Beasts of the Southern Wild proves to be a surprisingly engaging drama movie that centers around a lovable six year old girl named Hushpuppy. Hushpuppy lives with her dad, Wink, in an area that is known as the Bathtub, and this home of theirs is a small island off of the coast of Louisiana. Even though the area itself isn't that fancy or safe, per say, the residents know how to have to fun. In fact, the people living there feel like they are truly living life to the fullest, unlike others, and pride themselves on having many festive holidays that everyone is capable of enjoying. However, life in the Bathtub does have its own quirks. For starters, Hushpuppy has a strange relationship with her father, in that they live in two separate houses, and although Wink is trying his best to prepare Hushpuppy for the end of the world, he is pretty stern in the process. The residents of the Bathtub know that eventually icebergs will melt and the ocean levels will rise, causing their home to eventually drown and get demolished, so the concept of being able to survive is of the utmost importance. In fact, in school, the children of the Bathtub get taught how to survive and use their skills to live and how their homes will all be destroyed one day, not basic arithmetic or learning how to read books. As Wink begins to fall ill with some mysterious, unknown disease or sickness, nature soon seems to follow, and all of the ideas that had seemed to be legend start to come true, as the ocean water does rise and flood in a massive storm, the icebergs melt, prehistoric creatures known as aurochs that were known for being much larger than cavemen have now entered the modern world from being thawed out, and the entire Bathtub community is in danger of having everything they care about getting destroyed and dying, including themselves. 
 Beasts of the Southern Wild proves to actually be an emotionally rich movie that is complicated on many different levels. The movie is actually quite symbolic and feels like a gigantic metaphor, which is good for some but does have some drawbacks. For example, some of the fillers required to really develop some of these concepts aren't that interesting and really don't add that much to the movie. However, the plot of the film is overall a pretty good one. The beginning of the movie does a brilliant job of setting the stage for the rest of the film and introducing the crazy world that is the Bathtub, as well as Hushpuppy - the protagonist. The middle of the movie isn't the most consistent, in that some parts are quite entertaining, but others feel like over-stretched portions that just feel excessive. However, the enticing ending of the movie makes up for this and manages to be quite heart-breaking and is actually able to conjure up lots of emotion from audiences as it takes some dark turns and really takes advantage of all of the drama, suspense, and intensity that had been leading up to this point. The actual conclusion of the film isn't that clear, as in what's going to happen next, but the movie is still able to finish things in a successful manner. 
 Beasts of the Southern Wild greatly benefits from having the protagonist of the movie being such a complex character in Hushpuppy, because viewers are introduced into the world of the Bathtub through her eyes and perspective. As she learns about the surrounding world, so do audiences. Quvenzhané Wallis does a tremendous job of playing the character, and her role is certainly one of the best ones in the entire movie. Her character is tough, strong, nice, kind, curious, young, and really shows what happens when a child's youthfulness meets the dark reality that is the world and is forced to grow up way too soon. Dwight Henry, the actor who plays Wink, also does a fantastic job of playing his character, and his on screen acting duo with Wallis is just magnificent. They both are able to conjure up an entire spectrum of emotions, and most of the movie's best scenes involve the two of them on the screen together. 

 Although Beasts of the Southern Wild definitely has its highlights, there are a few things slightly odd with the movie. For starters, it is unclear what parts of the movie are heavily influenced by Hushpuppy's perspective and warped, making it unclear what is real and what is not. The whole portion of the movie of Hushpuppy talking about and searching for her birth mother is cloudy, and it really isn't that clear what goes on. Secondly, it is also not quite made clear that if certain scenes are overly exaggerated. Although having some unclearness can be okay, the fact that audiences' entire perception of certain parts can be put into the air greatly affects their understanding and enjoyment of the movie, which isn't a good thing. 

 Beasts of the Southern Wild is actually a very realistic concept in that certain parts of nature will be decimated and be forgotten due to global warming and ocean levels rising as a result. Therefore, this movie is actually able to succeed as a great coming-of-age story and as a international warning of the dangers of people destroying the ozone layer. As time goes on, this movie seems to become that much more realistic, and it is quite possible to think that this movie will be like a steak and get better as it ages. 

 Beasts of the Southern Wild is able to really shine in the department of critics' opinions. Rotten Tomatoes gave the movie an impressive 86%, and IMDb gave the movie a solid 7.3/10, which is actually much better than it seems, since they are known for giving generally lower scores. Not only did the movie give critics satisfaction, but viewers also found contentment with the film. An outstanding 88% of Google users liked the movie, and the ones who didn't probably just didn't appreciate how symbolic the movie actually is. 

 Beasts of the Southern Wild isn't perfect, but it is definitely an intriguing movie that isn't like many others out there, and because it is certainly well done, it is absolutely worth watching for those who want a more serious type of movie.