Review by New York Times Review
at the 2015 academy awards, one nominee for Best Animated Short Film stood out. Made by two Pixar veterans, "The Dam Keeper" was ostensibly for children, but unlike many of the other nominated works wasn't particularly funny. Its depressive hero felt so slighted by his town that he almost allowed them all to suffer a terrible fate. It didn't feature crisp character design or a commercial, feature-ready animation style. Instead, the film gave the illusion of having been roughly drawn directly on the screen with charcoal and wax pencil. The story, too, felt unfinished - its bucolic valley under siege from a mysterious fog was richly imagined, but the plot went astray into dull misunderstandings and rote bullying drama. At 18 minutes, "The Dam Keeper," despite being wondrous to see in a theater, felt less like a finished project than the blueprint for something better. With this book, its creators, Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi, have delivered that. Like the film, it features gorgeous digital art that vividly illustrates the interplay of sunlight and shadow. But the book takes the film's story five years forward, and sets its characters off on an adventure that promises to explore the cause of that mysterious fog. Since his mother died and his father disappeared, Pig has been the Dam Keeper, the one resident of Sunrise Valley whose job it is to "keep the darkness away." Most of Sunrise Valley doesn't even think about the fog that threatens their village; among the few who do is Pig's only friend, Fox. When the fog mysteriously recedes, though, only to return with greater and more dangerous force, Pig, Fox and Fox's insensitive friend Hippo are thrown into the world beyond the dam. pig knows they have only days before the fog is likely to return. But he's also haunted by the memory of his father, the Dam Keeper before him, who one day, driven mad by his endless task, walked into the fog and was never seen again. The optimistic Fox expresses hope that perhaps Pig's father survived; Pig worries that he, too, might suffer his father's fate. The image of his father's skull, revealed by the deadly fog, invades his dreams. So, yes, Pig is a downtrodden and depressed hero for a children's comic. While Fox treats him well, Hippo sits on him without noticing. Pig worries about his sanity, and his general mood is reflected in the fact that even his bright pink face, which should pop out of his dark environs, is often sooty and obscured. Kids might be upset by the way Pig's toil is taken for granted. Unlike the little dikeplugging Dutch boy in "Hans Brinker," his heroism is never recognized or rewarded, though older readers might intuit that's the direction future volumes might turn. And there will be future volumes! "The Dam Keeper" is thin on dialogue, its plot delivered mostly by wordless, richly drawn comics storytelling. Like the film, it feels a bit unfinished, but in a way readers will find intriguing, not unsatisfying. It ends on a classic first-book-in-a-series diffhanger, one that expands the world of the story while posing new questions about the situation its characters (and readers) thought they understood. When we watched "The Dam Keeper" together, my children marveled at its beauty but expressed no interest in what might happen after its events. Few readers will feel that way about Kondo and Tsutsumi's equally lovely, far more engaging book. ? dan kois is an editor and writer at Slate. His book about parenting around the world, "How to Be a Family," will be published in 2019.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [November 12, 2017]
Review by Booklist Review
When his father dies, school-aged Pig is the only one left to operate the dam that keeps a deadly fog from rolling into Sunrise Valley. Trapped in the town by his responsibility as dam keeper, Pig is unappreciated by the townspeople and pushed around by his classmates. When the fog begins coming at the dam in stronger and stronger waves, Pig, his only friend, Fox, and school bully Hippo get swept out beyond the dam into a wasteland of dead trees and strange creatures, with only nine days to get home before the next wave rolls in. Based on an Oscar-nominated animated short, the story has been expanded beyond the end of the film. The artwork maintains the feel of the original animation, with light and dark atmosphere playing as large a role as any character. The ghostly images that appear in the fog are decidedly creepy, as is the world beyond the wall, which may put off more timid readers. Those undeterred, however, will be rewarded by beautiful artwork and heartening relationships among the animal characters.--Volin, Eva Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Kondo and Tsutsuma expand on the world of their Oscar-nominated animated short film of the same name, about a young pig who keeps his town safe from a terrifying black fog. The school-age pig is essentially tethered to the dam that protects Sunrise Valley; designed by his late father, the dam's windmill requires regular winding, isolating the already-lonely pig, who also fears becoming "crazy" like his father. After the surging fog sweeps the pig, his fox best friend, and a combative hippo classmate outside the safe confines of their town, their understanding of the larger world is reshaped by what they discover. Though created digitally, the panels have a rich, painterly quality that never looks away from the story's many moments of emotional turmoil or actual peril, particularly when the pig confronts the spectral presence of his father or the raging fog itself. The tug-of-war between light and dark extends out of the plot and right into the images in a haunting story that contrasts the power of friendship with the weight of responsibility and the capacity for growth. Ages 7-11. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-6-Years ago, the fog came over the dam, killing Pig's mother. Pig's father maintained the dam that keeps the fog out of Sunrise Valley, and showed Pig how to do the same, until the day he went through the door he said never to open, leaving Pig alone. Now, every day Pig winds up the windmill that blows away the fog, which always creeps back. The fog is almost its own character as Pig (and readers) tries to understand its mysteries. Sometimes it seems like a gas, sometimes it's more like an ocean. Sometimes it's impenetrable, sometimes it reveals mysteries. Pig thinks that he understands how the fog will behave, but then he, Fox, and Hippo are suddenly swept away from the safety of their town and must find their way back home. Based on the 2015 Academy Award-nominated short film, this book is cinematic and filled with action, movement, color, and light. VERDICT For fans of emotional fantasy stories, artistic graphic novels, and stories about overcoming obstacles.--Andrea Lipinski, New York Public Library © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Young Pig is the all-important Dam Keeper--protecting town from "the sea of deadly black fog"--since his father disappeared. When Pig, friend Fox, and school bully Hippo wind up far from home, they embark on an eye-opening return journey. This beautifully realized graphic-novel adaptation of the animated short film's first part utilizes light to accentuate the known and unknown of this mysterious, dangerous world. (c) Copyright 2018. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A deadly fog has rolled in and killed everything in its path, but Sunrise Valley is protected by an expertly crafted mechanical contrivance called the Dam in this graphic-novel series opener based on the 2015 Oscar-nominated short subject of the same name.Pig's father created the Dam and taught Pig everything about it and how to maintain it. But the madness and grief he felt after losing his wife overcame him, and he stepped out into the fog. Now Pig is alone and has assumed the role of dam keeper. Pig's plagued by nightmares and awkward around classmates; his best friend, Fox, is the light in his life. Her kindness and spirit have even tamed the bully Hippo, and she is trying to bring them all closer as friends, though Pig and Hippo aren't quite convinced. School's out, and Pig eases into the comfort of his solo routine of keeping the Dam, but the fog changes into a new kind of threat, forcing him, with Fox and Hippo, into the world beyond. Every panel of artwork is lush and colorful, with frankly cute animals cast as believable middle schoolers in a post-catastrophe "new normal." The ever present threat of death and the bright light of hope in the story are beautifully reflected in the artwork, which uses light to astonishing effect, and an expressive use of lettering throughout. The hardcover is luxuriously printed and bound with pages that lay flata pleasure to read. Kondo and Tsutsumi have created what feels like an instant classic, perilous and terrifying but full of heart, with immersive artwork and a rewarding story. Unmissable. (Graphic fantasy. 7-11) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
