Jean-Loup Felicioli and Alain Gagnol are the French animators who received an Academy award nomination in 2010 for their sparky film A Cat in Paris. Now they are back with Phantom Boy – revoiced for an English-language release – a terrifically entertaining fantasy adventure that doubles up as a superhero origin myth. There’s scope for a sequel, which is good news. Both animation style and script are simpler than the hyper-sophisticated work coming from the US studios right now. This is a refreshing palate cleanser. Leo (voiced by Marcus D’Angelo) is a New York kid being treated for cancer in hospital who finds that his nearness to death gives him the ability to float out of his body and fly over the city for half an hour or so at a time. He uses this skill to help tackle a supervillain called the Face (Vincent D’Onofrio) who is currently terrorising everyone. Also up against this creepy kingpin is a young NYPD cop Alex (Jared Padelecki) who may have feelings for Mary (Melissa Disney – Audrey Tautou in the original), the feisty, fearless reporter covering the story. It’s an entertaining romp, which for me had weird, engaging echoes with Richard Linklater’s Waking Life.
