I Was Kidnapped (2026)
There is a particular kind of childhood lie that spirals so far beyond your control that you end up trapped inside it, and I Was Kidnapped captures that sinking, guilty feeling just about perfectly. Dhananjay Barangule's animated short is a warm, funny and nicely crafted piece of autobiography, recounting a tall tale from his own Mumbai childhood and the dawning realisation of what it did to his mum. It is a decent, likeable short all round, and I am giving it three stars.
The framing is simple and effective. An adult Dhananjay looks back and retells a funny story from his boyhood, the sort of yarn you trot out at dinner parties, only for the telling to slowly reveal a tenderer, more rueful truth underneath. The gag at its heart, built around the whopping great lie of the title, is genuinely amusing, but the film is smart enough to let the comedy curdle into something more reflective as it dawns on him, and us, how frightening the whole episode must have been from his mother's side of it.
It is beautifully put together. The animation is really well drawn and full of character, with an energy and warmth that suits the nostalgic, slightly exaggerated tone of a memory being retold, and the voice work is strong throughout, selling both the comedy and the quieter emotional beats. It is the kind of confident, personal student film that announces a film-maker with a real voice, and it is no surprise to find it carrying the NFTS behind it.
What lifts it for me is how precisely it nails the specific guilt of lying to a parent, that queasy mix of getting away with something and slowly realising you have hurt someone who only worried because they love you. It is a universal feeling, and the film lands it with a light but genuine touch. I will add that my young son watched it with me and was thoroughly taken with it, which tells you something about how accessible and charming it is.
Three stars. I Was Kidnapped is a well animated, well voiced and warmly observed little memoir of a short, let down only by its brevity, because just as it starts to deepen it is over. I genuinely wished it had been a touch longer to let that final shift of feeling breathe. Even so, it is a charming and heartfelt piece, and I would happily watch whatever Barangule makes next.
Related on Movies With Macca
More from Country United Kingdom: The Red Shoes (1948), The Driver (1978), Interstellar (2014)
More from the 2020s: All That's Left of You (2025), The Whale (2022), Look Back (2024)
More animation: Jabberwocky (1971), Dance of the Spirits (2026), Hey, You (1976)
