Women in Film Fiction Review: The Animators

Summary: I was trying something new with this one and it didn’t work for me, but I think it would be a great fit for people who like messy, contemporary fiction about creating art.

I picked this book up because I’m reading about women in film and journalism. I was hoping it would relate to the themes in the nonfiction I’ve been reading. It did a little bit. It’s about two women who produce indie animated films and make it big with an award, while seeming well on their way to becoming cult classics. I thought I got more out of the descriptions of their animation because of the technical details I learned in The Queens of Animation. And it made sense to me that these two women were working in indie films based on what I learned in The Wrong Kind of Women. This reflects both the sexism of the big companies in the industry and increasing accessibility of technology and crowdfunding for indie films.

Although I decided to read this for its focus on amination, I knew it wasn’t my typical read. The main characters are both dealing with the fallout from difficult childhoods. They clash with one another, as our narrator worries that she’s just the organized one and her partner is the real creative talent. It deals with a lot of interpersonal drama and dark topics. I’m not sure why, but I prefer to read about the darker side of modern life in nonfiction. In part, I think I like to at least be learning something true if I’m wading through difficult material. I also find messy protagonists hard to relate to and that was true here. I don’t love books where the main focus is relationships, except in the cozy, happy space of a good romance.

Even though this didn’t click for me any better than I expected, it was well written. It included some fascinating themes that I think would make for great book club discussion. If this seems like your sort of book, I expect that you’ll also find that this book meets your expectations. Just not my cup of tea!

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