STUDIO: Sony
RELEASE DATE: June 24, 2008
STARRING: Sean Penn, Gena Rowlands, Catherine Deneuve, Iggy Pop, Danielle Darrieux, Chiara Mastroianni, Gabrielle Lopes, and Simon Abkarian
WRITTEN BY: Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Paronnaud
DIRECTED BY: Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Paronnaud
FEATURES: The Hidden Side of Persepolis
Behind the Scenes of Persepolis
2007 Cannes Film Festival Press Conference
Animated Scene Comparisons with commentary by Marjane Satrapi
Commentary on Select Scenes by Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud and Chiara Mastroianni

Have we finally caught up with the rest of the world's realization that animation is a medium and not just a genre? I blame Walt Disney. The man who would build the Mouse House ingrained in American's minds that cartoons equaled kids movies. Most other countries, especially Asian ones, have long ago realized that animation can be used to tell stories that aren't just for children. And it doesn't all have to be action-driven anime either. There are other stories for this medium to tell. In the last several years, American audiences have finally opened their minds to the idea that not all animation needs to be singing squirrels or damsels in distress. The Triplets of Belleville and Ratatouille are just two examples of recent animated films that are clearly made more for the guardian than the child. And Persepolis may be the most drastic yet. This PG-13 film won't work for anyone under thirteen and contains not one singing woodland creature. But it was widely considered the only film that could beat Ratatouille for the Oscar last year and received universal praise since it debuted at Cannes 2007. And perhaps even more shocking than the adult-skewing tale of Persepolis is that it was largely made the old-fashioned way - by passionate people with a pencil and a piece of paper. Not only is there life in turning graphic novels for adults into films but the idea that CGI has closed the door on cel animation needs to be reconsidered. For those two reasons alone, Persepolis is a must-see.

Persepolis tells the story of a girl going through the great changes that naturally come with going from a child to an adolescent to a woman, but it's all against the backdrop of even bigger worldwide changes. It's about a little girl growing up during the Shah's regime in Iran and the revolution that followed. A semi-biographical story, Persepolis should open viewer's eyes to a section of the world that they may know nothing about it, but the reason its struck a chord is because of its universal themes. As Iggy Pop, one of the voice actors, says, the film "approaches historical events as human events." Honestly, I found some of Persepolis a little dry. It tackles very serious times and issues and does so with grace and humor, but I wanted it to be a little lighter on its feet at times. I never found a way to truly identify with or care about Marjane, but I can completely understand other people doing so. And Persepolis is worth seeing purely as a visual experience. With notes of German expressionism combined with some of the best recent graphic novel artists, Persepolis is just further proof that not all animated films need to look the same. Satrapi and Paronnaud make so many interesting decisions visually that the style of the film is one will certainly bring me back to it, even if the story itself didn't click with me one hundred percent.

With 9 and Coraline, two more animated films that feel more like graphic novels for adults than childhood fables, in production, it feels like we've finally turned a long-delayed corner in the American approach to animation. I may not love it as much as some of my critical peers, but I want more movies like Persepolis. This is something that we need as viewers - a unique way to look at the world and a refusal to accept the traditional rules of its form. It's a groundbreaker. The DVD looks appropriately stunning and comes with a very informative collection of special features. It's not a mind-blowing DVD package, but every one of the special features, from select scene commentaries to animated comparisons, should enhance the viewer's understanding of not just the themes of Persepolis, but how a movie like it gets made. Actually, I take that back. There haven't been too many movies "like it" before. Well, there haven't been enough.