plot is about a trio of of mice that commission some forest creatures to make them a beautiful doll. The doll’s creators don’t want to part with it, but the mice steal it in the night. The forest creatures journey to get her back, and their adventure includes a variety of unusual dangers and rituals. The animals turn out to be much more complex than they first seem; there is no strong line between good and evil in their world. It’s really an involved story, with subtexts better understood through multiple viewings. That Cegavske was able to create such an elaborate and finely detailed film amazes me, even more so considering it’s entirely free of dialogue to help deliver the abstract narrative.

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