IndieWire by Christian Blauvelt

A movie brimming with sentiment but not sentimentality, this is one of the most moving animated films in recent memory, and, beyond that, groundbreaking too.

The Playlist by Warren Cantrell

A chronicle of a group of animals, sure, but Flow is really about the best aspects of humanity as seen through the lens of these creatures. How living things learn to trust, share, and protect the weakest among them represents the best ideas of life on this planet, and it is what Zilbalodis is interested in here.

RogerEbert.com by Carlos Aguilar

Its narrative clarity makes its fable seem timeless, while innovating and expanding the visual immersion of its medium.

Boston Globe by Odie Henderson

Flow can be read as a climate-change parable, an empathic plea for understanding each other, or as a simple entertainment featuring cute animals and perilous situations.

Christian Science Monitor by Peter Rainer

It’s no secret that the best animated movies can enthrall us in ways every bit as immersive as any live-action film. Flow is a triumphant case in point.

Washington Post by Ty Burr

There’s a message here, and the great good grace of “Flow” is that it trusts us enough not to spell it out. Even adults will figure out what’s going on; the kids will be way ahead of them, as they usually are.

Empire by John Nugent

A mesmerising, wondrous example of animation’s potential; a thoughtful allegory about ecocide and death; and an adorable ode to four-legged (and two-legged) friends. No ebbs here: Flow is the real deal.

Time Out by Phil de Semlyen

A survival epic full of mysteries and magic, it’s an animated epic worthy of Ghibli.

The New York Times by Calum Marsh

The animals act like real animals, not like cartoons or humans, and that restraint gives their adventure an authenticity that, in moments of both delight and peril, makes the emotion that much more powerful. With the caveat that I’m a cat lover, I was deeply moved.

Screen Daily by Allan Hunter

There are no human characters in Flow and no dialogue beyond barks and squawks but the sense of peril is compelling, the visuals are impressive and the emotional spell it casts is captivating.

The Hollywood Reporter by David Rooney

Flow is a joy to experience but also a deeply affecting story, the work of a unique talent who deserves to be ranked among the world’s great animation artists.

Rolling Stone by David Fear

For many of us staring down the next four years, the idea that a community can come together to take on the rising tides couldn’t be more welcome or needed.

The Telegraph by Robbie Collin

Flow might be a digital confection, but it’s also open, alive, elemental. In every sense, it’s a breath of fresh air.

Slant Magazine by Steven Scaife

Gints Zilbalodis’s animated feature is movingly attuned to its characters’ primal instincts.

The Film Stage by Ethan Vestby

As a virtuoso experiment, the freedom provided by animation maybe lets the camera “flow” a little too much. The film’s choice to integrate rather pretty 3D animation with more cartoonish designs produces mixed results for pure aesthetic pleasure, and in a brief 84-minute runtime it still manages to be a little repetitive.

Variety by Peter Debruge

The trouble with Flow is that it already looks dated — commendable to be sure, yet rudimentary at the same time. It’s as if Zilbalodis decided to dump an ocean’s worth of water in the Uncanny Valley. Still, animal-loving viewers will bond almost instantly with the cat and its motley companions.

The A.V. Club by Jacob Oller

Though initially revolving around the attention to detail that takes center stage when creating a world of silent naturalism, the script from Zilbalodis and Matīss Kaža sometimes overpowers the incredible showcase of light, color, and movement with out-of-place cartoonishness.