The recent film, Flow, was released in France on October 30th, 2024, and won the best animated film in January 2025. The 82nd annual Golden Globe Awards had the top four nominees for the best animated film awards, Moana 2, Inside Out 2, The Wild Robot, and Flow. This short film was already making an impact worldwide simply because it was nominated. This was due to the lesser-known animation programs used to create it, along with the budget the team had which was smaller compared to other films.
What is Flow About?
Flow was a film co-produced between Latvia, Belgium, and France, and unlike the big-budget films it was competing against, Flow only had a budget of $3.7 million. That sounds like a lot but not when you count the people needed to be hired for sound, art, animation, and the cost to use certain animation programs. The director was Gints Zilbalodis, and the writers were him and Matiss Kaza. They originally named the film Straume and wrote the story out to be a perilous, thematic, yet hopeful journey.
The journey follows one similar to that of Noah’s Ark, where the world, or at least most human civilizations, have ended due to a massive flood. Our main character is a black cat with no name, who ends up on a boat with other animals. Together, they traverse the waters throughout flooded cities and what once was land. The animals learn how to survive and adapt to all the new changes and dangers that the new, chaotic world has thrust upon them. Many of the animals on the boat are very different and thus will have different reactions, thoughts, instincts, and more.
In a way, each animal can symbolize a person that one may stumble upon in a survival situation. At first, it doesn’t seem like the right person to survive with, but that’s why the movie expresses themes of learning to work together. A cat is an introverted character that prefers to work alone, a capybara is a relaxed creature that can get along with any species. A Labrador is far more social than a capybara and more positive than a cat. The Secretary bird looks brazen and vain but is very good at hunting, especially venomous snakes. Finally, the lemur is a curious and smart creature with opposable thumbs.
Animated Winner at 2025 Golden Globes
Flow was made by a small team with a small budget and was pitted against multiple films with bigger budgets, and some legendary animators. There was Inside Out 2, Moana 2, The Wild Robot, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, and Memoirs of a Snail. Major animation companies and legendary people who made these big-budget films have dominated the animation competition for years. This win was labeled as a victory long overdue for indie-animations.
It was a big shock to everyone since no one ever expected the Golden Globes to give indie-animated films a chance, unlike other award shows. Lately, for the past year or so, more indie animations or films made by smaller animation studios would be nominated but wouldn’t win. An example would be in 2022 when the film Suzume was nominated and shocked people. The same goes for the animated movie Wolfwalkers in 2020. The movie was nominated for a best-animated feature film in 2021 but didn’t win against Soul, a Disney-Pixar also made in 2020.
Celebrating Indie-Animations
There are many lesser-known animated studios with their own unique art style, plot, and characters. Unfortunately, these films don’t get the same viewership as Flow, which was able to get global publicity and acknowledgment. Rarely have had the same luck of being nominated for an Oscar like Wolfwalkers, or the Golden Globes like Flow. Thankfully, some that have been nominated can be bought on some streaming platforms to support the small teams.
Some examples of indie-animated films that are amazing and weren’t made by big-time studios are some of the following:
- Song of The Sea (2014). Oscar nominee.
- The Breadwinner (2017). Oscar nominee.
- Blood Tea and Red String (2006).
- The Painting (2011)
This doesn’t even include the past films made by big companies that are slowly becoming popular now but back then, were unfairly overlooked:
- The Iron Giant (1999).
- The Book of Life (2014).
- Kubo and The Two Strings (2016).
- The Last Unicorn (1982).
Hopefully, these lists will give them more attention. Compared to these, there is an even greater number of indie-animations on YouTube.
Congratulations, Flow!
Flow is possibly the most peaceful and oddly calming post-apocalyptic film, even with all the dangers the animals endure on their travels. It can be watched on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, and Fandango. This movie is also available to be watched on AMC Theatres. It was made available to watch in theaters on November 22nd, 2024, though it was limited at the time. Although it may look like a film targeted towards children, it is mature enough for adolescents, teenagers, and the rest of the family.
