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What started as a 10-minute short for graduate school became this much-discussed movie-with-a-message. Visually stunning, dark, and nightmarish, this animated feature is not for the wee ones. It clearly has Tim Burton's influence stamped all over it. Not many animated projects earn a PG-13 rating.

Featuring the voice talents of some greats including Christopher Plummer and Martin Landau, there are also some newer famous voices like Elijah Wood and Jennifer Connelly.

Just what IS the message or the moral of this story? Paraphrasing one character early in the film, 'Some things in this world are better left as they are found.' That is one way to look at this movie. Another is the last line - 'this world is ours now, it's what we make of it'. That is a different moral, but clearly meant to have an impact on the audience.

Watch this movie with someone who will help you figure out what we are supposed to learn from it.