As I’ve followed the general critical and commercial rise of East Asian animation as a fan, one notable film industry has been missing. While Japan, Korea, and mainland China have each had recent success with their animated film output, Hong Kong hasn’t released an animated film for international distribution in some time. Despite the industry being responsible for several modern live-action classics, Hong Kong animation has remained largely relegated to domestic markets. Another World, director Tommy Ng Kai-chung’s debut feature, finally broke that decades-long streak.
Serving as Hong Kong’s first major animated film since 2003’s My Life as McDull, Another World premiered at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and has since generated considerable prestige, including planned international distribution through GKIDS and the 2025 Golden Horse Award for Best Animated Feature. Another World stands as another example of what many 2025 releases proved: granting funding to young filmmakers with original ideas pays off in spades.
The film is a loose adaptation of the novel Sennenki by Naka Saijo. Set in the titular space between death and rebirth, the film is told in a partially non-linear sequence, apt for a film focused on the liminality between states of being. The constant is Gudo (Suet-Ying Chung), one of the many spirits inhabiting Another World, tasked with guiding the recently deceased through the process of cleansing their memories. After meeting a young girl named Yuri (Hiu-Tung Choi) in her search for her brother, Gudo learns the complexities of being human, including the origins of the knots of regret humans are reincarnated with. These knots prevent humanity from succumbing to regret and hatred and perpetuating a cycle of infinite destruction.
Despite Another World being the first feature project for most of the team at Point Five Creations — including Ng and writer/co-producer Polly Yeung Po-man — the craft behind the film is undeniable. The team consists predominantly of young freelancers from all over East and Southeast Asia. While this is the first feature film for most of the team, their individual talents blend seamlessly under Ng’s capable hand.
Step C’s art direction stands out as a particularly stand-out contribution to the bright yet melancholic vibe of Another World’s interpretation of the afterlife. With the film’s non-linear narrative, creating visual cohesion between the bright colors and ever-shifting landscape of Another World and the various eras in the mortal realm that Gudo visits is challenging. While the disparity in color palettes is used to great effect, the sketch-like art style and intricate character designs create a sense of harmony that makes the jarring switches in space and time feel less so.
What makes Another World such an interesting debut feature is how the team uses animation to serve its narrative. Going into the film with absolutely zero context (a rare experience in today’s spoiler-filled film fan space), I expected a fantastical exploration of the space between life and death through the eyes of a child. However, the film’s engagement with the nature of humanity is surprisingly dour.
The depiction of humanity gradually growing more greedy and individualistic is nothing particularly novel, but the ways that the film shows how generations of humans have struggled to survive against nature and each other are still quite shocking. What’s more interesting is how the higher powers in the film — both the gods and their subordinates like Gudo — are largely ambivalent to the plight of humanity and simply accept their descent into evil. Yet, the ending leaves room for hope: humans have adapted to both natural and man-made changes, have always found community with one another, and have persevered.
Unfortunately, this, along with the nonlinear time-jumping, leaves the bulk of the characters feeling a bit one-dimensional. Gudo, the only recurring character throughout the film, does go through a well-structured arc, but learning how to understand humans is a bit of an overplayed character arc. The rest of the large, rotating cast remain largely stagnant as they are removed from the narrative before their arc can come to fruition. Yuri, unfortunately, suffers the most from this. For such a central piece to the thematic and narrative core of Another World, they are quite stagnant.
Another World is a fascinating debut from Point Five Creations and Tommy Ng Kai-chung. Although the finer points of its narrative may be a bit flawed, the approach towards exploring the ever-changing human condition and how it interacts with spirituality makes it more compelling than not. Add in the amazing all-around craft from a team of young newcomers, and Another World is one of the most intriguing watches of 2025 and certainly one to look out for in release in the coming year.
Review Courtesy of Red Broadwell
Feature Image Credit to Point Five Creations via IMDb