Ainbo (2021) User Reviews

Visually astounding, but lacking proper contents...

[paul_haakonsen · 5/10 · 7 July 2021]

I sat down to watch the 2021 animated movie "AINBO: Spirit of the Amazon" together with my 11 year old son, as we had read that this animated movie was of the same type such as "Moana".

Well, "AINBO: Spirit of the Amazon" felt a bit like a poor man's watered-down variation of "Moana", perhaps. But it was by no means in the same league.

Sure, "AINBO: Spirit of the Amazon" was watchable, but the fact that this animated movie was more of a display of pretty and detailed CGI animation more than it was focusing on a solid and thoroughly thought through storyline, was just a shame, because it held back the movie. "AINBO: Spirit of the Amazon" had potential to be something akin to "Raya" or "Moana", for sure, but the lack of a well-written storyline or intricately detailed characters was holding it back.

The spirit animals were, of course, the glue that held the movie together, given their loveable nature and the things they did. But sidekicks can only do so much for a movie that is lacking in the story department.

It would have served the movie nicely if the characters in the storyline were more carved out and given more of personalities, drive and motivation, and such, but instead we are looking at nicely drawn animated characters that essentially were all one and the same.

Sadly then "AINBO: Spirit of the Amazon" just failed to be all that it could have been, and it made for a lukewarm viewing experience.

I am rating "AINBO: Spirit of the Amazon" a mediocre five out of ten stars.

Starts off decent but quickly descends into a copy/pasted mess

[krissa75 · 4/10 · 26 September 2021]

The initial premise of the movie is decent enough and the for the first 20 minutes or so I thought this would get a 7. Points however dropped the longer the movie went on.

The story is a run-off-the-mill quest story made for children, plenty of things make no sense and especially in the second half it is all over the place. You can clearly see the influence from Disney/Pixar but it doesn't go any further than copying ideas without actually bothering if it makes sense storywise.

One of the worst parts, and one that annoyed me to no end, is that the main protagonist, Ainbo, never seems to solve any of the problems she faces. It's always the sidekicks that provide the answer (a blatant Timon and Pumbaa rip-off up to the point where they literally copied classic Lion King shots), or Deus ex Machina "Magic" explanations.

It's somewhat frustrating as a dad to bring your girl to a movie where a girl is the "hero" only to see that she, at no point, is able to do things herself. Even when she faces the big evil she just gets handed the right tools with no real explanation.

This movie had potential if they invested a bit more time in developing a decent story and character arc. As it stands: if you want an eco-friendly story about the rainforest: Ferngully is head and shoulders above this.

Models and Animations were amazing, but the storyline is basically nothing

[vkurdofficial · 4/10 · 11 July 2021]

I absolutely loved the Animation, Character Models, Lighting and Camera basically the CGI was good, but in the other hand the storyline and voice acting is bad, and the final fight was nothing special and in a lot of scenes the story doesn't make any sense or lacks answers regarding the storyline for example directors didn't even bother to fill some blanks "Spirits can help her but only SOMETIMES" and why? We don't know, it's just how it works? We need answers not just facts.

Excellent for the kids. Not for the adults

[Hammer-Rocks · 3/10 · 12 July 2021]

Unlike many Disney/Pixar or Dreamworks animation, where the story appeals to the young and old alike, this movie only appeals to the very young.

With basic storyline and childish comedy gags, this will make the little ones laugh and entertained. But as an adult, I found it all tedious and very childish.

SUMMARY: Animation is good (not Pixar great but good) however the movies demographics is more for the very young (ie. 12 years and younger). Adults will be bored.

VERDICT: Entertaining for the kids, Avoid if you're an adult.

Poorly written. Great visuals.

[lurael · 4/10 · 3 October 2021]

That summarizes all. I don't understand how do you spend so much money on an animation while almost utterly failing the storyline, dialogues, and characters.

Written for 4 year olds, by 4 year olds

[fibulator777 · 4/10 · 4 December 2022]

The title is the best way to describe this movie.

The main character says she's 13... but voice sounds like a 4 year old. She acts like a 4 year old, sounds like a 4 year old, speaks like a 4 year old, moves like a 4 year old. And everyone talks to her like she's 4 year old. She toddles around like a barely developed 4 year old. Her dialog and speech patterns... 4 year old. It's like watching Dora: the Explorer, or blues clues.

It's like the original script and voice acting was done with the intention that the main character was 4 years old... but for some reason swapped the character model with that of a 13 year old.

It's *barely* watchable for adults... and probably boring for preteen+. Toddlers and small children would probably like it.

Familiar but fun family fare

[Galop_Inferno · 8/10 · 24 March 2021]

I caught a test screening of Ainbo in December (the only "test" being a moment of incomplete CGI towards the end), and, while it won't get the attention of kids due to the likelihood of no wide release, it'll probably drop on Netflix.

It's been a few months but I remember a good amount of it, in that while the first act comes off as a near plagiarism of much more well-known Disney films, namely Moana, Frozen and The Lion King, the plot takes its own turn in the second half and stands as more than above average. Its animation quality as well is on par with Disney.

Give it a look when it comes out. It may seem tedious at first but Ainbo is a worthy entry into international animation. 8/10.

This was Not Good!

[JohannDanielsson · 3/10 · 3 November 2021]

Okay, this was Not a good movie!

This might work for young kids, but not for older, and definitely not for adults who appreciate animated movies.

The animation was mediocre... at its best! The storyline, dialogs are confusing and bad.

Sorry, one of the worst animated I have ever seen.

Rubbish

[supermario-26259 · 1/10 · 30 August 2021]

Animation is really cheap with barely any shadows and reflections, the voice actors are horrendous sounding too sarcastic and grumpy. There is no storyline and extremely boring.

Animation sometimes off, story was meh

[dontakeitpersonal · 5/10 · 22 August 2021]

It could have been much more. Setting was good. The animation was a shame, it has nice pieces but near the end it got terrible and also some pieces the (human)characters were not "flowing" as they should have. However the surroundings and animals were very good. As for the story, it was meh. I thought it would go towards preserving nature in the Amazone or like a Pocahontas kind of Thing. But in the end totally different, but no positive surprise.

Nothing special, mostly boring

[phoebegeddes · 2/10 · 7 November 2021]

The good stuff?

It looks quite pretty. The forest, especially at night, looks beautiful, and animated characters mostly do what they're supposed to. It's not Disney or Pixar quality, but it's not terrible.

Now for the bad.

The story is bland, unoriginal and blatantly steals elements from other, much bigger properties. The characters are unlikable, unsympathetic, and do stupid things for no reason other than driving the plot forward. The sidekick characters are just discount Timon and Pumbaa, except with none of the charm or comedy. The editing is really weird, going from scene to scene with no logical progression of how we got there, which makes it confusing and frustrating to watch.

Perhaps most disappointingly, for a supposedly strong and independent female character, Ainbo really does nothing the whole movie. She makes no decisions for herself; others make them for her, or she only acts when she is forced into a situation where what she does is the only action left to her.

I watched this with a group of kids, and even they were bored by it. Avoid this movie. Nothing in it makes it worth your time.

Predictable storyline, felt horribly long

[gamingpeter · 2/10 · 9 November 2021]

After watching this movie I can absolutely not recommend it at all.

From the first 10 minutes, it is easy to predict a quiet accurate ending and there are very few if not zero points of suspense.

The animations would have been good if this was from a decade or even 20 years ago, they may work for very young children but as soon as they can understand what an animation is, they will probably suffer I'd they have to watch it.

As for the voice acting, the tracks are not very convincing but that's at best.

GOOD

[educasvas · 8/10 · 31 October 2021]

Just will say: the movie is decent to start in the film industry. I dont know why this movie have many hate and bad reviews.

About the jungle life conservation is identical you see in the actuallity, felling trees, wild animals dead, sexual explotation of youngers, well the south american people know it. For me i liked the film, it have a good representation of the amozonian aboriginal people, the spirit of fight they have for the natural conservation life.

Not as good as expected

[standereden · 1/10 · 31 July 2021]

This movie seems more like a rip off version of 'Moana'. The animation was good, but the storyline was confusing, with many plot holes and overused stereotypes.

Not for kids

[henrycool-57621 · 1/10 · 17 July 2021]

They have some scary demon scene that is definitely not for your kids. You could have a villain scene that doesn't need to be so scary.

Not again.

[ernstpc-18773 · 2/10 · 12 July 2021]

Another cartoon that hides male characters in the guise of animals so that girls can "shine". Not gonna expose my kids to this.

James Cameron should get royalties...

[crocsim · 2/10 · 30 September 2021]

This was such a contrived peice of progressive rubbish that ,firstly, was a blatant rip of of avatar. Im surprised it does have James camerons credits. Secondly, its such an insult to actual Amazonian tribes people that it comes across as even more racist that it tried not to be. I just love the bit were it pretty much screams white man is evil (almost litterally) the kids thought it was ok, I sat through it like I did for a feminist poetry reading.

Really disappointed

[krisztina-84115 · 2/10 · 29 August 2021]

Went to see Ainbo since the main character reminded of Moana, but the movie turned out to be a huge disappointment. The plot and storyline has huge flaws, honestly it was hard to follow. But the main thing was the unnatural movements, some of the walking and running looked weird. Not all the time but several times. Perhaps we have been spoiled with Frozen and Moana, so bad stiff animated movements are very noticable. It was like the movie was finished in a couple of months instead of years. Also it would have been nice with more normal bodies instead of the BBL and tiny waist in all the female character except the old lady.

I would give it 1 star but since my 7-year old enjoyed it we give it 2 stars.

Writer's choice of words is poor

[ramunenyiwatstsr · 1/10 · 15 August 2021]

Poor Vocabulary, Writer's choice of words is poor.

Yes! Thanks you

[teveelopties · 9/10 · 12 July 2021]

I absolutely loved this. I NEEDED this growing up, being half Dutch/Indonesian. Its a superb Kids flick. Its charming, sweet and even funny at times without any easy support of adult humor. And not so voilent as many many MANY movies are nowadays.

Also, the animation was not as bad as I expected from something other than Disney or Dreamworks. Some details are ON POINT. Mind you the sideroll, or the hairs?

Mouthwork is a bit less and Meneer de Wit is also bad, but its still better than a lot of other animations out there.

Good Movie but with frightening scenes

[xavergoetzl · 5/10 · 1 August 2021]

Not for smaller kids, Yacuruna scenes are frightening.

Worse than a 90s straight to VHS cartoon film.

[powello-63024 · 1/10 · 9 October 2021]

Not sure where to begin. The animation is poor aside from a few background/landscape shots where it looks like the blew the budget. Shadows none existent, facial expressions like stop frame animation, movement slow and laboured like a 00s computer game cut-scene and background scenes that don't move end up looking like a painted background you'd expect to see at a theatre.

Storyline awful and jumbled, gaps in the narrative filled in by long, poorly scripted monologues.

If it was a straight to Netflix film it'd be overlooked. Fortunately it was only £2.49 at VUE!

Awful How did this get released!

[drewwindward · 1/10 · 14 October 2021]

Paid a lot of money to watch this at the theatre with my kids, they wanted to leave after 5 minutes. Made them stay for about 20minutes before I realised this was inappropriate, dark, terrible plot line, too much dialogue. "In the spirit of Moana and Frozen" if they were made on an extremely low budget with 0 fun or music. Waste of money and time! Do yourself a favour DO NOT watch.

Terrible!

[junkmell · 1/10 · 19 February 2023]

Paid 4 dollars for this used at redbox. It was so bad we had to pretend it was lost so th kids couldn't watch it again. It starts with a stupid title. All they Did was take the name, rainbow and drop the R and the W. That's one of the worst parts you have to sit through this whole movie, listening to that stupid name over and over again Ainbo. Nobody in the whole world has that name. The graphics are terrible and they all they did for the plot was just take pieces of Moana avatar and other classics lion king And poorly weave them together. The actors are terrible. Hopefully I can get the rating to come down some by giving this a poor review and less people will have to suffer through this.

This film is terrible

[ilovegamesthomas · 2/10 · 30 July 2022]

I watched this at school and I have to say, the colouring is good but the animation is absolutely terrible! The running animation is so bad and the falling is even worse. The actual characters look like terribly rendered despicable me characters with paint on their faces and Amazon clothing. This movie is terrible, would not recommend but me and my friends had a great laugh at the lack of quality in this movie.