‘Julián’ Review: A Mermaid-Loving Dominican American Boy Finds Acceptance in a Vibrant Animated Delight

Cartoon Saloon, the Irish studio behind Oscar-nominated gems like  'Wolfwalkers,' adapts Jessica Love’s acclaimed children’s book about an imaginative boy with an immigrant grandmother trying to understand him.

By Carlos Aguilar

Carlos Aguilar

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The wondrous paintbrush of Cartoon Saloon has now reached the Latino community of Brooklyn. The acclaimed Irish studio gained international prominence (and multiple Oscar nominations) with local folktales in gorgeous animated form (“The Secret of Kells,” “Song of the Sea,” “Wolfwalkers”), and tackled an Afghanistan-set story in 2017’s “The Breadwinner.” Now, they’re once again pushing the geographical boundaries of their storytelling with “Julián,” a vibrant adaptation of Jessica Love’s acclaimed 2018 children’s book “Julián is a Mermaid.”

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