A Pre-Teen Quest of Self Discovery in ‘Scarygirl’

By: Russ Matthews

The energetic and inventive character Arkie (Jillian Nguyen) is from the imaginative mind of artist Nathan Jurevicius, and has been in the works for over 15 years. She is finally brought to life in cinemas in Scarygirl.

Arkie lives with her adoptive octopus father, Blister (Rob Collins), and they do their best to care for the unique vegetation of this island peninsula. All is peaceful in their oasis until the bounty hunter Chihoohoo (Tim Minchin) and his band of pirates kidnap the octopus.

They intend to deliver him to the evil scientist, Dr Maybee (Sam Neill), to collect the reward for this rare find. After her father’s capture, Arkie must do all she can to save him from a horrible fate with the help of her unsuspecting friends, Bunniguru (Remy Hii) and his companion Egg.

It Helps If You’ve Read the Novels

Fans of the graphic novels have an advantage with this production since things are hard to decipher throughout Arkie’s story. Most of the questions about her origin and the land where she resides get answered as the story progresses.

Still, these explanations come a bit too late to be satisfying. This quest of self-discovery of this pre-teen girl gains inspiration from many of Tim Burton’s creations, with a dash of environmentalism added for a modern taste. Suppose families can embrace this imaginative world of Frankenstein-esque creatures. In that case, they will be rewarded with an eccentric tale that is less scary and more about discovering personal identity.

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” – Ecclesiastes 3:11

Article supplied with thanks to City Bible Forum.

All images: Movie publicity

About the author: Russ Matthews is a film critic at City Bible Forum and Reel Dialogue. He has a passion for film and sparking spiritual conversations.