In the decades since the advent of film and television as popular media, film makers and artists of all kinds have tackled all sorts of subject matter and stories in their works of visual art and entertainment. And this time, they've tackled the most heartwrenching inspiring tale of them all. Talking Dog Feces meets world. The thought of talking feces tends to immediately bring to mind a certain South Park character, and crass humor in general, but Doggy Poo is about as far from being crude as you can get (For a film about talking poop, anyway).

The premise for the multiple award winning film is a simple one, based directly on Jung-Saeng Kwon's first children's book, which won the Children's Literature Award in 1968. Doggy Poo is born, and from the minute he's born, he's faced with being viewed as essentially the lowest creature on earth. The film, only roughly half an hour altogether, is divided into about five segments clearly separated by fade-outs. Each of these segments focuses primarily upon both Doggy Poo's feelings of loneliness and worthlessness (Making him almost as angsty as a certain Evangelion pilot) and his conversations with various characters he meets during his life at the side of that road in a small rural farming village. He learns from a fairly preachy clump of dirt that nothing is meaningless, as he watches the soil prepare for death. He learns about death from a leaf that stops beside him for a few moments before being blown away to die, as winter approaches, another tear-filled farewell. (There sure is a lot of death for a family film, isn't there?) A chicken ends up stopping by Doggy Poo for a few minutes, trying to decide if he was good enough to make a meal for her children. And eventually, Doggy Poo finds his place and purpose in a dandelion. That's pretty much it. Doggy Poo cries a lot, meets several other characters, many of whom end up crying at one point or another too, and learns about life, as he goes through his. Its simplicity works well, though. Author Jung-Saeng Kwon's philosophy of tolerance and love of nature, in addition to his gospel of peace and respect for all living things, are completely reflected in this story, showing us how nothing and nobody is worthless, not even dog crap. It's a story about how life goes and how the world works: it's sad, it's difficult, it's painful, but if you persevere, you'll find your place and your happiness. A beautiful, heartwarming film, and quite suitable for children. The english dub is of quality as well, so it's a good alternative to the subtitled Korean, making it even more palatable to kids.

Poor Doggy Poo, from the minute he's born everyone's telling him he's just a piece of crap.	This pile of dirt teaches Doggy Poo about God. You figure out what they're telling us.

The animation is nothing short of absolutely stunning, a beautiful combination of claymation and digital animation. Everything looks like it should, really - not too realistic, but not too cartoony either - so the film's message runs no risk of being lost in overt childishness. The art direction is clearly inspired, making Doggy Poo a real feast for the eyes. I can honestly say Doggy Poo's animation is some of the best claymation I have ever seen.

You certainly can't ignore the soundtrack either, as it fits the film perfectly. It was entirely composed, produced, arranged, and performed by Yiruma, and is primarily made up of piano pieces, each one of them further helping the film reach out and touch your heart. The film ends on a vocal piece about believing in yourself, fitting the movie's message to a tee. The animation and soundtrack are ultimately both amazing, and certainly more than worth experiencing Doggy Poo for.

On top of delivering in story, animation, and music, CPM has expanded upon the usual suspects in giving us some spectacular extras. These include a Korean "Making Of" feature, the option of viewing the entire English dubbed film to its storyboard images, the Doggy Poo Pilot and Trailer (Produced by CPM), a profile of the author, a Music Video set to the ending song, and behind the scenes and set galleries, giving you a wonderfully indepth look at everything that went into the amazing artistry of Doggy Poo. Altogether, you've easily got the better part of an hour's worth of extra materials here, all of which is worth watching.

Pound for pound, Doggy Poo is a fantastic little family film that I highly reccommend. It delivers in every aspect, and tackles some painful lessons in life, but does it very well - not losing sight of the importance of believing in yourself and your own potential. You can't go wrong with Doggy Poo. It's no pile of crap.

Distributor: CPM
Creator: Studio Itasca
Released: 2004

Plot: A+
Character Design: A+
Animation Quality: A+
Music: A+
Overall: A+