You might call me a casual fan of steampunk, in that I tend to like what I see of it but don't know a whole lot of works within it. Seems to me they're usually set in an alternate 19th century. This movie starts then to establish where the timeline diverges from reality, but then it skips ahead to 1931 and, for the bulk of the story, 1941, with an epilogue chronicling up to 2000. The important premises are that the line of Napoleon Bonaparte has continued and prevented many scientific advances by pressing gifted scientists into service in other areas. Among other things, this means a budding war with North America for its supply of wood and coal for steam power.
The science-minded Franklin family has no intention of slaving away on weapons. Their rebellion leads to young April (voiced in English by Angela Galuppo) being left to fend for herself as a street thief, refusing to go to a state-run orphanage. Disgraced former inspector Pizoni (Paul Giamatti) thinks she's the key to finding her missing, talented grandfather, "Pops" (Tony Robinow). By her teen years, Pizoni has sent a young thief, Julius (Tod Fennell), to spy on her. It becomes apparent that there is yet another party interested in April and the rest of the Franklins, particularly for their progress on a serum for Deadpool-level rapid healing.
OK, saying that she fends for herself is a little misleading. With her is a cat, Darwin (Tony Hale), who has both speech and high intelligence thanks to the Franklins' specialty. He gets quite a few of the funny moments but is too vital and periodically serious to be summarized as a comic relief; even "cute animal companion" might not do him justice. Mild warning/reminder: Europeans don't shy away from drawing certain animal parts.
Perhaps the main source of humor is Pizoni, who seems to combine Inspectors Javert and Clouseau. Also, Pops can be an absent-minded professor. Julius becomes the butt of a few gags, partly, I suppose, because of his awkward placement in April's life. He and she have shifting feelings for one another, as I could see a mile away.
The plot becomes more complicated as non-government entities intervene. To avoid spoilers, I won't say much about them, but they present an interesting ethical gray area. They also up the ante on action sequences, tho the violence never goes past a PG rating. Exactly how happy the ending is depends on your POV, but it's no Kubo.
Conceptually, this movie reminds me of some Hayao Miyazaki hits, such as Laputa: Castle in the Sky. Visually, it's a bit different. Not only does a sooty urban landscape miss the beauty associated with Studio Ghibli, but the art looks more like a comic book in motion. Maybe there's just something about Franco-Belgian character designs that reminds me of Tintin.
More fascistly dystopian than the sunny-sounding title suggests, AatEW may not be a good choice for viewers in their single digits. The rest should get something pleasant out of it, even if it's not on par with the Miyazaki realm.
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