I did want to give this a ten but I didn't want to be overly generous or have people not take this review seriously, so am giving it a 9. I really enjoyed how totally fresh, fast-paced, unique and beautifully woven together this film was. It's always great to see new innovative content that steers away from popular tropes, it did remind me slightly of Kafka's Metamorphosis with how characters respond to rusty being made out of trash and the scene when he sees a reflection of a real boy in the mirror, rather like the mirror of erised. The poignancy, dynamic and invigorating steam punk music and diverse range of edgy characters were ideal vehicles for driving the plot. I was particularly taken by and emotionally invested in the mother character who was really the only source of support and caring for the protagonist and her strong bond with Rusty. I was also enchanted by the kindness of the random man who decides to teach Rusty football. Some characters were disturbing like the dad and babysitter but am aware they were designed to be to add necessary edge and dimension to the story. The puppetry was fabulous and believable with interpreting a child's facial expressions, gestures, dialogue and mannerisms. A must watch but be warned it will inevitably tug at your heart strings as it does go from a spectrum of light to dark rather unexpectedly, have your tissues ready!
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