11/06/2025 - Kristina Dufková’s animated hit explores the complexities of puberty and self-perception with sincerity, delivering an affirmative message even if its setting and story arc are quite familiar

Czech animation has had another successful year. After an impressive awards season run, including qualifying for Oscar consideration, winning the Jury Award at Annecy 2024 and receiving two nominations for European Animated Feature Film 2024 and European Film 2024, Living Large scooped Best Feature Film for Children & Young Audience and Best Czech Animation at this year’s Anifilm International Festival of Animated Films in Liberec, Czech Republic.

Czech animator Kristina Dufková’s feature-length directorial debut, based on Mikaël Ollivier’s book of the same title, tells the story of a tween named Ben Pipetka (voiced by Hugo Kovács). After hitting puberty and putting on some weight, Ben finds himself an outcast at school. Bespectacled and chubby, he is bullied by a trio of scrawny boys and a physical education teacher who mocks him during sports classes. To make matters worse, Ben’s slim and sweet crush Klara – though friendly – does not seem to notice his growing affection. Ben is deeply in the friend zone, but the boy is far from a loser. He is the lead singer in a school band and enjoys cooking elaborate dishes for his single mum. He is witty, charming and an all-round nice lad. When a school nurse diagnoses him with second-stage obesity, things take a serious turn. Will Ben be able to lose the deadly kilos without losing his sense of self?

In this delightful stop-motion puppet animation, co-produced by the Czech Republic, France and Slovakia, Dufková explores the complexities of puberty and self-perception. The director neatly balances her protagonist’s inner turmoil with his external circumstances. His struggle is exacerbated by his parents’ divorce, which further chips away at his confidence. Ben’s parents are not one-dimensional characters: his dad, also on the heavier side, makes prostheses, while his mum is a veterinarian with a fondness for exotic pets. Their quirks add nuance to Ben’s personality, making him a bit weird, but lovable and easy to root for.

This familiar coming-of-age narrative lends itself perfectly to the craft of stop-motion puppet animation. The character design emphasises each protagonist’s idiosyncrasies. Made of silicone, the puppets have long arms, pronounced facial features, pimples and freckles – all making them expressive and emotionally resonant. The beautifully crafted sets, swimming pools, sports hall and countryside scenes create a sense of immersion into Ben’s world, enlivened by American indie music. Rendered in earthy greens (like Ben’s signature glasses), yellows and browns, the puppetry becomes a perfect medium for portraying the transition and growing pains of adolescence.

Living Large also features some 2D hand-drawn animated sequences, especially during Ben’s nightmares and daydreams, when all his anxieties come into play. Dufková’s decision to switch media in these moments underscores the emotional and psychological shifts taking place. It takes guts to change when society has already pigeonholed you as “the chubby one”. Everyone feels entitled to comment on Ben’s weight. His physical weight becomes an emotional burden he carries during everyday social interactions: visiting a grandmother who wants to overfeed him, or navigating a world where so many social moments revolve around food.

Grounded in the warm, fuzzy and nostalgic coming-of-age genre, Living Large does not entirely escape its clichés – Ben still falls for the most popular girl and eventually stands up to the bullies. But it does so with enough sincerity: it is by recognising our inner self-worth that we find acceptance.

Living Large is a production by Barletta (Czech Republic) in co-production with Novinski (Slovakia) and Novanima Productions (France). Gebeka International is managing international sales.