Aiden Grennel as the Phantom

Aiden Grennel lends his masterful voice to the animated version of The Phantom of the Opera. He portrays Erik as a powerful and confident man who is well aware of the advantages his voice gives him. Erik is also shown as capable of random violence, killing a cat at the beginning of the film to vent his constant anger. He is also cold towards Christine at times, seemingly hating her for drawing him from his lair. Erik only shows tenderness when he has Christine safely tucked away in his lair far from the meddlesome Raoul.

This Phantom seems amused at Christine’s terror at times, and toys with her. When she tries to escape through a circular corridor and only ends up back in the same room, he is delighted. It as if Erik can only woo her by showing what a powerful and clever man he is. He never quite shows the fullness of his love until he realizes he has lost her. In the end Erik releases Christine and brings his home down upon himself, smiling. Erik finds peace in death he never knew in life, and Christine is free to be with Raoul.

Christine seems almost too naïve to be believable, but this is a dead on rendering of Leroux’s heroine. She is incapable of any real rage in against Erik, and plies him with tears and entreaties. Raoul on the other hand, she feels free to throw things at. She never quite comes off as sweet, but seems to have an emotional distance between her and Raoul despite her declarations of love to him.

The animation here is fair, and the story line follows the book closely. The Daroga is included, and his interactions with Erik are almost verbatim to the book. At times however, the action drags, such as the scene where Christine is singing on stage. Often the characters really don’t seem to speak the dialogue due to the simplicity of the artistic and animated rendering. But the film is entertaining overall, and shouldn’t be missed.

Return to movie listings
Return Home