On-Gaku: Our Sound

(Rock’n Roll Mountain, Tip Top, GKIDS)

Director: Kenji Iwaisawa

Release Date: December 11, 2020

Rotten Tomatoes Score: Not yet available.

Synopsis: Buddy comedy about three delinquent teenagers who form a rock band to try and impress girls and show up a rival gang.

Director Talk: “If we’d tried to animate the orthodox way, I don’t think we’d have been able to produce an animated feature. I’m convinced that rotoscoping is what let us finish the film, however long it took.” — Kenji Iwaisawa

The Word: “A wee 71-minute hand-drawn animated feature about three high school lunkheads who form a band, the film’s minimalist expression breaks the mold of Japan’s bigbudget studio-cloned anime glutted with mind-bending sci-fi conundrums or elaborate time-slip-body-switching fantasies.” — Maggie Lee, Variety

Nomination Chances: Although it wooed the audiences at the Annecy and Ottawa animation festivals, this ultra-indie still might have a hard time persuading Academy voters to ignore bigger and splashier films.