‘Wrinkles’ Coming to DVD and VOD Next Week (Exclusive Video)

The 2011 Spanish animated feature Wrinkles, based on Paco Roca’s graphic novel, will be released onto DVD and VOD in the United States on July 15. The hand-drawn film was directed by Ignacio Ferreras, and its new English-dub cast features Martin Sheen, George Coe, and Matthew Modine. Though not the most visually ambitious film, Wrinkles should be commended for expanding the themes and narrative possibilities of feature animation. If you’re looking for something beyond conventional Hollywood animation fare, Wrinkles might be worth a look:

The story opens with former bank manager Emilio being dispatched to a retirement home by his family. His new roommate is a wily, wheeler-dealer named Miguel, who cheerfully swindles small amounts of cash from the more befuddled residents but is also full of handy insider tips that are crucial to survival. Like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest in an old folks home, we are introduced to daily pill regimens, electric gates, and an eccentric cast of characters who rebel against institutional authority, while doing everything in their power to avoid being assigned to the dreaded top floor assisted living wing – a dwelling place for lost souls from which there is no return. The hand-drawn animation style allows the film to move freely between the reality-bound daily lives of the ‘inmates’ and their more colorful dementia-induced fantasies, leaving plenty of room for both tears and laughter and pulling no punches in its critique of society’s attitude towards the elderly.

Here is an exclusive scene from the film showing a nighttime ‘prison break,’ with a senior twist: