this psychedelic paean to biodiversity and acceptance in a xenophobic world is alternately marvelous and messy; Its freewheeling storytelling often feels slapdash; But there’s a nonstop fusillade of imagination at work here that commands attention
the drawing style is more mature; But the storytelling retains a childlike, sometimes childish quality, a naivete that can be frustrating and often rather enchanting
in every way, "Cryptozoo" is a more ambitious achievement than Shaw's coy but pleasing first feature; And while its hippie-era setting and hallucinatory imagery give a nostalgic kick, the film's darker conflicts speak to dire issues of today
imbued with the polychromatic sensibility of 1960s animation like "The Yellow Submarine", "Cryptozoo", the new feature directed by Dash Shaw, with animation directed by Jane Samborski, is a rapturously hallucinogenic daydream for mature audiences
cartoonist Dash Shaw’s latest exercise in hand-drawn weirdness is imaginative but disappointingly dull. The movie was undeniably and entertainingly offbeat. But it never ranged too far beyond a few familiar pop sub-genres
brimming with constant new ideas and visual innovation, Shaw's work captures the flurry of thought and motion at the center of dangerous times, and even dares to make them fun
"Cryptozoo" is a sexy, political, wildly imagined beast of a movie; it seeks to cultivate your wonder and awaken your outrage, to spin a work of unbridled fantasy into a depressingly relevant critique of human callousness and greed in any era
by Bob Strauss [San Francisco Chronicle ]
