"The most creative part of the movie is Eric Drooker’s melodramatic drawings (fully animated) of Ginsberg’s shadowy 'angel-headed hipsters' lunging through the skyscrapers and alleys of modern experience."
—David Denby, The New Yorker

"Howl, the new film about Allen Ginsberg and his controversial poem, is no simple narrative. . . . soaring in and around all this are long stretches of animation depicting the text's urban, surrealist visions. . . . Drooker's 'Howl' illustrations tend to feature elongated figures and sweeping, richly colored landscapes—making up a fantastical world that reflects the text."
—Pia Catton, The Wall Street Journal

"Interpretation in still another register is provided by the amazing animation—part-biographical, part-metaphorical, part-imagistic and largely hallucinogenic—that seems to flow upward from Ginsberg’s mouth as he reads."
—Stanley Fish, The New York Times

"[The directors] set the poem to animation by Eric Drooker, who collaborated with Ginsberg in the past. The frenetic, high-contrast black-and-white pictures, featuring a stick-figured protagonist navigating a swirling, ever-changing universe, expand an often painfully personal poem about (among other things) one man’s unrequited love into a visual metaphor for the alienation of an entire generation."
—Jennie Yabroff, Newsweek

"Ginsberg collaborator Eric Drooker provides the creative paste that mashes all the pieces together with his disturbing designs for the poem's animated depictions. The often-gloomy images of imprisoning cityscapes and the monstrous embodiment of capitalism as a demon called Moloch combine agitprop with the horrifying grace of Gerald Scarfe's Pink Floyd animations."
—Michael Ordoña, LA Times

"The animation surpass expectations. Its free interpretation of the poem allowed it to appropriate the text in ways that even Franco cannot. . . Only in Eric Drooker’s vivid, imaginative animation (especially of the poem’s second part) is that political commentary realized."
—Yasha Magarick, The Yale Herald

"An incredibly animated rendition of sequences of the poem . . . By far the best part of the film is the animation, which visualizes the poem in all its jumbled and yet fluid glory."
—Todd Brown, Twitch

"The animations are by graphic artist Eric Drooker and a gifted staff of Thai animators. They are vivid and alive, bursting with imagination, color and energy, all of which the film itself, lacks. They are worth the price of the ticket and will certainly win an award on their own."
—J.P. Devine, Kennebec Journal

"The final, and most unique section, is an artistic rendering of the images that are spoken of in Howl. It’s a bit trippy, but fantastically powerful and enthralling, especially if you’re a fan of the poem."
—Joey Magidson, Awards Circuit

"Drooker’s darkly surreal, hallucinatory illustrations provide a dynamic and fluid background to the poem that alternates with flashes of black-and-white footage of Franco as Ginsberg performing the poem for a crowd of friends. . . . Drooker’s animation, however, adds a visual accompaniment that paces along with Ginsberg’s frenetic lines."
—Jake Marmer, The Jewish Daily Forward

"While Ginsberg reads aloud—"I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness . . ."—the filmmakers employ full-color animation to illustrate the poem’s frenetic mood and surreal imagery. The hand-drawn animation . . . is exquisite. Literary pundits might decry its use, but film is a visual medium, and I found this animated interpretation to be a surprising but delightful addition."
—Scott A. May, Columbia Daily Tribune

"Interwoven into the film is a psychedelic interpretation of the poem. It's graphic, it's vulgar at times, but it's also a beautiful interpretation that offers those of us that don't have the patience to contemplate the meaning of "Howl" the opportunity to get a better understanding of it."
—Jonathan Nettles, Today's THV (Arkansas)

"As Franco channeling Ginsberg narrates the poem, the interpretive animation—designed by Eric Dooker—is a memorable kaleidoscope of direct and merging symbols tumbling with the words, enhancing without distracting from them."
—Patrick McD, HollywoodChicago.com

"The centerpiece of it all is the animated interpretation of the poem itself. Whenever I read “Howl” I always approach it the same way I would the Book of Revelation in the Bible, itself an expressive, hallucinatory vision of the times. The animation itself is not Pixar-worthy, but fascinating nevertheless. What matters is how the creators envision the poem, making it as accurate to their own reflection as they possibly can. The sequences vibrantly explode and bring the poem to life."
—Max Kyburz, The Recorder (Central Connecticut State University)

"The film opens up the poem into animation by Eric Drooker, inspired by his work with Ginsberg on Illuminated Poems (1996). (The film’s animation art has just been released in print form as Howl: A Graphic Novel, which just came out in a gorgeous edition from Harper Perennial.) It’s always risky to mix animation into a film, riskier to insert it in a full-length feature. And I’m all for taking those risks! The animated sequences are this film’s method to make the poem special."
—Bob Holman, About.com, Poetry

"The film solves the problem of presenting the entire poem in a visually interesting manner. The words of the poem become notes of music, and turn into elaborate, colorful animated images that resemble something like an apocalyptic Fantasia, dark and witty and rapidly morphing. Fortunately, it is never too literal, as sometimes the images on the screen may differ from those conjured by listeners or readers. . . . In all, I think Howl the movie is a superb film of beautiful ideas and compelling images. It is original and well-constructed, and is worthy of the artist and his work."
—TomS, Blogger

"Your animation was the best thing about the Howl film. The filmmakers emphasized homosexuality—which wasn't the main theme of the poem itself. . . . You got it right. . . . I thought it represented the poem better than the film itself."
—Lawrence Ferlinghetti (Letter to Drooker)