Every kid has their thing. Some kids love dinosaurs and some love cars. Julián (Knyght Darius Jack) loves the ocean, but more specifically, mermaids. It’s an obsession not many boys his age share, but it defines Julián’s creative spirit. Cartoon Saloon’s latest hand-drawn spectacle is a feast for the eyes and the soul as its title character learns the value of openly being yourself.

Based on author Jessica Love’s children’s book “Julián Is a Mermaid,” Julián begins with an event that most kids either spend the whole year looking forward to or dreading: being dropped off at a grandparent’s house for a week-long sleepaway camp. For Julián, it’s a bit of both. He’s eager to spend time with his Abuela (Milcania Diaz-Rojas) and gush about his admiration for the sea and the life within it. Still, he’s nervous considering he barely knows her. His father’s warning that Julián’s Abuela and the ocean have a complicated relationship doesn’t help either. Nevertheless, Julián is prepared to do whatever it takes to change Abuela’s mind about the deep blue sea.

In her Brooklyn apartment filled with beaded entryways, plastic-covered furniture, and jewelry boxes holding trinkets that represent his family’s Caribbean heritage, the two immediately get off on the wrong foot. Abuela knows she has a lot of work ahead of her to build a relationship with her rambunctious grandson.

Late at night, a spirit, seemingly spawned after he accidentally spills water on a drawing he made, begins communicating with him. The amusing entity says it’s there to help make Julián’s wish to become a mermaid come true.

To help him, the spirit leads Julián to a trio of neighborhood girls preparing for a community-wide mermaid parade just a few days away. Kiki (Zariah Georgia Ellis), Yeslyn (Emma So), and Amanda (Avery Star Pryce Tibayan) are reluctant at first to include Julián in their mermaid squad. Still, they quickly embrace him once they see how serious he is about the mythical sea-dwellers and their goal of designing the best costumes possible for the parade.

All four of the film’s child performers are excellent and deliver the passion their characters feel not just for their fantastical interests, but also for each other. The friendship between their characters is genuine and heartfelt, and is a highlight as they lift each other throughout the story. Additional scenes to get to know Kiki, Yeslyn, and Amanda individually would have only benefited their characters and their relationship. But the story shows enough of the three of them together for the viewer to form a bond with them alongside Julián.

Jack perfectly captures the wonder of being a kid and forming new connections with the people and larger world around him. When conflicts arise between Julián and his Abuela, Jack conveys the unique frustration and disappointment-tinged sadness that only a kid would express in those situations. Diaz-Rojas’ performance is calm and reserved by comparison, as Abuela shows the patience needed for looking after Julián. She also brings forth the character’s hidden layer of sadness as she carries the weight of her past life in the Dominican Republic – one that she misses dearly.

Cartoon Saloon’s lush, beautiful animation is the true star of Julián. The studio’s past features, Song of the Sea (2014) and Wolfwalkers (2020), have always helped keep two-dimensional, hand-drawn animation alive, and Julián is no different. It’s some of their best work yet. At times almost painterly, the colors pop in every frame and hold so much personality, especially in the city backgrounds. Certain fantastical sequences feel like a child’s imaginative drawing come to life, providing a symphony for the senses.

The most heartfelt aspect of Julián is its tender handling of the queer allegory at its story’s core. Throughout the film, Julián is misunderstood by his Abuela, her friends, and other kids who view his passion as strange and feminine. They make fun of the way he dresses and ridicule him for wanting to be something other than what fits their definition of a “normal” boy. Anyone who has ever been made to feel that humiliation just for being who they are can understand how heartbroken this makes Julián feel. It’s subtle, yet powerfully resonant. The warm hug of a finale is emotional, yet determined to leave viewers with a smile and a couple of laughs.

Julián is another stellar animated feature in Cartoon Saloon’s library. It’s a wonderful tale of a summer one boy will never forget and an important lesson for kids, as well as a reminder for adults about the magic people can create within themselves when they feel empowered to be who they want to be.

Review Courtesy of Evan Miller

Feature Image Credit to Cartoon Saloon via TIFF