Mia and the Migoo

A French-made eco-parable pitched exclusively to preadolescents but more than a little savage in its mocking evocation of Ugly Americanism (at least in its English-dubbed rendition), this crudely hand-drawn oddity lifts entire dynamics from Princess Mononoke yet never approaches the simple poetry of The Lorax. It’s too busy conjoining, in the post-Spielberg manner, father-child relationships with Going Green, all of it revolving around a South American paradise subjected to luxury-hotel development hell. The titular heroine (Lagraa) travels to the secluded site after her father vanishes in a cave-in, as the sweaty, cavern-voiced developer (cartoon-voice kingpin DiMaggio), stuck with an estranged son, tries to cement financing and goes on the hunt for the giant mystical forest creatures sabotaging the equipment.

The crunchy metaphysics are strictly faux-Miyazaki, with a lumbering tribe of jungle spirits (voiced—help, it burns!—by Shawn) protecting a giant Tree of Life, which eventually takes a direct hit from the evil dad’s rocket grenade. One-dimensionally preachy and prosaically mounted from design to dubbing, Girerd’s bid for family-fest hosannas grabbed a 2009 best animation European Film Award, whatever exactly that is, inexplicably beating out the sermon-free The Secret of Kells. The kids will most likely be either confounded, bored or both.