Fairy and ancient tales dominated the world of animation for decades, and the struggle between good and evil was the favorite theme of this dreamy world and its heroes of Disney princesses. That was until Pixar Animation Studios emerged, moving away from the land of exhausted dreams and making journeys of self-discovery wrapped in a gushing dose of emotion the primary theme of its films, regardless of the world the heroes belong to, from "Nemo" and "Monsters, Inc." to "The Little Chef."
A quarter century into the third millennium, with its plethora of environmental and climate disasters, the traditional conflict between good guys and bad guys, or internal conflict, may no longer be suitable for creating an animated film that speaks to the minds of the new younger generations. Therefore, it was no surprise that "Flow" won the Best Animated Feature Award at the 2025 Academy Awards, beating out a number of strong contenders.
The Flow film
Far from the world of Hollywood fame, Latvian director Gints Zelbaludis, with his unique style, tackles the idea of life after a flood, through the imaginative adventure of a lonely cat trapped by the water.
The cat manages to jump onto a sailboat in search of shelter, but finds himself among a group of animals also fleeing the flood. They must all embark on a dangerous adventure that forces them to work together, overcoming their differences, to survive and save the other animals from this ordeal, even if they don't feel like it.
The film's message to younger generations
The film is about fear, help, resilience, survival, adaptation, adventure, and contemplation, taking the audience to a mysterious world where the land has been swept away by waters that have wiped out all human life, all without a single mention of “climate change” or “sea level rise” throughout the film. But does anyone need a direct hint?
The heroes' journey of survival and their search for a shelter from the catastrophic flood that immersed the animal worlds, leaving cities submerged and completely devoid of human civilization, is vividly portrayed on screen as nature's wrath runs out, as it grows impatient with the actions of humans who have attempted to interfere with and control ecosystems, exacerbating the repercussions of climate change.
Actually, the flooding in "Flow" is reminiscent of the floods in Italy and Somalia and the tsunami in the Indian Ocean. Those climate disasters that have been rampant in recent decades. Climate change may not be the film's overt message, but it is certainly an integral part of the overall picture of "Flow," just as climate change has become an integral part of our real-life experience.
The question is: Why did director Gints Zilbaloudis deliberately resort to insinuation rather than direct statements about the issue of climate change?
The film is primarily aimed at a younger audience, who will grow up to understand life amidst the ramifications of the climate change crisis and experience it firsthand. The Latvian director therefore presents a film that speaks to these younger generations about climate change in an honest, yet far from gloomy, way.
The American website "Mashable" explains that the director used climate change as an element to build the film's world. Thanks to clear and deliberate images and shots, the film was able to actually include the issue of climate change within the context of the events, without direct direction. Therefore, the role of the climate issue was vital but carefully considered to convey the facts to a young audience.
"The film's environmental cues help us tell the story and understand the characters, so everything in the film is there for a reason," Zilbaludis tells Mashable.
Disappearance of humans
The film's director explains why no human beings appear in the film, saying that when we watch the cat and the other animals struggle for survival after the flood, we are actually watching innocent people bear the brunt of something that was never their responsibility and whose consequences they had no part in, and that's what really matters.
These innocent people, whose lives have become a part of floods and severe storms, reflect the current generation's situation, inheriting a world dramatically altered by the accelerating climate crisis and paying the price for the harmful human activities of previous generations.
From this perspective, we can say that the film "Flow" does not only speak to young audiences about the climate issue, but also speaks on their behalf, while older generations are "absent" from the film's events because they will not witness the full impact of climate change, nor will they have to deal with the risks that they have exacerbated.
Avoiding stereotyping of animals
The film offers a creative and emotionally charged visual experience, but above all, it is different, far from the "Hollywood stereotype" of presenting animals as either cute or evil in familiar shapes and colors.
In contrast, the heroes of "Flow" are more like wild animals. The story begins with a black cat with wide eyes and a sharp stare. He suffers from a fear of water, but he is forced to swim to save himself. Despite preconceived notions about black cats, you find yourself sympathizing with this vulnerable creature trying to escape death.
In an attempt to fully capture reality, the film completely abandons dialogue and replaces it with natural animal sounds. This is unexpected for animated films, which are accustomed to having animals speak human language. Therefore, the image, lighting, and surrounding environment were the only means of expressing the characters' emotions, according to the director's interview with the French website “3DVF.com”.
Critics have called Flow one of the first films to tackle climate change in a "quietly revolutionary" way, honest but not pessimistic about the future. This may be one of the reasons why “Flow” became the first Latvian film to win both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe and broke Latvian box office records.
Director Gints Zilbaludis has created a captivating and moving world around a group of animals, without them uttering a single word. With a captivating image that blends reality with fantasy, the film invites everyone to overcome their fears and personal differences, to help others, and to understand each other in order to adapt to the new world, which is being reshaped once again by climate change. Solidarity, not selfishness, will save this world; everyone is looking for Noah's Ark for salvation, just like the heroes of "Flow."
