Waltz With Bashir by Ari Folman is an animated documentary about the 1982 Lebanon War. Seeing it today was an intense experience, especially when combined with the partial shock of returning from a slow, tropical environment to one filled with noise and tasks (trip to Honduras/return to NYC). I honestly didn’t expect to learn so much or be so engaged, but Folman’s film completely captured my attention with its various animation techniques, immersive sound elements, and dream-like scenes; I was impressed throughout it. The extreme detail put into representing motion and creating moods was equally supported by discussions involving stimulating subjects such as perception and memory. While I was aware that the film would end by introducing live video footage of slaughtered civilians, I couldn’t predict my reaction. I watched, looked away, and peeked a bit longer. Fortunately, the credits appeared after a few moments, and I left the cinema . . . feeling numbed. My curiosity to better understand the circumstances of the massacre led me to do some reading online, and my further processing allowed me to appreciate the stylistic decisions taken in using animation and video to impact viewers, both artistically and politically. Overall, seeing Waltz With Bashir was worth the twelve dollars and strengthened the argument that animation isn’t always childlike and bright.