Flipped explores an upside-down version of reality in which parents act like children while children take on the role of parents. This simple conceit gives the directing duo of Hend & Lamiaa the opportunity to turn run-of-the-mill situations into comical skits and, furthermore, to demonstrate that the “job” of parenting is far from easy!
The entirely digital animation is simultaneously straightforward, stylish and cleverly coloured. It inevitably brings to mind the minimalism of children’s drawings: with long black lines and bodies that are basically a bunch of lines packed tightly together to form vibrant, citrusy patches of colour. Although the animation is digital, it still has a “handcrafted” look thanks to outlines that seem like they could have been done by colouring pencils or markers.
The high tempo of the animation and editing, along with the sound work, add to the film’s comic feel. With legs and arms that move like puppets’, the parent characters have a certain clownish quality. The difference in size between the parents and children is sufficiently exaggerated for us to understand the story easily – and for us chuckle at seeing the big people cry in their buggies as the little ones struggle to push them around. Lastly, the breathing, crying and onomatopoeic sounds help convey the sense of parents who have become kids and vice versa.
While taking us to just a few places – the street, the park, the swimming pool, on a bus, and at home – the film makes clear that parenting is a journey that’s not always easy. The children (parents) have to use a lot of physical effort and show a lot of patience and find themselves exhausted as they strive to deal with their exhausting children (parents). At the end of the day, when the parents (children) are sleeping, they can at last draw breath. In this simple role play full of empathy, the film shows children in a humorous way that being a parent is not always a walk in the park. While it is hilarious to see adults assuming various infantile attitudes or behaviours, the children-turned-into-adults betray some of adults’ little flaws: like when a child doesn’t know how to swim and a tiny adult demonstrates a mighty, and mighty risky, jump; or when another parent takes his telephone to take a gazillion photos of his child on the park swing. All in all, this is a lovely chance for viewers to look themselves up and down in a novel way and laugh at themselves!
This film can obviously be seen as a metaphor for the cycle of life. We all know that one day our children are going to grow up and may end up looking after us a bit like we looked after them.
