Arlo the Alligator Boy - Movie Review

I have been really needing something happier in these past few months. Last thing I reviewed that was laid-back, relaxing, and happy was Hilda back in January. I've reviewed things that have brought me lots of joy, that is true. However, with all the crap happening right now I've needed something that'll let my muscles relax and not make me worry about something that'll beat me up emotionally. Or maybe I just need something to pass the time while I painfully make my way through the last two seasons of Game of Thrones (which I will to a full review on in May). Thankfully Netflix has two animated movies on coming this month that are just what I'm looking for, the first of which was released last Friday: Arlo the Alligator Boy.

Arlo the Alligator Boy is about a boy named Arlo (Michael J. Woodard) who part human and part alligator. He's lived in the bayou for all his life with his adoptive mother, Edmée (Annie Potts), and he's getting restless in his sheltered life. But one day his Edmée decides it's time to let him go and tells him a secret: He has a father who lives in New York City. Now with a new life goal Arlo journeys into the world to find his real father. Along the way he meets a giant woman named Bertie (Mary Lambert), a van full odd characters, and some hillbillies who think Arlo will make them rich in their gator business. All this and more are accompanied by songs, personal discoveries, and adventure!

This movie is clearly intended for younger audiences. I don't care though, I have been needing something lighthearted for a while and the animation and music easily caught my attention in the trailer. It just looked so pleasant to me that I knew I had to watch it. Even grown-ups such should experience things for children because... sometimes we need to remember we were once young and silly and free of thoughts such as taxes, viruses, war, and incompetent political leaders. Watching these also allow us adults to connect with youth easier. This film especially deals with we shouldn't forget and remove our roots and that we should be accepting of who we are and our legacies.

Arlo as a character is a fish-out-of-water, which is often a great idea, but can backfire at times. They're going to get in trouble and be naive of their actions, but you can't make them too naive and you got to give them some strong positive traits to balance them out. Arlo did that for me, he was very cheerful, friendly, and concerned for others. He was also innocent of the world, a bit stupid, and a magnet for trouble. This combination of traits made his a very likable character to me. I also cared a lot about him because of the start of the film, where we see him in a basket floating down sewers, rivers, seashores, and the ocean all the way to the swamps. While I knew he wasn't going to get hurt at all I instantly cared for him because he was all alone with nobody to love him until he meets Edmée. It was a really good opening sequence!

I was rooting for almost all the protagonists in this movie. Bertie felt like my favorite character in the film because I more understood her than the rest of his cast of weirdos (saying that in a positive manner). She's gigantic, around like 9 feet tall or something, is incredibly strong, and rather plain in the face. Anywhere else she would be looked at like a freak and she knows it by always running away. So when Arlo and their newfound friends are there for her and give her comfort it lifted my heart a lot. She reminds me some of Brienne of Tarth from Game of Thrones (though not as exaggerated in traits), which is probably why I felt more for her than other the characters.

So this van of oddities I've mentioned... There's a lot of them. We got Teeny Tiny Tony (Tony Hale), a weird rodent like person who's a schemer and Italian; Furlecia (Jonathan Van Ness), a pink ball of fur with long legs, a manly mustache, and a very feminine personality and mannerism; Alia (Haley Tju), a tiger girl that might have ADHD and is the van's driver (even though she only has a learner's permit); and Marcellus (Brett Gelman), a fish with legs who doesn't wear pants and is the more moody member of the group. I highly enjoyed them with the exception of Marcellus who I felt was a little too snarky and outputting in this kid's film. They all have a bond with one another though and they work off each other well very well, establishing them as a family unit. Adding in Arlo and Bertie adds more to them and they become a bigger family, which shows younger viewers that family isn't all blood. Sometimes it's just the friends you make in life.

Most stories I've seen/ read about being an outcast are not that special in terms of variety. One that always stands out to me Guardians of the Galaxy because of how unique everyone is in those movies in appearance, personality, goals, and skills. Others though just say they're different and that's that. Arlo the Alligator Boy though, through its choice of character traits as listed with Guardians, along with selection of voice actors, really goes far in showing a wide variety of characters. I only recently discovered Jonathan Van Ness through Gay of Thrones and he's made me laugh so, so much! So seeing him play a character just like him in real life, a non-binary individual with a love of being feminine and hair was wonderful to watch. Having this variety of characters for young kids will be great for them and will encourage them it's okay to be yourselves, no matter what people say, as well as introduce them to identity concepts (like being non-binary) earlier in life.

Now it would be criminal to not talk about the animation of the film. It's very bright, colorful, and most of all full of movement and emotion. It's often what a musical needs, especially one for younger audiences. For somebody that's older though I noticed how every frame of animation felt unique, which is something that can be difficult to do with 2D animation. Additionally the character designs were really cool, especially the main cast. They all have some sort of feature to them that has a deeper meaning to them. Two examples are Furlecia being all hairy with a mustache, but also being mostly pink with slender arms and legs, indicating that non-binary element about them. There is also Alia being a tiger with a hoodie, having that outfit to hide herself away when she's sad, but having that cat-like nature with her scatterbrained mind, All that, plus really detailed backgrounds made Arlo such beautiful film. I did see some of the lip syncing to be off in a few places, but I was mostly very happy with the animation of the film.

You can't have a good musical though without good music and the music of Arlo the Alligator Boy is very good. I've good friends say that they've listened to the soundtrack multiple times and I don't blame them. Not only were the songs entertaining to listen to and watch the characters perform, but they all served a point in the story/ explaining the story without feeling too on the nose with their intentions. Sometimes musicals can do that and that can make them suffer. Also for Arlo the voice actors were very good in their singing performances, especially Michael J. Woodard and Mary Lambert! My favorite song from the film is probably "Follow Me Home," it felt so touching to hear more about Bertie's struggles with life, yet show her she has friends that'll stick by her side during the bad times.

Despite how happy and uplifting the film was though I did have some problems with it. My biggest complaint of the film was the story felt very similar to what we've seen before. We have seen a lot of "finding your real parents" stories in the past and this one had a lot of the same beats as that one. That can be totally fine to some people and most likely young kids will not notice or care. But the other story elements and plot points the movie tried to throw in felt half-baked. For instance, while the story focuses on Arlo's father, when Arlo gets the baby tag that tells him his full name his mother's name is completely blank. What happened to her? Story points like this aren't dived into enough and there were other moments in the film that I felt could have been delved into a little bit more, at least enough to have a short, concrete conclusion.

Arlo the Alligator Boy felt less like a stand-alone film than a very long pilot episode of a TV series, to which it actually is in a ways since a show called I "Heart" Arlo will be coming to Netflix either later this year or sometime next year (don't have a precise date yet). Even with that knowledge though this was greatly enjoyable film with wonderful music, really creative animation, and a fun cast of characters and voice actors that give it an extra vibe of fun. All of this was done during the pandemic too. I was so please to see in the credits them talking about and praising all the people who worked so hard on the film! I don't know we got that in Raya and the Last Dragon, but I know we got it here and it's wonderful to see. Arlo the Alligator Boy definitely gets a recommendation from me!

Tentative Score: 7.5/10

Definitive Score: 7/10

With all the mentions of Game of Thrones in this article I really need to start wrapping up my rewatch of the series. But I've just finished season 6 and now I'm going into the horrible, horrible stuff.