Honda The Dream Comes True is the story of Soichiro Honda, the founder of the Honda Motor Company and the man who People magazine once described as "the Japanese Henry Ford." This information is saved for the end of the movie, which is devoted to Soichiro's childhood days as an artist and a bicycle repair boy. Still, it may be better to have this information going in, to better prepare yourself for the shock that this animated film is actually a promotional video for a car company.

I'm here to judge the art, not the purpose to which that art has been put to use. Judged on its merits, Honda The Dream Comes True presents a rush of beautiful, dreamlike images.

The film is narrated by Soichiro's friend. We see the boys riding bicycles on a hillside, and the camera switches to Soichiro's point of view as he wipes out. The story lays out autobiographical details about Soichiro's early life, until the narrator says that he'd rather "leave it to dreams to tell the story of that magical night when an idea illuminated his mind." The rest of the film is a surreal dream. The prominent images are the aqua-blue colors of the moonlight, the boy's rectangular glasses, and the workers dressed in their Clockwork Orange-style white uniforms.

The Honda logo appears about 10 minutes in. My advice is to ignore the corporate tie-in. Instead, take the film's images - and its message about following your dreams - to heart.