OZI: Voice of the Forest – Movie Review

An animation film by Appian Way Productions, which I know from their Cowspiracy documentary.

Ozi, an orangutan baby, is separated from her parents during a fire in the rainforest. She’s taken in by two environmental workers who manage a foster home for orphaned primates. They teach her sign language. Soon, she can communicate with them and also the world, after starting a youtube channel. But there’s still the question as to what happened to her parents, and when a wild ape visits their sanctuary, bubbling about how great the wilderness is, Ozi decides it may be time to go back to her roots. Having lived majority of her life with humans, it appears easier than it is. Still, using her creativity, she manages, makes new friends and documents her journey on her tablet.

Already reviewed the trailer for this movie, which you can read here , and watch it directly in this post:

So good!

I really like the animation and the designs. Very diverse. It’s not hyper-realistic animation – like Frozen 2, for example – but in my opinion, it does not need to be. I actually find it much better that every character looks unique and that more emphasis was put on aesthetic and the story.

The inclusion of sign language was great – specifically, the fact that they showed it. It is possible, after all, and is something actually studied with real apes – though perhaps not quite as advanced as it appears in this film. But theoretically possible.

I felt the ending was resolved a bit too quickly – a little too utopian, to be honest.

On the other hand, the two “good guys” did point out that things probably won’t stay that way forever, and that the company is really only playing along because the entire internet is watching them. As soon as the trend dies down and something else goes viral, they’ll surely go back to their destructive ways.
Still, in itself, it’s a good message for kids: that things could end this well – if only we don’t give up.

I absolutely bawled my eyes out during the parts about saving the rainforest!!!

If you’ve watched Avatar, you know the gist. Albeit this one plays on Earth and is basically a documentary because many companies are doing this to our forests right now. (So please avoid buying stuff with palm oil!)

I watched it in german dub (unfortunately no sub was available in my local theaters) and, once again, I thought the translation of the names was really stupid. I’m not a fan of translating names anyway, but in this case, it makes even less sense because Ozi introduced herself using sign language and actually spelled out her name. Saying “Jazzy” out loud, but then only signing three letters… mhm. Whoever translated that: WTH?

I’d give a 2/5 for the german translation (script). But I’m ignoring it for this rating cause the original version isn’t at fault for other countries making bad translations.

Watched 7th May 2026
~A. S.

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Written By: Arden Skye aka Ayxan Solongo aka TimeFliesAway
Favorite game/film/book: doesn’t have one, cause there are too many good ones!
About: A child of Mother Nature, traveling through the multiverse. Likes to explore the stories of unique individuals – most often referred to as “weird” in a lot of worlds.
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