The Colors Within

There are no big dramas, save for a call up to the office for skipping a school trip. Reiko Yoshida’s script instead foregrounds sincere friendship and the joyful mechanics of songwriting.

The film’s finale absolutely hits with the power of a dodgeball to the face that still makes you beam uncontrollably.

There’s amazing beauty to be found in Naoko Yamada’s aural odyssey – even when a film about matters of the heart gets a little caught up in its own head.

As sensitive as ever to teenagers’ growing pains, animator and director Naoko Yamada paints an exquisite rainbow of adolescent blues.

Fitting snugly into [Naoko Yamada's] oeuvre’s focus on youthful hopes and desires, the film follows a trio of teenagers as they form an ad hoc rock band, delving into their personal lives with a refreshingly low-key and compassionate touch.

For a movie in which people are colors and music is faith, “The Colors Within” could do with a more expanded palette.

For the anime fan, it’s perhaps an unexpected foray into uncharted territory. For the music fan, it’s a compelling story of experimentation and determination. For everyone else, it’s just a darn good movie that tugs the heartstrings much like a guitar.

...[The Colors Within] will intoxicate anyone who lets themselves be carried away with a light that will accompany them beyond the movie theater. [Full review in Spanish]

Fills the heart with warmth and hundreds of emotions. [Full review in Spanish]

The Colours Within is a deceptively simple film that uses elaborate methods to illustrate feelings most viewers will relate to. Uplifting and sincere, it’s an animated film without a hint of commercial cynicism.