‘The Worlds Divide’ is a triumph in independent animation

By Isaac Steward

When I first saw the trailer for “The Worlds Divide”, I’ll admit I didn’t have very high expectations. As impressive as it is for a two hour movie to be completely written, directed and animated by one person, I couldn’t see how one person could tell a story of this scale with so little help. Even working with sound designers, composers, actors and a few other people, it still just didn’t make sense to me. So when I went to watch “The Worlds Divide” at the Heartland International Film Festival, it was more out of a morbid curiosity than anything else. I was ready to cozy up next to a dumpster fire. But, as you’ve gathered from the title, that is not what happened.

“The Worlds Divide” might just be my favorite animated movie of 2024. Although it’s true that the film lacks some of the visual polish that tends to come with a larger team, it more than makes up for it with everything else. 

The story follows a young girl named Natomi, living on Earth, far in the future. Vegetation has been long eradicated from the planet and citizens live under the rule of suppressive governments who are at constant war with each other. Despite all this and being confined to a wheelchair, Natomi and her younger cousin, Emerton, make the best of their lives from one day to the next. 

Meanwhile, Natomi’s father, Terric, and her uncle have been hard at work trying to find a way to bring back vegetation to solve the global hunger crisis. At the beginning of the story, they’ve just made a major breakthrough, successfully growing a small crop of potatoes, but it’s clear that their work, as well as their absence from their children’s lives, is far from over.

Around this time is where we first start learning about Esluna, a mysterious world that is closely linked with Terric’s work, where a powerful energy can be harnessed to accomplish great feats. Despite her doubts, Terric assures Natomi that she too can harness this power. 

Suddenly, an enemy of war attacks their city, and, in order to keep them safe, Natomi and Emerton are put into separate pods and sent to Esluna. When Natomi falls out of the pod, she is astounded to find herself in a land of lush greenery and beautiful cities, where the royal family wields powerful magic, her father is revered as a god and she can walk. Meeting friends along the way, Natomi journeys through the land of Esluna, searching for a way to save her father from an uncertain fate back on Earth, while avoiding the crazed princess who is determined to capture her.

The scale of this story is massive, and the film delivers on it with two thoroughly thought out and painstakingly detailed worlds, filled with likable and sympathetic characters that you can tell had just as much love and care poured into them as any other part of this project. The action sequences are engaging, the plot twists are simply brilliant and the movie as a whole is filled with awe inspiring moments and satisfying payoffs that will have you seeing the whole story in a new light. The themes of this movie are beautifully woven throughout the narrative, as Natomi struggles with who she is and what it means to be enough, and Terric realizes the lengths he’s willing to go for his daughter. The story on its own is simply an incredible experience; the kind that I wish larger studios would try to achieve.

I know I’ve downplayed the animation a bit, but when you realize that director Denver Jackson did all of it by himself, it really is astonishing what he was able to accomplish. What he’s managed to create exhibits a competence for world building, visual storytelling and animation, that makes me very excited to see him work with a larger team. And when put together with the immersive sound design and soundtrack, “The Worlds Divide” manages to accomplish far more on a visual level than its limited budget would suggest. 

Watching this film, the hard-won result of years of creativity and passion, has left me with a feeling of hope for the film industry as a whole. Besides being a fantastic movie, “The Worlds Divide” is a pioneer in independent animation, stretching the boundaries of storytelling further than anyone could have imagined possible with very few resources. Even without billions of dollars, people can still make good movies, and it was refreshing to be reminded of that.

Cloudrise Pictures has not yet announced where you can watch “The Worlds Divide”, but the moment they do, I will be sharing this movie with as many people as I can.

Isaac Steward is a junior BDMJ student and an A&E writer for Cedars. He enjoys analyzing good stories and making cool things. Isaac has never been to the moon or enjoyed peanut butter. Most likely, he never will.

Images courtesy of Cloudrise Pictures