Style, message the draws to animated 'Snowtime!'

The visual style of the Canadian animated feature "Snowtime!" instantly snares our irises with its rusty old school buses and total rejection of straight lines.

The wavy buildings, vehicles and streets of "Snowtime!" look as if they had been constructed of melting wax, giving them a slight droopy appearance recalling drawings from countless children's books.

This marvelously distinctive setting becomes the backdrop for a dramatically tepid retelling of André Melançon's live-action 1985 classic children's movie "The Dog Who Stopped the War," a hit when it played at the Chicago Children's International Film Festival.

During winter break in a small town, a kids' snowball fight evolves into something much more serious.

Bugle-playing Luke and newcomer Sophie (voiced by Angela Galupo and Lucinda Davis), each 11, become leaders of opposing forces. Luke heads an assault against an elaborate snow fort defended by Sophie and her friends.

Cleo, a St. Bernardy-looking canine, belongs to Piers (Ross Lynch), a friend to Luke. She's the dog who stops the war.

As the simple, fun snowball fight escalates (the kids begin to use iceballs instead of snow), "Snowtime!" clearly replicates the anti-war metaphor of its live-action original. Its cautionary subtext illustrates how the kids learn the hard way to become responsible for their actions in the absence of adult characters.

"Snowtime!" makes an admirable work of animation, but its characters don't ooze with "the illusion of life" that their counterparts in Pixar and Disney features emanate, especially in the all-important eyes.

A key moment that should pack the shock and sorrow of the killing of Bambi's mother fails to generate a similar response, but that shouldn't stop the movie's intended audience - kids - from catching on quickly that "Snowtime!" wants to be much more than a Saturday morning animated distraction.