This emotion filled romance takes place in Edinburgh, Scotland and in Andalucía, Spain. On the coldest day of the winter a pregnant woman climbed the hill to the midwife Madeleine (Barbra Scaff). Madeleine told the mother that her son’s heart was frozen solid. She then replaced his heart with a cuckoo-clock. Because of this arrangement Jack (Orlando Seale) had to follow three rules. One, never touch the hands of your heart, two, keep your temper under control, three, was to never, ever fall in love. While out on his first adventure into town he met Miss Acacia (Samantha Barks). Acacia is a little dancer who is always bumping into things because she never wears her glasses. After that day Jack did everything he could to try and find her. He started going to school where he ended up getting bullied for four years. Because of an accident Jack is forced to leave Edinburgh, which begins his journey to find his one true love. This theatrical love story will play tricks with your emotions; it’s filled with romance, adventure, drama, and fantasy.

I’ve always loved animated films, especially ones done by Tim Burton. Although this was written by a man named Mathias Malzieu, his movie reminded me of Burton’s work very much, but it was a bit more colorful. Though dark in context the movie has a great moral lesson and a phenomenal story line.  The time period of this movie is great because of all the new inventions and the exciting people. Jack actually finds himself with a companion named Melies (Stephane Cornicard) who is creating a video camera. Though he may be crazy and on the verge of a nervous breakdown, he is just the encouragement Jack needs on his adventure.

This movie is wild and jam-packed full of odd things. Seeing as it is supposed to be a children’s movie, I do believe that it may be a bit too scary for some kids. There is a scene where Jack is on a train and he meets Jack the Ripper who sings about chopping up brunettes and blondes. There is actually one cuss word in the scene where we first meet Melies, but it is very hard to hear. There are a couple of sexual references, but none that would be noticeable by kids. Did I mention that this movie is rated PG? Then there’s the fact that a child wouldn’t understand most of the story, and there isn’t a whole bunch going on that would keep a child’s interest. For older kids, say about 10-12 years and up would probably enjoy this movie much more.

In this film, though it may be animated, I was able to connect with the characters.  I really got a good sense of their feelings by their tone of voice. I absolutely love the story line and all the characters. The writer practically dangles what should be easily found in your face, but keeps pulling it higher and higher. I love this movie and I feel like you could too. This is Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart, the story about a young boy named Jack, who tries to discover the limit to his mechanical heart.