Fantasia Review: Juliet & the King turns the animated musical on its head

Jamal and Julie are classmates and artistic collaborators. Jamal is a theater director with ideas for multi-lingual productions. Julie is an actress who dreams of being a star, if only she can get her confidence up a bit (and stop seeing the ghosts of the great writers' whose work she's performing). Like any friendship, they have their highs and lows. Unfortunately, when it comes to their joint artistic pursuits, it's mostly lows. They can't seem to land a legitimate stage to perform on, instead relegated to performing at a circus in front of tiny crowds. Oh, and when Julie sees the ghosts of great writers past, she tends to faint. Fainting is almost a hobby of hers, it seems.

But when Naser al-Din Shah, the king of Iran, visits Paris, our heroes get an unexpected break. Jamal is assigned to be the king's translator, since he speaks Persian and French. He accompanies the king to a performance of Romeo & Juliet, where Julie receives an unexpected opportunity to play the leading role. The performance....well...let's say it doesn't go very well. But Julie catches the Shah's eye, and thus she and Jamal are invited to stage a production in Tehran.

If this sounds like an unexpected plot for an animated film, I would tend to agree -- this is such a unique tale. But boy, is it also a delightful one. The film opens with a kind of disclaimer: "The evens in this animation are intended to be comical rather than historically accurate to reflect the frivolity of Naser al-Din Shah's reign." Mission accomplished, in my book.

Playing in Fantasia's Animation Plus section, Ashkan Rahgozar's Juliet & the King finds Iran in an interesting historic moment. Naser al-Din Shah wants the country to modernize and gain prominence on the international stage. Other countries' governments don't tend to take Iran seriously. He says that he wants to change that. But his actions speak louder, and quite differently. Rather than holding tight to the reins of governance, the Shah is easily distracted, a bit of a brute, maybe a little too horny for his own good. This film certainly takes the piss out of him a bit, even if it ultimately suggests his heart might be in the right place, even if it isn't always guiding him along a straightforward path.

The Shah's plans -- or maybe more accurately, whims -- are often at odds with those of his mother, Mahd-e Oliya, who is an absolute force of nature, and one of my favorite antagonists of the year. She makes a huge impact as soon as she appears on screen with her short stature, pronounced chin, wispy mustache, and gold tooth. You see, the Shah's many wives are threatened by the presence of Julie once she arrives in Tehran, so they run to Mahd-e Oliya, who wants her son to focus on ruling rather than frivolities like art and culture. She has a seemingly endless bag of schemes, and there's no level she won't stoop to to get Julie out of her hair, and out of the country. Plus, as she's constantly reminding her nincompoop son, women aren't allowed to perform in plays in Iran. (He says that he can change that.)

Watching the political back-and-forth, the tumultuous gender-based social navigation, and culture clash makes for a lively film that is quite light on its feet. It's also a musical, and my favorite kind: one that's packed with songs. The Shah gets a song. His mother gets a song. There's a song detailing the story of Romeo & Juliet. And lots of other songs along the way. A lot of them are quite catchy, and I hope the soundtrack will get a release at some point, because I'll definitely want to listen again.

While the story is sound and the themes are strong, the characters feel a little ill-defined at times. Scene to scene, they seem to waver and change at the drop of a pin, making motivations and relationships a bit hard to track. Honestly, with the larger pieces in place, it doesn't detract much from the entertainment, but there were times where I was like, "Oh, now they're mad at each other? Oh, now he's doing what?" I especially felt this in Julie and Jamal's dynamic, which seems to have a new angle to it every time they share a scene, which made my head spin. For the Shah, it felt a little more grounded in his character, since he feels like he's easily swayed and manipulated by those around him, always a moment away from a change of heart.

It's always nice to see hand-drawn animation, and this movie delivers nicely in that department. The characters' movements are a bit rough at times, but their designs are lovely. Julie's look feels inspired by classic Disney, and I already mentioned how obsessed I am with Mahd-e Oliya, a lot of which comes down to her design and the way she moves through the world. The real visual standout here is the backgrounds, particularly once the action moves to Iran. There is so much gorgeous, detailed work here: intricate tile work, luxurious carpets, sparkling surfaces. I also loved the scene when Julie goes to a market and sees all the goods and food on sale there. It feels like a real celebration of Iranian culture, a nice bit of earnestness in the midst of all the silliness.

Mahd-e Oliya in all her glory. I have no choice but to stan.

There's also a lovely underlying message about art being taken up by younger generations, molded and shaped into new things. Whether this is through adaptation or inspiration. Here, aside from the Disney influence, there's also a subtle Ghibli current: one scene feels like a direct reference to Whisper of the Heart (my favorite), and my icon diva Mahd-e Oliya feels like she might be inspired by Yubaba from Spirited Away (possibly?). It's always nice to see how animation can be in conversation with itself through the years and around the world. It made me think of The Glassworker, which wore its Ghibli inspiration so proudly.

Maybe more than anything, Juliet & the King feels like exhilarating proof that animation is a great medium for telling any kind of story. This is one that, taking a look at its logline, might not be an obvious story to tell in animation. But it has me thinking how any and every story can be told well in animation if it's given the creativity and care that are so clearly at work here.