Ancient Hawaiians’ relationship to the ocean is depicted in desaturated tones during the opening of the animated feature “In Waves.” For a while, the film’s passages to this earlier time period, which recur a couple of times throughout, seem as if they will build toward a larger thematic point. But as the contemporary story heads down an overly familiar road, similar to many terminal illness dramas before it, those culturally specific digressions are gradually set aside. Stylistically, they call to mind the elemental spirituality of “The Red Turtle,” but they lack thoughtful cohesion with the rest of the film and its emotional stakes.

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More predictably saccharine than profound, “In Waves,” from director Phuong Mai Nguyen, adapts AJ Dung’s autobiographical graphic novel into expressive animation. Los Angeles teenager AJ (Will Sharpe) meets Kristen (Stephanie Hsu) at a high school dance. Soon, the boy, who enjoys drawing and skating, is forced out of his shell and introduced to the joys of surfing. Their young romance is tied to the water, and it’s there, unsurprisingly, that Nguyen finds a vehicle for evocative imagery. The fluidity of water and the movement of the waves inspire slightly dreamlike gestures within a reality rendered in bold, vivid colors.

Not too long into their relationship, which they keep secret from Kristen’s immigrant parents, she is diagnosed with cancer and loses one of her legs. But that’s no deterrent for her to continue jumping into the ocean. Eventually, Nguyen introduces another timeline, a future in which AJ spends his time drawing inside a van parked near the water. Kristen is nowhere in sight. Back in the main narrative, a few friends populate the periphery of AJ and Kristen’s love story: Francisco, AJ’s best friend, who moves to Mexico with his family, as well as Kristen’s brother and his best friend. While the closeness between these boys and the couple is clear, the supporting characters have little impact or arcs of their own beyond arriving pointedly to offer AJ moral support.

As Kristen’s illness progresses—the amputation didn’t entirely put her in the clear—AJ’s career as an artist starts to take off. Their conversations often revolve around her insistence that he not sacrifice his professional aspirations for her sake, and his decision to prioritize spending time with her. Interestingly, none of their parents play a substantial role, which limits the narrative’s attention to the conflict and sorrow the lovers experience. The film never widens its view to explore who these people are outside of how illness has shaped their lives. In turn, there are no particularly bold swings on the animation front, aside from the aforementioned flourishes. To Nguyen’s credit, the look of “In Waves” is distinct from its monochromatic source material, while still maintaining a handcrafted aesthetic through clearly defined character lines and painterly backgrounds.

Eventually, hope for Kristen’s recovery extinguishes, and she asks to take a road trip to Seattle with AJ and her close friends. The trip becomes a series of Instagram-friendly moments that feel realistic for their age group, even if they don’t offer much opportunity for introspection. The guys losing a sister, a close friend, and a partner put on a strong face and keep moving. And though that reaction is understandable, the film leaves one wishing for something more thoughtful. In Kristen’s case, the trip speaks to her agency and preserves her vivacious personality right until the end, even if her inner world is mostly left unexplored, since we perceive her almost entirely through AJ’s eyes and in the context of their relationship.

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By the time AJ’s voiceover invokes the title while speaking about grief, “In Waves” has made it clear that its intent is not to dig deeper or reinvent the subgenre through animation, but to lean into its tropes and tearjerking potential. From a visual standpoint, the result is gorgeously realized, though far from innovative. Narratively, however, it remains by-the-numbers and simplistically sentimental. [C]

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