MY ENTIRE HIGH SCHOOL SINKING INTO THE SEA American Independents

“Heightened style,” a term mentioned by one of the animated characters in this audacious disaster comedy, aptly describes the painterly mixed-media visuals created by director Dash Shaw and lead animator Jane Samborski for their surreal take on teen comedies and THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE. Grim yet colorful, the images innovatively represent cartoon violence, but also transcend character animation to reach the realm of the experimental. Featuring the voices of Jason Schwartzman, Lena Dunham, Reggie Watts, Maya Rudolph and Thomas Jay Ryan (of Hal Hartley fame), plus a scene-stealing Susan Sarandon as Lunch Lady Lorraine, the film also evokes SNOWPIERCER’s device of “juggernaut as metaphor” to share its anti-authority, nonconformist message. MY ENTIRE HIGH SCHOOL SINKING INTO THE SEA marks graphic novelist Shaw’s feature film debut, as well as executive producer Craig Zobel’s first return to animation since his co-creation of the cult web series HOMESTAR RUNNER. — Gillian Horvat