Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart Review: Darker Than Expected, But Fun

The mark of a good animated film is it’s ability to transcend age groups and be accessible from the little five year-old in the house all the way up to little ol’ granny—“Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart” does walk close to that line, however it steers a too close to the adult in the household.

Brought to life with awesome songs and unique animation, “Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart” is a breath of fresh air for anyone looking to escape the conventions of the formulaic animated films that fill the silver screen but two dimensional characters and a darker tone keeps it from truly separating itself from the pack.

The protagonist of this story, Jack (Orlando Seale), is born on the coldest day ever—so cold his little tiny heart stops ticking. Acting fast, Dr. Madeline (Barbara Scaff) crafts a makeshift heart that will allow baby Jack’s heart to keep ticking. Jack’s clock heart comes with some conditions he mustn’t get angry or worst of all he can never fall in love.

Years go by, Jack is cooped up at Madeline’s—he yearns to connect with the outside world, a world with endless possibilities. This being a animated movie, of course the first time Jack steps out he falls madly in love with a girl, Miss Acacia (Samantha Barks) like travel the four corners of the earth in love.

Being that poor Jack cannot fall in love, he puts too much strain on his heart and has to be nursed back to health and the girl that stole his wooden heart is gone. He then starts attending school to find Miss Acacia, the girl that he fell for. Jack does not find Acacia, but what he does find is a bully hell-bent on making Jack’s life a living hell. Joe’s abuse continues till one day the cuckoo in Jack’s heart pops out and accidently pokes Joe’s eye (that’s the adult stuff that was mentioned earlier). After this, Jack is forced to go on the run where on his Journey he makes it his mission to find Miss Acacia the girl that makes his heart go cuckoo.

First things first, the animation is something to behold. It is a blend of “Coraline” and “The Corpse Bride.” There is a particular sequence where Jack sings his way across the world and here is where the beauty of the film hits you. It does feel good to step out of the comfort of the usual suspects like Disney and Dreamworks and delve into bright but dark animated world that has an equally distinct soundtrack.

The soundtrack is the real selling point of the film. The songs of the film symphonically take you along on Jack’s odyssey—but too bad the other characters take you out of it.

Both Joe and Miss Acacia two integral characters to the film’s conflict are frustrating particularly Acacia. At times you question how Jack ever fell so madly in love for someone that would dismiss him so easily. Joe is not necessarily a bad character, he would fit perfectly into a Tim Burton film, but he comes in the story at weird points and does not feel like a huge obstacle to overcome but rather a nuisance that’ll go away in five to ten minutes.

Now, “Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart” is good fun and all but outside of Jack there are no characters to latch on to—which is essential in any animated film that wants to resonate. Great music and art will attract the younglings, that is until Joe losses an eye and it scares them away. If you want to watch a different type of animated movie where the music has actual weight to it and meshes genres “Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart,” if not, let the clock expire on this one.