Life, Animated

— An emotionally charged look at Owen Suskind, a young man whose autism caused him to stop communicating when he was three, and his parents who slowly began to feel they’d lost their son forever. Hope returned when Owen’s father realized a garbled few words Owen was saying were a line from an animated Disney film. In time they came to realize that Owen had memorized the dialogue from every animated Disney film and did, in fact, engage in complex thought within his animated world. The Disney films became the hook with which they started again communicating with their son. Now in his 20s, Owen’s moved to his own apartment and has a part-time job. There no denying the appeal of this film—it just makes you feel good and seems joyous. It’s also great that this is such a well done documentary. (Shown at True/False Film Fest 2016.)

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[2016, 99 min. Directed by Roger Ross Williams. Featuring Owen Suskind and Ron Suskind.]
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/22/books/life-animated-by-ron-suskind.html