Right off the bat, Tito and the Birds seems like it wants to say something important and immutable. It wants to say something big about living in 2019, and it wants that message to resonate with as many people – in as many places – as possible. And for the most part, surprisingly, it succeeds.

Read the marketing description (or watch the trailer, below) for the film, and you’d rightfully assume it’s full of metaphors and symbolism:

Tito, a shy 10-year-old boy, lives in a world on the brink of pandemic. Fear is crippling people, making them sick and transforming them. . . The struggle to find a cure becomes linked with the search to find [Tito’s] father again, along with his own identity.

Tito’s journey is at once an uplifting and insightful adventure about a boy fighting to find out what is right and to learn how to overcome his own fear.

The world is on the brink of disaster. Fear is enveloping the globe, and people are succumbing to its effects by withdrawing into themselves and literally transforming into helpless blobs. We’re watching it play out in a small corner of the world through the eyes of a child.

But what is everyone scared of? What is the epidemic a fear of?

Ah, that’s the thing. The movie never explicitly says what the fear is connected to. News reports in the background hint at terrifying global events, and some characters are just perpetually scared of… everything.

Yet it’s that ambiguous and wide-ranging “fear” that drives everything – and is the entire point.

With Tito and the Birds, the directors wanted to craft a film that helped young audiences understand and deal with their fears. Because, let’s face it: in 2019, we all live in a culture of fear. Fear of something is ubiquitous.

You can interpret the film to be an analysis of immigration, politics, climate change – practically anything – and you wouldn’t be wrong. These are the overwhelming issues of our time that seem so immense, so unsolvable, that they inspire terror and paralyze our responses.

But despite that fear reducing so many people to helpless blobs, there will ALWAYS be those who try to capitalize on our fear – indeed, who try to stoke even more fear – for personal/financial gain. It’s painfully easy to see in the real-world news around us, and Tito also sees it in his.

Tito and the Birds is realistic and admits that many of our fears are based on real dangers, but it also shows how easily irrational fear can become contagious and turn into mass hysteria. It may not sound like it, but this is ultimately a hopeful film. It wouldn’t have much of a message for kids (or adults) if it didn’t promise a light at the end of the tunnel.

Yes, there is a cure. Yes, Tito and his friends are the heroes. And we see that fear can never really disappear, but we can manage it.

Tito and the Birds is a gorgeously animated film from Brazil, and it has one of the most unique visual styles I’ve seen in a long time. The film is a cross between computer graphics and hand-drawn animation, but both work together to make the film look like an oil painting come to life.

The backgrounds sing with fluid brush strokes, and characters appear to be paintings that are magically given life. In short, it’s an expressionist artwork disguised as an animated film.

The new Blu-ray release from Shout! Factory includes an interview with directors Gustavo Steinberg and Gabriel Bitar and the original theatrical trailer. It also includes the original Portuguese soundtrack, along with an English dub. We 100% recommend watching the film in the original language.

If you’ve got a few minutes, enjoy this brief making-of look at the film: