Abe's Story

Abe is an Irish assistant to Henry, a celebrated stage actor, working in the late Victorian era and nursing dreams of becoming a writer. When he signs on with Henry's touring theatrical troupe, he spends long nights on trains and in strange towns, watching performers and strangers in ways that sharpen his imagination. The odd encounters and uneasy scenes he witnesses begin to feed a darker story in his head, and he starts to shape a novel centered on a violent, otherworldly character. The film follows Abe's shifting moods and creative impulses as travel, theater life, and superstition press on his senses, without revealing how those impulses finally resolve.

Released in 2019, Abe's Story is an animated fantasy directed by Adam H. Stewart and created by Garry Walsh, featuring Colin O'Donoghue and David Bamber among the voice cast.

The film had a modest distribution, appearing mainly in specialized festivals and limited screenings rather than a wide theatrical run, so it didn't register major commercial figures.

Critical response has been mixed, reflected in a small number of reviews and a vote average around 6.0 out of 10. Viewers who like moody period animation praised its atmosphere and voice performances, while others found the pacing uneven. Major themes include the cost of artistic ambition, the blurred line between imagination and reality, and how performance life can feed obsession.

Among a niche audience, Abe's Story found appreciation for its gothic visuals and theatrical setting. Fans of dark, literary animation have pointed to its period detail and the lead voice work as highlights, and it continues to be mentioned in conversations about independent animated films that lean into literary and horror-adjacent material.