In 2024, Flow reminded us of the power of animation. The ability to tell a story through animals and moving pictures, without dialogue, asking us to connect with other species that we saw ourselves reflected in. This year at Cannes, we were shown a new way to appreciate this style of film with Momoko Seto’s Dandelion’s Odyssey. Following four dandelion cypselae, left without a home after their world is destroyed, the friends discover a new planet, in search of a new place to call their home. Asking us to connect emotionally with the plant species, Dandelion’s Odyssey feels quite surreal, but for those who might be seeking a new way to look at the world, this film is just for you.

When a nuclear war annihilates the Earth, four dandelion cypselae, and are sent crash landing on an unknown planet. Without a place to call home, the friends face their new home, in search of a place capable of allowing their species to survive and propogate, while trying to survive for themselves against the unknowns of their new land.

Immediately, I was struck by the synopsis of the film. Using dandelion seeds that float through our world to ask us to connect to the topics it brings up, like survival, human destruction, and the power of will is so unique, but I questioned if it would work. Would I, as the viewer, be able to connect to a story about the seeds of a plant? How would I see struggles I often associate with being human reflected in a story of a living species that I am unable to communicate with? But in the case of Dandelion’s Odyssey, it works.

First, there is the unique and glaring story of survival. We are reminded of the power of will and the will the live as we watch the seeds desparately search for a new home, to try and find a place that will be able to sustain their species. The use of the odyssey story structure, the long journey the friends go on to survive contributes to helping us relate to the plants, as we can connect with their struggles and their will to keep moving forward as their journey continues. The physical and emotional trials and tribulations they face are relatable to us, no matter what their species is, meaning we can understand what they are willing to do to find a new home, as we feel we would do the same.

On top of us connecting with the story, there is also a unique side of the narrative here that reminds us that no matter how much human destruction we cause, life will go on. It is unfortunate that throughout history there have been many times we fear for the end as a result of the power of nuclear explosives. This film begins in teh aftermath, after what we can assume are humans have destroyed the planet. In an accident, four dandelion cypselae survive, and are able to find a new planet where they see and search for other life. Although humans have destroyed themselves, and unfortunately so many others, life will go on, reminding us that there is a power higher than the human life, and that our selfish nature could become the end for our species, but others will have the power and will to go on.

There is also a unique animation style here, that along with the overall story, feels quite surreal at times. It feels uncannily similar to the world we know, featuring animals that often look like the ones we see in real life. But at the same time, the animated dandelion cypselae move with just enough flair that they quickly have personalities of their own that are recognizable to us as humans. We connect with them based on their movements and small sounds, without dialogue or facial expressions, using the strange, dreamlike story and animation style that blends reality and animation to ask us to connect with this story outside of what we would expect from an emotional story about plant seeds.

Dandelion’s Odyssey is steadfast in its emotional story that asks viewers to connect emotionally with four dandelion cypselae. Demonstrating the power of will, survival, and friendship through a story of four dandelion cypselae friends who land on an unknown planet after their home is annihilated by nuclear explosions, the film uniquely uses animation and the journey of the friends to help us connect with the plant species and remember that life will go on, if we have the will.

Dandelion’s Odyssey was screened at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.