User reviews

This year, Netflix released a brand new original animated musical feature for their platform called Arlo the Alligator Boy, intended as a pilot for an upcoming series. Made in collaboration with Titmouse, the film was announced as early as last year when the pandemic hit pretty hard, so it was only a matter of time until the movie would be met with raving responses from audiences and critics alike. Also, it is quite remarkable to see one of the first animated features to be mostly made remotely as opposed to predominately within a studio, so a lot of credit must be given to the hard working crew. But how did the movie favor overall?

The story focuses on a wide-eyed half human and half alligator boy named Arlo Beauregard, who decides to leave his sheltered swamp residence in search for his long lost father in New York City. Along the way, he meets some strange characters, like a teen gigantes, a flamboyant furball, a paranoid legged fish, a tiger-like girl and a rodent-like conman, all while discovering the true meaning of family. Simple enough premise for a set up aside, it's not hard to imagine what might happen in the movie from that point onwards. However, what does keep the movie somewhat engaging is Arlo's upbeat personality and willful determination to find where he belongs, even if that trope is pretty familiar. In addition, the film's message of finding who you are through the people you know and love is quite emotional in a way that both children and adults can engage themselves very closely, given the film's intended audience. No matter if you're a human or animal, you always have a place within the hearts of others so as long as you can keep an open mind for the ones who care for you.

However, good intentions aside, there are a lot of shortcomings that do make this film a bit hard to swallow. For one thing, aside from the goodhearted yet tough gigantes Bertie, a lot of Arlo's companions are pretty one note and mainly just there to provide emotional companionship. One might imagine they could be more interesting in the series, but if this is meant to be the setup for what is to come, why not introduce them in the show instead? Even with solid vocal performances from Tony Hale, Brett Gelman, Jonathan Van Ness and Haley Tju, these supporting players aren't as interesting as they could have been. It doesn't help that most of the humor falls short of generic banter and obvious tropes. Also, as this film is a musical, while the songs do move the story forward, a lot of the melodies are kinda samey samey with pretty formulated harmonies and keys. The more interesting ones like Follow Me Home and Wash the Hurt Away do stick out with more experimental instruments and creative visuals, but as a musical overall, I've heard more memorable.

As for any further positive qualities, the film's animation lends itself to a more standardized Netflix series level of fluidity, but the character animation itself is pretty charming depending on who's given a chance to lend themselves in the spotlight. The art direction is also quite colorful at points, but isn't afraid to get dramatic when the scene calls for a more heartbreaking narrative point. It's also cool to see a lot of the characters, including Arlo himself, feel reminiscent of 1930s bug eyed cartoons while still keeping its own style intact, unlike a lot of cartoons now that desperately try to capture the success of Cuphead. Speaking of characters, the last protagonist to remember more thoroughly is definitely Arlo's father, since he does show a lot more depth within himself than the average high end entrepreneur. The main antagonists Ruffy and Stucky are also pretty fun to watch every now and then, as for every comical slip up that happens to them, they can be genuinely threatening to the journey Arlo and his friends go on. Not sure how they'll fit in the series, but that's up for the future to decide.

So for all of its faults, Arlo the Alligator Boy is still a good hearted and likable feature that might lead to an even better series. Even if the film might not have gotten everything right, that's not to say what Ryan Crego and crew have put together shouldn't be bothered with; far from it in fact. With the success Netflix has been gaining in their original animated content, be it shows, movies, or even experimental short films, it's only a matter of time until Arlo gets to truly stand out in the spotlight as another addition in their ongoing catalogue. Here's to what new adventures await Arlo and the family.

I sat down to watch the 2021 animated movie "Arlo the Alligator Boy" with my son. And I must admit that I had initially not really expected much from this particular animated movie given the way that the characters looked.

But still, I sat down to watch it, and I must admit that "Arlo the Alligator Boy" was actually a lot better than what I had initially expected. So it turned out that this animated movie from writers Ryan Crego and Clay Senechal was rather enjoyable and had something for viewers of all ages.

What I enjoyed about this 2021 animated movie was actually the character gallery. There are some rather well-detailed, memorable and likeable characters in this story. And it really helped that they certainly had casted a great ensemble of voice actors and actresses for the animated movie. While I can't claim to be familiar with anyone on the cast list, I must say that they definitely put on good voice performances and brought to life the characters quite well.

The art style of the animation here was interesting to say the least. Initially I didn't find it rather appealing or interesting, but as the movie played and I got to know the characters, I must say that the art style came to be rather fitting for the animated movie.

The storyline in "Arlo the Alligator Boy" was adequate. At least my 11 year old son really enjoyed it. I, however, wasn't overly impressed with the storyline. It was just a bit too generic, predictable and lacking more depth to really make it a memorable animated movie.

All in all, "Arlo the Alligator Boy" is certainly a good enough animated movie for the family. My rating of this 2021 animated movie lands on a six out of ten stars.

Well this is kinda asusual story , At the end you will will like ita something more ❣. Loyal Friendship is all we need , Yes Indeed.

An endearingly strange sort of a thing with some stunning 2D animation, a vibrant cast and some terribly bland pop music. The plot is a bit of a tropey meander which evokes a sort of souped-up lost 90's TV Movie but the bracing mix of genuinely weird moments folded into Arlo made me stick with it. It's lovely to see such an opulently animated 2D animation on Netflix, although the idiosyncratic charm of it all does feel at odds with the very standard contemporary pop soundtrack. An inconsistent ride but a charismatically peculiar one.

Sort of more like a Saturday morning cartoon than a feature film, this tries so hard to bring the feels for its Spongebob-esque protagonist who meets a rag-tag group of misfit criminals.

A story about belonging, family and positive spirits, there's nothing much original here but its greeting card aesthetic is pretty agreeable.

The songs mostly blend into one except that "Follow" one.

I remember watching the first act and thinking that I was 40% sure that they would reveal that someone nailed an alligator.

Not sure where the story was going. It just a collection of songs, if you like musicals you can watch it, else give it a pass..

I know this film isn't as acclaimed so far. Yes, I do understand it's flaws of leaving out SOME character development. But, all in all, I do feel an emotional connection with the film when it comes to creating new friends and family in the challenging world. The best uplifting part of this movie is the music, "Follow Me Home" is my most favorite of all. The animation also brings me hope that we'll get more of those old school traditional animated projects in the future, and not to many computer animated ones.

I can only say that if it is going to be a TV series, this movie was a good opening. We might even get more character backstories on the way.

This film has a stunning animation style paired with lively and distinct characters. These strengths don't go as far as they could, though. The characters are more like caricatures with little development beyond their antics, catchphrases and personal tics. The emotional bond between them seems a bit forced and simplistic, as endearing as they are. Arlo has the greatest emotional depth as he tries to find his place in the world and find connections with others, which is what drives the core of the film. This was enjoyable to watch but the story was quite simple and has been done before.

It's a nicely animated musical to a degree. I feel it's easier to enjoy if you just treat it like a musical rather than a movie as the characters sing every few scenes. What I find compelling was the characters themselves being honest, a little standard but interesting in their own rights. If they spent some time to develop individual characters it would have shown alot better. It's a nice watch and one of the better Netflix originals.

Michael J Woodard's performance was mesmerizing, and magical. Adults and children will see themselves in Arlo. Michael's singing was breathtaking, his ability to take the watcher along for the ride was outstanding.

The music and singing are really amazing!

A lot of humor and some sadness.

Will be re-watching the episodes with songs many times!

Even some Disney movies do not have such great songs.

I stand that music and songs are way better than Nursery rhymes. I heard that I was sad to me.

I think that this is how a missed opportunity looks like.

Great animation and coloring, Poor storyline and character development.

Cute songs, not too long or too catchy.

But... Following a cliche line that just doesn't provide anything interesting or new.

Looks like someone galloped through it and didn't took the time to take a look at the final result.

It's a straightforward and a very commercially acceptable story, but these details are way more artsy than you'd expect. And then all the singing was annoying but moving at the same time haha.

The movie was ok, per say.

It hit all the points when it came to animation, music, character designs, etc.

But it missed in characters and who they are exactly and making us understand what makes them characters and the execution of a good story prompt.

To me, it seemed that the characters were just thrown at us without much explanation as to who exactly these people and creatures were other than a quick introduction and small songs.

I thought the story idea was good, there's a lot of movies and cartoons that follow this prompt as well, but it's the way it's executed that sells the story.

Arlo the Alligator Boy does not execute the idea as well as others. The pacing is all over the place, and the way the characters are introduced are messy.

But the good thing about this movie is that it's actually very enjoyable and worth a watch.

Despite all the bad points I pointed out, it's something I would definitely watch again.

Like I said, the animation was absolutely BEAUTIFUL.

During many of the musical moments, the animation was a huge standout as well as the music.

I personally enjoy musical theatre music more than pop, but it was still interesting to listen to.

One down side though would be the sort of meaningless tunes to these songs. As if they were just made on a whim without much thought to what it means to the characters and story.

Pretty much not very memorable but extremely catchy at first watch and listen.

A second standout, or third, would be the character designs!

The character designs are so close to perfect. They're unique, interesting to look at, all the while being absolutely eye catching.

And third, or fourth, the acting is PERFECT.

While I wouldn't feel anything for these characters if I watched without tapping in, it's the acting for each the characters that tunes you into an emotional rollercoaster.

The acting does it all.

But like I said, the movie was ok, but definitely worth a watch.

Arlo The Alligator Boy is an amazing film filled with friendship, adventure and lots of singing. This is a film with great messages and really catchy songs. It is definitely worth the watch.

Arlo The Alligator Boy is about Arlo (Michael J. Woodard) who arrived at the swamp when he is just a baby. When he is older, he finds out that he has a dad who lives in New York City and sets off to find him. On the way, Arlo gets into some trouble when two people try to kidnap him to make some money. With the help of Bertie (Mary Lambert), Arlo escapes and makes a new friend. He makes a few more friends as he makes his way to New York City and they become really close and begin to feel like a family.

The songs in this film are very catchy. The words and tempo really let us know what the characters are feeling. My favorite song is "Follow Me Home." The melody is infectious, in a good way, and shows that wherever the ocean is, it feels like home to Bertie. My favorite character is Arlo because he is adventurous, caring and daring. Even though he had never left the swamp before, Arlo overcame his fear and set off to find his dad in New York City, which is a long way from the swamp. Arlo and the friends he makes along the way get really close as the movie goes on. The development of these relationships can be relatable to some friend groups in real life.

The message of Arlo The Alligator Boy is to never give up and, if you stick together, you can achieve great things. It is totally family-friendly.

Arlo The Alligator Boy is an awesome film to watch. I give it 5 out of 5 stars and recommend it to ages 7 to 13. Adults will also enjoy it. Arlo The Alligator Boy is available on Netflix April 16, 2021. Go check it out! Reviewed by Giana N., KIDS FIRST!

I put this on for my young daughter and found myself instantly captured by the animation styles, the mix of random characters such an odd bunch reminded me instantly of the greatest showman, the ones are not annoying in the slightest, this is a real.feel.good film.that kids and adults should enjoy and really apreciate!

The more I watch this film the more I love it!!!

It's the best.

I was wondering what this was in the start because im over 30...hehe. Until I heard the music, then I was blown away. The music just made everything complete. Love everything about this movie.