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.
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