TIFF 2025: Our Review of ‘Dandelion’s Odyssey’

Posted in Festival Coverage, Movies by - September 12, 2025
TIFF 2025: Our Review of ‘Dandelion’s Odyssey’

After this planet bursts into flames, four dandelion seeds, or achenes, make their way into outer space. In their unbelievable journey, they somehow make it to a planet just like Earth, with landscapes and seascapes. Just like this planet, it has large and intimidating bodies of water, but we have floating potatoes here, among others. Part of the delights of Dandelion’s Odysssey is making guesses on which life forms are which. But this isn’t always fun since there are natural elements here that endanger these dandelions.

Again, we are watching these dandelions’s journey, one that requires a lot of suspension of disbelief. Director Momoko Seto also put in a lot of work in Dandelion’s Odyssey but more is more. Or at least, different is always better, specifically, that there must be ways to characterize dandelions. Anthropomorphism feels like a shortcut but then it’s effective enough here for viewers to like these dandelions. Also, of course it makes no sense for dandelions to make it in space but duh.

Dandelion’s Odyssey may exaggerate things but that’s part of animation, a genre that exaggerates. Besides, I am a normal person with feelings so I root for the seeds to survive. Through these seeds, the film reminds viewers that parts of this world are compatible with others. Otherwise, the world is a dangerous place, an argument that Seto posits with presenting some dynamic visuals. The sound design also has some potential here and I hope future viewers see it in better theatres.

This post was written by
While Paolo Kagaoan is not taking long walks in shrubbed areas, he occasionally watches movies and write about them. His credentials are as follows: he has a double major in English and Art History. This means that, for example, he will gush at the art direction in the Amityville house and will want to live there, which is a terrible idea because that house has ghosts. Follow him @paolokagaoan on Instagram but not while you're working.
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