The Present (2014)

User Review

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  TheMovieDiorama

  6 / 10

  The Present melodramatically conveys inspiration through three adorable paws. It's another case of youths today being portrayed as video gamers who just want to play 'Call of Duty'. Y'know, the whole "Guys, add my Gamertag so we can play online! Boom headshot! 360 no scope, quick scope. Omg what a n00b!". So in this lovingly crafted animation, the mother purchases him a dog as a present. But here's the catch, it is disabled and only has three legs. Cue melodrama and sympathy. Yes, the mischievous puppy is adorable. Yes, the canine makes you "awww". And yes, I want one. Right now! However, the son dismisses the dog because of its disability and instead of kindly going outside to play with it, he kicks the poor thing and chooses to continue shooting Nazi zombies. Immediately making him ridiculously unlikeable. It soon transpires that the son has his own disability and seemingly becomes infected by the dog's own optimistic perspective on life. The problem is that the kid is already unlikeable. You don't sympathise with him due to the way he treated the dog, which metaphorically relates to how other individuals treat him. Therefore I would've expected him to warm to the dog instantly, as they both have relatable qualities. It's too busy focusing on the "stop playing games and go outside" moral as opposed to what is directly in front of him. Good intentions, beautiful animation and decent morals are detracted by a character who is forcibly unlikeable for the sake of it.

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