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] reports 97% approval based on 61 reviews; the average rating is 9.2 out of 10. The site's consensus reads, "''Anomalisa'' marks another brilliant and utterly distinctive highlight in Charlie Kaufman's filmography, and a thought-provoking treat for fans of introspective cinema."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/anomalisa/|title=Anomalisa (2015)|work=]|accessdate=December 30, 2015}}</ref> The film also holds a 94/100 ] on ] based on 20 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/anomalisa|title=Anomalisa|work=]|accessdate=December 30, 2015}}</ref>
The film received almost universal acclaim from critics. ] reports 97% approval based on 61 reviews; the average rating is 9.2 out of 10. The site's consensus reads, "''Anomalisa'' marks another brilliant and utterly distinctive highlight in Charlie Kaufman's filmography, and a thought-provoking treat for fans of introspective cinema."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/anomalisa/|title=Anomalisa (2015)|work=]|accessdate=December 30, 2015}}</ref> The film also holds a 94/100 ] on ] based on 20 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/anomalisa|title=Anomalisa|work=]|accessdate=December 30, 2015}}</ref>
Writing for '']'' and awarding the film five out of five stars, David Calhoun wrote, "It's what you imagine might have happened if Charlie Kaufman had got his hands on '']'' or '']''."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.timeout.com/london/film/anomalisa|title=Anomalisa|last=Calhoun|first=Dave|work=]|date=September 8, 2015|accessdate=September 27, 2015}}</ref> Drew McWeeny of ] called it "the most shattering experiment yet from Charlie Kaufman" and graded it an "A+".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hitfix.com/motion-captured/review-anomalisa-is-the-most-shattering-experiment-yet-from-charlie-kaufman|title=Review: 'Anomalisa' is the most shattering experiment yet from Charlie Kaufman|last=McWeeny|first=Drew|work=]|date=September 18, 2015|accessdate=September 27, 2015}}</ref> '']''{{'}}s Amy Nicholson gave the film an "A" and wrote, "Kaufman is taking our brains apart and showing us the gears."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.laweekly.com/film/charlie-kaufman-has-directed-his-second-masterpiece-6045163|title=Charlie Kaufman Has Directed His Second Masterpiece|last=Nicholson|first=Amy|work=]|date=September 15, 2015|accessdate=September 27, 2015}}</ref>
Writing for '']'' and awarding the film five out of five stars, David Calhoun wrote, "It's what you imagine might have happened if Charlie Kaufman had got his hands on '']'' or '']''."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.timeout.com/london/film/anomalisa|title=Anomalisa|last=Calhoun|first=Dave|work=]|date=September 8, 2015|accessdate=September 27, 2015}}</ref> Drew McWeeny of ] called it "the most shattering experiment yet from Charlie Kaufman" and graded it an "A+".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hitfix.com/motion-captured/review-anomalisa-is-the-most-shattering-experiment-yet-from-charlie-kaufman|title=Review: 'Anomalisa' is the most shattering experiment yet from Charlie Kaufman|last=McWeeny|first=Drew|work=]|date=September 18, 2015|accessdate=September 27, 2015}}</ref> '']''{{'}}s Amy Nicholson gave the film an "A" and wrote, "Kaufman is taking our brains apart and showing us the gears."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.laweekly.com/film/charlie-kaufman-has-directed-his-second-masterpiece-6045163|title=Charlie Kaufman Has Directed His Second Masterpiece|last=Nicholson|first=Amy|work=]|date=September 15, 2015|accessdate=September 27, 2015}}</ref>
Michael Stone, an author of books on the subject of customer service, struggles with his inability to connect to people. One night, while on a routine business trip, he meets a stranger who changes his world view.
Kaufman wrote the original play under the pen name Francis Fregoli for Theater of the New Ear, a series put on by composer Carter Burwell made of what are described as "sound plays". Initially Kaufman was against the idea of turning the play into an animated film, saying that the play had "a disconnect between what’s being said on stage and what the audience is seeing – there’s Tom playing all these characters, there’s Jennifer and David having sex while they’re really just standing across the stage from each other and moaning. You’d lose that." Subsequently the film was reinvented, although the actual script was "virtually the same" as the original play.
The film raised its budget on Kickstarter so as to "produce this unique and beautiful film outside of the typical Hollywood studio system where we believe that you, the audience, would never be allowed to enjoy this brilliant work the way it was originally conceived." Pitched as a short film "approximately 40 minutes in length," 5,770 backers pledged $406,237 to help bring the project to life. After the success of the Kickstarter, additional funding was secured by the film's production company, Starburns Industries, and the film was expanded to feature length of approximately 80 minutes.
The puppets were created with the use of 3D printers, and while Johnson was told that such realistic animation would be "disturbing and off-putting," he disagreed. To that end, a goal of the film was for viewers to "forget they were looking at something animated and just get wrapped up in the scene," further explaining that "the challenge we felt with so much animated stuff is that you're always conscious of the animation, and we kept asking, 'What if we could escape that? What would it be like?'"
The film received almost universal acclaim from critics. Rotten Tomatoes reports 97% approval based on 61 reviews; the average rating is 9.2 out of 10. The site's consensus reads, "Anomalisa marks another brilliant and utterly distinctive highlight in Charlie Kaufman's filmography, and a thought-provoking treat for fans of introspective cinema." The film also holds a 94/100 score on Metacritic based on 20 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".
Writing for Time Out and awarding the film five out of five stars, David Calhoun wrote, "It's what you imagine might have happened if Charlie Kaufman had got his hands on Up in the Air or Lost in Translation." Drew McWeeny of Hitfix called it "the most shattering experiment yet from Charlie Kaufman" and graded it an "A+". LA Weekly's Amy Nicholson gave the film an "A" and wrote, "Kaufman is taking our brains apart and showing us the gears."
According to Metacritic, Anomalisa was the sixth most acclaimed film of 2015, behind Brooklyn and in front of Ex Machina. The film was ranked in first place by three critics, 2nd by seven critics, and somewhere else within the top 10 by 30 other critics.
Theatrical release poster