Director and screenwriter Ari Folman is probably most well known for his 2008 Oscar-nominated animated hybrid documentary film Waltz with Bashir. This year, he has recently released a beautiful animated film, Where is Anne Frank, which hit the screens in the US in March and is due to be in cinemas in the UK on August 12th. Anne Frank mentioned her imaginary friend Kitty in her diary, and in this animation, Kitty is brought to life in a new spin on her story. Let’s take a look at this beautiful but heartbreaking film from a master filmmaker.
The story follows Kitty as she wakes up in present-day Europe in Anne Frank’s house, but Anne is nowhere to be found. She decides to go on a heartfelt adventure in search of Anne, who Kitty believes is still alive. Kitty must get used to the modern day, as well as ultimately confront Anne’s tragic story.
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Anne Frank and the Secret Annex
Le Pacte/Cinéart
The movie is essentially split into two parts: the first part is focused on Anne and the suffering that her and her family went through, ending as Anne was sent to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. When Anne Frank turned 13, she was given a diary in which she famously wrote about events and her thoughts and feelings during the two years she was in hiding. She also introduced fictional characters like Kitty, and wrote stories, started a novel, and copied passages from books she had read.
As she became inspired by everything she had written in her diary, she wrote a novel titled Het Achterhuis (The Secret Annex). After her death, her father Otto read that Anne’s dream was to become a writer, and intended on publishing her stories, so that’s exactly what he did for her. The Secret Annex was published and people all over the world were introduced to Anne Frank’s tragic story. Otto always remained close to Anne, and he hoped that by sharing her diaries that it would spread awareness of the dangers of racism, hatred, and discrimination.
Dear Kitty, Where is Anne Frank?
“Dear Kitty” - that’s often how Anne addressed her imaginary friend Kitty in her diaries. The second part to Where is Anne Frank is where Kitty awakens from the diary. As she has no idea what happened to Anne or that she is in the modern world, she is baffled to find out that Anne’s name is everywhere. Not only is the Secret Annex an extremely famous museum now, she is shocked to find that her diary has become one of the most humanistic pieces of evidence of Hitler and the Nazi rule.
As Kitty wanders the streets of Amsterdam, she finds the Anne Frank bridge, the Anne Frank hospital, and even the Anne Frank school. But there is something else incredibly important; Kitty notices that there is a large amount of refugees in a building that are being threatened with deportation. She realizes that she is in a completely different world, but the same problem is still happening, people are still trying to flee their country for so many different reasons. Kitty becomes sad and misses her friend, but is determined to investigate.
Bringing Modern Day Prejudice To Light
By now, viewers are brought into an intense, meaningful, message surrounding racial prejudice. However, as the story goes on, the clear message is shown in such a delicate and heartwarming way. We are shown that prejudice to Jewish people in World War II, and prejudice towards refugees now, is the same. It goes to show how important it is for us to change as a society in a world where there are 27 million refugees; the way it is shown with beautiful animation, and Kitty’s journey is an inviting, enjoyable, and modern way of educating viewers.
The story of searching for a dear friend and then finding out that, although you’re in a different time, the same problems are occurring, is powerful and emotional; the film has gained positive reviews with the Radio Times writing, “it powerfully situates Anne’s story within the context of the 1.5 million Jewish children killed in the Holocaust, as well as drawing attention to children under threat today.” Indie Wire calls it, “A visionary animated update of a Holocaust story that needed retelling.”
In a delicate, child-friendly way, Where is Anne Frank combines both the horror and tragedy of Anne’s story so that everyone, not just children, can be educated on the history in a new way that still keeps the severity of the situation alive. It allows us to be reminded of the dangers of racism and the inhumane treatment of refugees and displaced persons in a way that is gentle and without violence, and can resonate educationally with children (which is the audience of which it is aimed to), as well as fill the hearts of adults too. The animation is done brilliantly, and each character is full of spirit and love; even if viewed as a stand-alone movie in a historical vacuum, it is a pleasure to watch heartfelt characters and a beautiful story of friendship and imagination.
