POCKET PRINCESS

Olivia Loccisano takes the audience on a profound journey through the broken, beating stop-motion heart of a poor young girls trauma riddled childhood, guiding us through a myriad of complex emotions and themes with a keen eye for detail and a big heart. 

"Pocket Princess" is a chilling yet poignant stop-motion horror that delves deep into the darkest corners of childhood trauma, using stop-motion as the canvas to paint this hard-hitting story from the POV of the puppet protagonist. This miniature nightmare is crafted with meticulous detail, and its disturbingly whimsical aesthetic creates quite the powerful contrast between the childs pov, the mature themes, and the horror lens.

The film follows a young girl trapped in a world of darkness and despair, her life flipped upside down, her innocence shattered by the arrival of a malevolent figure. Through the lens of stop-motion animation, Loccisano brings this harrowing tale to life, using the medium's inherent eeriness, and the genres darker nature, to amplify the emotional heft and the weight of its themes.

The rough-hewn puppets and the deliberate, jerky movements create a sense of unease, a feeling that something isn't quite right. It's like a twisted lullaby, a dark fairy tale that lulls you into a false sense of security before plunging you into a world of horror.

The attention to detail from Loccisano and her team is astounding. Every frame is a meticulously crafted piece of art, an entire world of beautiful grotesqueries, all with their own distinct personalities. It's both a testament to the power of stop-motion animation, and an ode to it.

The ending is a gut-wrenching blow, a bittersweet resolution that leaves you questioning the very nature of hope. It’s a haunting reminder that even in the darkest of times, there is always a glimmer of light. "Pocket Princess" is a bold and disturbing film that demands to be seen for its incredible artistry, its powerful themes, and its disturbing, often terrifying narrative. If you're brave enough to dive into this dark tale, you'll come out the other end a changed being!