© 2016 Studio Ghibli- Wild Bunch- Why Not Productions- Arte France Cinéma- CN4,Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

Japan’s legendary Studio Ghibli has graced the arthouse with its distinct flavor of animation since 1985. But the studio temporarily halted production after the retirement of its most famous director, co-founder Hayao Miyazaki (My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away). Longtime fans of the studio will be excited to see its name attached to the international co-production, The Red Turtle. But while its animation may at times recall the hand-drawn beauty of Studio Ghibli at its best, it’s in the service of a sentimental and unsatisfying tale.

The premise is simple: a nameless shipwrecked man is stranded on a tropical island with nothing but regional wildlife to keep him company. After building a series of rafts, the castaway’s last chance to escape is foiled by a giant red turtle that appears in the sea. The man kills the mysterious creature in anger, but when he begins to regret his harsh reaction, the dead turtle is transformed into a beautiful female companion.

If that makes you giggle, well, the plot seems sillier after typing it out, but as it’s told in a minimalist style without dialogue, The Red Turtle isn’t a complete wash, so to speak. But it’s hard not to think of the movie as an animated Blue Lagoon.

The movie suffers further from Laurent Perez del Mar’s soaring score, which announces all the despair and triumph that the mute characters don’t. (Well, the man yells at the sea, too).

As he’s clearly hallucinating in some scenes, one wonders if the companion is real, even after we watch the man and woman pass through entire cycle of life, raising a child who has a natural gift for swimming with turtles.

The first directorial feature from Dutch-born animator Michael Dudok de Wit, the film’s backgrounds are its most impressive elements, washes of grey creating atmospheric skies that unfortunately have more personality than the unnamed humans. In fact, the colony of hermit crabs that inhabit the island have more personality than the humans, whose facial features are denoted by little more than a pair of dots for eyes.

There are profound themes at work here, but the generic characters run counter to the unforgettable characters that have poured out of the Ghibli factory. Even if de Wit isn’t the animator that Miyazaki is, all would be well if the movie created a vivid and original world. But the touch of magic realism doesn’t help you escape the feeling that this arthouse Fantasy Island is a feature-length inspirational poster.

The Red Turtle was just nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Feature, and for the most part the animation is lovely. But Studio Ghibli didn’t get its reputation on looks alone. The product of a collaboration with a Dutch director and French animators, the film is the first such venture for the Japanese studio. Fans may wish they had kept it in house.

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The Red Turtle
Directed by Michael Dudok de Wit
Written by Pascale Ferran
Rated PG. Contains suggestions of tropical sexuality and moments of peril.
80 minutes
Opens today at Landmark E Street Cinema and Angelika Mosaic