Y tu Luna también: Crow: The Legend (2018)

This story is purported to be an origin myth from the Lenape tribe, although that’s been heavily disputed. It may be a modification of a Cherokee story, or it might have been dreamed up by a white author who claims to have been “retold” it by a Lenape chief. But while the actual derivation of the story is shaky, this animated rendition of it is both entertaining and lovely.

Of all the animals in the forest, Crow is most admired for his beautiful rainbow plumage and enchanting voice. Everyone looks up to him, and when a long cold winter threatens everyone’s well-being, he’s the one they ask to go in search of a solution. He’s indeed gifted the answer to their problem—fire—but getting it back to the forest might require the self-centered Crow to give up something precious.

This is a neat little short. It’s both produced by and stars John Legend, who does a nice job as the Crow with hidden potential that even he doesn’t realize he has. And of course, the singing is on point. The story is gentle, with silly jokes and a nice message backed up by some cool animation—the sights Crow sees on his journey are great. I’ve always enjoyed origin myths, and while it’s a bummer that we’re not sure where this one really came from, I still enjoy the spirit behind it.

As for the rest of the voice cast, Constance Wu is very endearing as Skunk, who’s Crow’s biggest fan but takes him to task when she thinks he can be better. We also get Oprah as The One Who Creates Everything by Thinking, which very much within her recent acting wheelhouse, after she also played Mrs. Which in A Wrinkle in Time.

Diego Luna plays Moth, who’s a fun character. He’s cynical and not the most self-aware, but he’s basically a good guy at heart and tries to pitch in, even when he’s not the ideal animal to do so. A recurring gag of the short revolves around the fact that no one wants him to be the one to go on the quest to save them from winter, since the journey will involve flying past the sun—everyone’s convinced he’ll get hypnotized by its light and fly right into it.

Not a whole lot to this character, but Luna is effective, by turns funny and sweet.

Recommend?

In General – I would. It’s only 18 minutes out of your day, and it’s cute.

Diego Luna – I wouldn’t say it’s a must, but I’d still recommend it. Again, it’s so short that it’s easy to spend a little time listening to Luna’s voice acting as this entertaining character.

Warnings

Thematic elements and maybe a bit of scariness for kids.

Aru Shah and the Nectar of Immortality (2022)

 

*Premise spoilers, which spoil the end of The City of Gold.*

Ending a series is notoriously tough, but in the case of the Pandava quintet, I think Roshani Chokshi nailed it. This book has action, humor, romance, and emotion, and the story is fully propelled by the characters. The Pandavas and their allies are on both a mission and a personal journey, and it all comes together in a thrilling climax.

At the end of The City of Gold, the Sleeper revealed some important secrets about Kara. Amid her feelings of hurt and betrayal, she in turn betrayed Aru and the others. She felt misgivings almost immediately, but the damage had been done. Now, she’s guiding the Sleeper and his army through a labyrinth to find the nectar of immortality, the crux of the whole Otherworldly war. Meanwhile, Aru, Mini, and Brynne have been stripped of their celestial weapons, unsure how to fulfill their mission to stop the Sleeper without their powers. With Aiden and Rudy to back them up, each sister has to dig deep and discover what they’re truly made of.

The Pandavas have always had a complicated relationship with the rest of the Otherworld. The love they receive from the society at large is very conditional, with lots of folks (and devas) souring on them whenever they fumble and welcoming them back into their good graces whenever they succeed. It’s not the most conducive environment for tweens/teens to develop good self-esteem, and with the loss of their weapons, our heroes take a serious hit. Brynne is less confident in herself, Mini’s sense of self-regard is on the floor, and Aru doesn’t know who she is or what she’s good for anymore. But they keep going and keep trying because that’s what heroes do, trying to trust that the power will be there when they need it.

For five books now, Aru has been wrestling with her duty. She wants to do well, she wants to protect her sisters, she wants to make her soul dad proud of her, and she wants to know that she’s on the side of good. But with or without her powers, she doesn’t know what she’s going to do when she confronts the Sleeper. She looks at those doubts and sees them as a failing in her. She doesn’t see the value in it, can’t recognize how important it is not to simply accept everything she’s been told without question, especially when she sees evidence that seems to refute it. What will Aru do? is the question that’s been looming over the entire series, and it’s exciting to see that moment finally arrive.

This is a fantastic series. I love it when kids get wonderfully written, nuanced stories that are made just for them. While the Pandava quintet can appeal to fantasy/mythology fans of any age, it’s also so specific to middle school and early teens, and it handles the complicated emotions and dynamics therein beautifully. Excellent work by Roshani Chokshi. I’m definitely interested in reading more of her work.

Warnings

Violence, scary moments for kids, and thematic elements.

Aru Shah and the City of Gold (2021)

*Premise spoilers, which involves a spoiler from book one that’s been an ongoing part of the plot, as well as the ending of The Tree of Wishes.*

While each of the Pandava books has leveled up so far, I feel like this one is maybe a slight step down from the third installment in the series. More than anything, that’s a testament to how excellent The Tree of Wishes is, because The City of Gold is still pretty great. With another new character added to the main crew, the story takes some new twists, even as the narrative gets a tiny bit “quest, rinse, repeat.”

At the end of The Tree of Wishes, Aru was taken by the Sleeper. In his home/hideaway, she meets Kara, who says she’s the Sleeper’s daughter. The thing is, Aru is also the Sleeper’s daughter, a fact that has caused her huge amounts of turmoil over the course of the series. She’s suspicious, but Kara helps her escape, and they return together to the rest of the Pandavas, Aiden, and Rudy. With the Sleeper and his army on the move, our heroes have to beat him to the golden city of Lanka, in the hope of convincing the god of wealth to lend them his elite nairrata warriors.

There’s plenty to like here. Kara is a really interesting character, between her sad/possibly untrustworthy backstory, her perspective on the Sleeper that no one else has, and her geeky love of etymology. Like all the kid characters gradually added to the series, she immediately brings a new dynamic to the group. I like seeing how Aru is simultaneously wary of Kara, sympathetic towards her, and envious of her.

Beyond that, as always, some of the quests are really neat and creative. For (I believe) the first time, we get a chapter that’s not from Aru’s perspective, which is fascinating. And while I saw some of the turns of the plot coming, the climax is definitely exciting.

As I said, there are times when the quests stack on top of each other just a bit too much. And I get it—I read all the Percy Jackson books, and I’ve happily made it through the first four books in the Pandava quintet. There are quests within quests within quests, it’s a whole thing. But this book was the first time I was reminded a little of The Rise of Skywalker’s penchant for, “We have to go to the place, to find the thing, that will point us to the tool, that will take us to the map, to get us to the place we really need to go.” Again, though, the various mini-quests themselves are still interesting and well done.  And my main gripe remains, “I really loved The Tree of Wishes and this book isn’t quite as fantastic as that one.” So it’s barely a knock against the book.

Only one more Pandava installment to go. I’m sure our heroes will prevail, but how?!?