30 Animated Movies That Are Not for Children

Last year, Adam Elliott returned with quietly affecting clayography Memoir of a Snail, once again in his signature visual style and with a hefty cast of talent in the recording booth, including the likes of Sarah Snook, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Eric Bana, Dominique Pinon, and Nick Cave.

Memoir gives us access to the little life of Grace Pudel, a young snail enthusiast and resident of Melbourne whose life takes blow after blow as she struggles into adulthood. After their mother dies in childbirth, Grace and her twin brother Gilbert are raised by their former juggler father, until he passes away in his sleep and they are split up, and Grace is sent to live with well-meaning swingers in Canberra and Gilbert with religious fundamentalists in Perth, where both struggle to find their place.

Memoir manages to be thoughtful and touching throughout without ever dipping into mawkishness, aided significantly by its offbeat Aussie humour and ability to tackle subjects like promiscuity, sexuality, and Alzheimer's head-on. It doesn’t have the budget or production value of a Fantastic Mr. Fox, or even a Chuck Steel, but it manages to squeeze life into every dollop of clay, crafting characters that feel vital, and whose humour and charm make us want to suffer with them time and time again.