Robert Connolly’s adaptation of Alison Lester’s beloved children’s book Magic Beach is a beautifully imperfect production, shirking the straight lines, smooth curves and spit-polished surfaces so ubiquitous in mainstream kids’ movies. Separated into 10 chapters, each taking inspiration from a different page from the book and animated by a different Australian artist, it’s an ode to the purity and tactility of handmade visual expression, underpinned by an implicit belief that great art isn’t about drawing inside the lines or measuring distance between compositional elements. Connolly et al have created a work of vibrant messiness.
