Shaun Tan’s Stories from the Suburbs | Television tonight

You can see this in the opening animations of Shaun Tan’s stories from the suburbs that you fancy something tasty.

Long grass… a water buffalo… a crow… sunset… tall electricity poles scattered across the suburbs.

Not far from an empty playground and the remains of the battered old Drive-in, the family of twelve-year-old Klara (Brooklyn Davies), brother Pim (Felix Oliver) and mother Lucy (Geraldine Hakewill) arrive in their modest new home. The front door knob is broken, the telephone on the wall falls – yes, really – on the floor and weeds grow on the windowsill.

But they are welcomed and supported by Grandma (Dawn French) and Grandpa (Tony Nikolakopoulos) on what will be the first day of the next chapter of their lives. Even though Klara is against the measure. After all, who wants to share a bedroom with a six-year-old?

“Before you know it it feels like home” – Lucy.
“I need my own space” -Klara.

In this working-class area of ​​Perth, the streets are wide and spartan. Across the road is an ominous house, inhabited by an old woman. And while some neighborhood bullies are out on their bikes, Klara meets the mysterious and agile Kat (Andrea Solonge), who has a cat-like tail and jumps from rooftops to fences with cat-like precision.

She also encourages Klara to explore her own wild side, entering a small backyard and even accidentally breaking a window.

“Want to have some fun? I can show you around this mess of a city?” -Cat

This also includes meeting the other feline character, Esme (Shabana), who has the face of a cat and human hands and lives in an old, abandoned drain. Unlike Cat, she is elusive, grounded and artistic.

Her skills match those of Klara, a talented sketcher, her main escape from a bleak new existence.

But look at the surface and there are hints of deep layers facing this family. Lucy is now a single mother, which, given the silent tears and sadness that surrounds her, suggests the death of a husband. Yet she digs deep for her children and looks ahead despite setbacks.

When Pim wanders off, there are moments of fear while at the same time the neighborhood is explored. Don’t ask me why he encounters a lone water buffalo or a deep-sea diver living in his suburb, but they’re alternately terrifying and fascinating, largely because we see them through the eyes of a child.

There is also a suggestion of tragedy faced by a neighbor, contrasted with the optimism of the local store manager (Michael Theo), who has ambitions for music.

No review can look beyond the music of Ned Beckley and Josh Hogan, whose captivating soundtrack evokes feelings of whimsy, mystery and humor. It takes this project to a higher level that dialogue cannot.

This also applies to the animation of Flying Bark & ​​Highly Spirited Productions. They have created a tapestry of instantly recognizable Australian touchstones, fused with surrealism and imagination, kissed by the heat rising from the tarmac or the sounds of the local wildlife.

It’s easy to lose yourself in this kaleidoscope of sights and sounds, empathizing with the family at its center, forging new connections and carrying on despite life’s daily trials. As the press kit suggests, “There is nothing ordinary about growing up.”

The total couldn’t be more different from other ABC animations Bluish or Don’t watch this showbut this is the more poetic work of all.

Like this one, it is uniquely Australian and certainly deserves to travel the world too.

Shaun Tan’s stories from the suburbs. Thursday January 1 at 6am on ABC iview and Sunday at 7.30pm on ABC Family.