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[HanCinema's Film Review] "Tasty 2: Happy Together"

The time is the late Cretaceous period. Tyrannosaurs survive by feasting on the flesh of herbivores. Even though "Tasty 2: Happy Together" is basically just a kid's cartoon, this plot point is treated with quite a bit of seriousness. Tyranosaurs and herbivores both have a right to live, so a balance must be struck. The moral dilemma is a difficult part of daily life, but it's not one the characters can ignore. It's from that backdrop that the young Tyrannosaurus Mir (voiced by Um Sang-hyun) has to struggle to adulthood, learning to appreciate that Tyrannosaurs have to be more than mere predators.

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Strictly speaking that's probably not totally scientifically accurate but what do you want, this is a cartoon about talking dinosaurs. The ethical questions are actually much more interesting anyway, while still being well-developed enough to give a kid a lot to think about when it comes to the proper way to use strength, and the importance of seeing issues from a multi-faceted viewpoint. "Tasty 2: Happy Together" presents a fairly nuanced view of multiculturalism- one that acknowledges and accepts differences rather than pretending like they're not important.

The story of "Tasty 2: Happy Together" is based on the seventh and eighth books of the long-running Japanese children's book series "You Are Umasou. It's a "sequel" to a Japanese animated film (which I have not seen) that adapts different books from the sequence. And it's easy to see why this license has appeal in Korea, even if the property's not that well known internationally. While superficially just being cute, the moral questions aren't evaded in any way.

But I don't want to overstate the seriousness here. Mir's story and the lessons he learns are pretty transparent. To some extent this is shocking, because a decision he makes near the end, and the relevant plot twist unveiled at the same time, seem naive to the point of sheer insanity. However, it's in moments like this that it needs to be emphasized- these are children's stories, and the objective of any children's story is to teach basic lessons like "don't be a complete jerk".

Beyond that there's lots of pretty colors and pleasing character design. "Tasty 2: Happy Together" uses traditional two-dimensional animation, and the vibrancy is put to good use here. Whether it be lively background palettes or tough fight scenes, this is animation with serious effort attached. Even the occasional obvious static shot looks more like something out of a picture book than the animation team just deciding not to bother that day.

If I'm being perfectly frank "Tasty 2: Happy Together" doesn't impress like an all-time great animated film. At its best the movie is just pleasant- it has appealing characters, at times macabre humor, and a storyline straightforward enough that no one's likely to get too lost or confused. The story does at times drag and get a bit irritating, depending on how much you like or dislike whichever character is being focused on at just that particular moment, and the ending wraps up just a tad too easily. Even so "Tasty 2: Happy Together" is a decently high tier product that's well worth checking out- if you have kids anyway.

Review by William Schwartz

"Tasty 2: Happy Together" is directed by Choi Kyeong-seok and Nonaka Kazumi and voiced by Um Sang-hyun, Si Yeong-joon and Ahn Jang-hyuk.

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