Dust Bunny - review

May 2, 2026

rating: 8/10
One line review: a wes anderson adventure of no one believing in this monster until they are literally being eaten.

this movie was a random pick while my friend and I destroyed a frozen seafood boil I got for $6 at the grocery store. (it was delicious btw, thanks for asking)

The plan was to try a few minutes to the first ad break and go from there. We watched the whole 1 hr 45 min movie. And it was delightful! You can tell everyone who worked on the movie enjoyed being a part of it. The line delivery is a little awkward at times but I like to see it as camp. They’re trying and yeah, I can tell youre in a movie right now, but I am loving every second of it.

the style of the movie is very reminiscent of Wes Anderson. The striking colors and deadpan dialogue delivery from aurora and the neighbor made it feel a lot like fantastic mr. fox. (I know that isn’t the most signature wes anderson but it’s the one that sticks in my head)

SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT!

I loved how theres minimal dialogue for the first 20 or so minutes, until Auroa meets the neighbor to discuss the deal formally. I thought the whole movie would be like that at first. i thought the huge sets and visual effects showcasing Aurora’s creativity told enough of a story without dialogue so if the whole movie continued like that, I wouldn’t have minded. But I also LOVE the dialogue in this move.

Some of my favorite moments are when the enemy hitmen are in the hallway and the monster is just going CRAZYYYYY on everyone. The guy in the black trenchcoat is just screaming “OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!” loll and then when the FBI come in and tell them to get on the floor, they’re both like “mmm, no. can’t do that. … not happening, sorry” it was hilarious, kudos to that guy.

another moment I thought was hilarious was when they first introduced the neighbor and he spiral swings down a random pole, chopping at assailants with knives before entering a 5 minute fight sequence where nun chuck reflects shuriken. it was magical.

my only gripe is that the actual dust bunny monster is not explored nearly enough. By the end of the movie, Aurora knows the monster won’t eat her and they just… leave the apartment? The rabbit stays inside, hopping back and forth and sniffing towards Aurora anxiously instead of melting into the floor like it had before. The neighbor just says she has to live with the monster now, which as a metaphor for carrying your mistakes/trauma with you makes sense, but in the sense of the world they built where she wished for her original parents to die because they were negligent and now every other family she has been with has died, it doesn’t make sense for her to just “live with” the monster. And I guess the monster for the neighbor is his mom, who isn’t revealed as his mom until the SECOND she dies lol. I mean, considering she’s the only other reoccurring character to have voice lines, I assumed they were connected beyond business.

I don’t fully dislike that rushed reveal though. The focus isn’t Aurora and the neighbor’s trauma. I don’t need to see a 10 minute scene of aurora being ignored and neglected by her birth parents, knowing that she wished for them to be eaten by a monster is enough. The same goes for the neighbor. His conversations with his mother paint the perfect picture of his whole life. I don’t need to have it shoved down my throat to empathize with these two characters or the adventure that brings them together. It really is just the rushed reveal THEN instant resolution.

overall, I really enjoyed the movie! I would watch it again with someone to see their reaction to the campy parts. The care that went into the movie shines through and I’ll always enjoy a movie like that.

that’s all for now. Until next time,
amber :)