The difference between being laughed at and having others laugh with you is perfectly exemplified in how the overweight young protagonist in stop-motion filmmaker Kristina Dufková’s coming-of-age story “Living Large” is treated by those around him. Bespectacled Ben Pipetka (Tyler Joseph Gay in the English-language dub) has an affinity for cooking elaborate meals and is also the lead singer in a rock band with his closest friends. Ben is as cool a kid as they come. And though his body is visibly larger than the rest of his classmates, that represents no obstacle for him to feel fulfilled and loved.
Barring a trio of lanky bullies, Benny’s classmates don’t judge him based on his weight. On the contrary, his sense of humor, even when he inevitably stumbles into uncomfortable situations, wins them over every time. Still, external pressures to lose weight, triggered by a visit to the school’s nurse who proclaims him dangerously obese, convince him that being slimmer would increase his chances at a romantic relationship with Klára (Alexandra Hermans), a friendly classmate on whom he has a crush. A trio of writers (Petr Jarchovský, Barbora Drevikovska, and Anna Vásová) adapted French author Mikaël Ollivier’s novel “La vie, en gros” as the basis for Dufková’s second feature as a director.
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In this world, characters sport exaggerated features, as well as asymmetrical faces and bodies accentuating those traits that might make someone feel self-conscious. The aesthetic choice to distort those around Ben aligns with the film’s interest in the acceptance or rejection of how people look on the outside. One can see the seams in “Living Large,” and that’s a compliment. Its hand-crafted quality doesn’t hide behind noticeable digital enhancements, as is the case in big-budget stop-motion productions. The textures of the materials utilized (in the hair of an ill puppy, for example) and the overall physicality are central to the film’s charm.
Interestingly, Ben’s daydreams materialize as 2D hand-drawn animation which maintains the character design with pronounced noses and cheekbones. Using the 2D technique to express an alternative reality within an already animated world has been a common practice in computer-animated studio productions. But in “Living Large,” because the “reality” of the narrative is done in stop motion, there’s a more organic synchronicity between the 2D visions and the tangible figures. At one point, stop-motion Ben interacts with an imaginary 2D Klára to create a hybrid interaction not often seen in animation.
Ben’s partially self-imposed mission to lose weight and leave sweets behind for good doesn’t only affect his perception of who he should be. The change in habits and attention to every meal brings to light his divorced parents’ issues. His father, who has struggled with his size his entire life, takes the boy to a nutritionist on his younger girlfriend’s recommendation. Her presence awakens the insecurities of Ben’s veterinarian mother.
The writers handle the parents’ relationship with their adolescent children with earnestness, instead of sugarcoating the rough patches that arise amid the kid’s hormonal unrest and the adult’s lack of ideal tools to guide them. Though familiar tropes are rather conspicuously baked into the plot, “Living Large” arrives at an encouraging conclusion: From acceptance of his physical appearance, Ben eventually succeeds in carving a new approach to personal improvement. That the filmmakers never show a thinner version of Ben as a goal to strive toward — not even in his fantastical cutaways — feels monumental. The same can be said about the way Ben’s romantic interest in Klára is resolved.
Screening stateside in English, “Living Large” features the voices, both in the dialogue and catchy songs, that sound native to the story and don’t call attention to themselves. For the most part, there are no major signs that place the story in a specific country. However, kids in Ben’s school flip each other off throughout, which gives away that this came into existence away from American judgment. Though “Living Large” does not tackle an especially daring subject, the film still manages to conjure up bits of wonder from its quotidian preoccupations and its relatable approach to the complications of asserting one’s self-esteem.
