Sting Lacson's rating : 7.5/10
Rachel's rating: 7.2/10
Final rating: 7.35/10
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Showing posts with label animation. Show all posts
Sting Lacson's rating : 7.5/10
Help our podcast and get up to 80% off on Lazada if you shop using this link: https://bit.ly/3p4Ur5K
Sting Lacson's rating : 7/10
Rachel's rating: 7/10
Final rating: 7/10
Help our podcast and get up to 80% off on Lazada if you shop using this link: https://bit.ly/3p4Ur5K
Help our podcast and get up to 80% off on Lazada if you shop using this link: https://bit.ly/3p4Ur5K
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| She could've come in handy during Hagibis. |
Okay, so this is the new film by Makoto Shinkai, who's apparently a big name in Japan.
I guess you could say I am a casual fan of anime. Not a die-hard fan. But I do appreciate the beauty of the art form.
Story-wise, Weathering With You is a simple romance, about Hodaka, a runaway boy who becomes an apprentice in a publishing company, and Hina, an orphan girl with the power to control the weather. The film has just the right amount of supernatural to be considered as magical realism. The famous anime filmmaker, Hayao Miyazaki, has stories that are all-out in their supernatural elements. In "Weathering With You", the supernatural is subdued and dialled down, which makes for a more relatable movie, especially for older fans.
The animation is always a glorious sight to behold. Japanese animation has reached a point now where traditional hand-drawn animation and computer-generated imagery (CGI) have formed a perfect marriage, with the two different media complementing each other beautifully instead of clashing together horribly, like in the early days of CGI.
Apart from the visuals, the soundtrack also seems to be very popular, especially with the younger kids. Not a big fan of J-Pop myself, but my teenage son is, and he can sing along to the soundtrack despite probably not knowing what the lyrics mean.
All in all, a wonderful work of art, and I am seriously very curious about Makoto Shinkai's earlier film, Your Name, which I am quite eager to watch.
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| "I hope no one notices me scratching my butt." |
Weathering With You. Japan. 2019.
Original rating: 7.9/10
Animation: +0.1
No animated sex: -0.1
Final rating: 7.9/10
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| "Is this John, Paul, George, or Ringo?" |
Before we begin, I'd just like to say that I don't really like comparing a remake with the original version, as I'd like to judge the remake on its own merits. That said, I would like to make an exception with this film, as comparisons between the original and the remake cannot be avoided.
1. The "Circle of Life" intro was spectacular. It's an almost shot-for-shot recreation of the 1994 animated version, bringing the photorealistic animals to the forefront along with the music. The filmmakers retained the original opening chant by Lebo M, but replaced the original vocals of Carmen Twillie with Lindiwe Mkhize. And if you loved the Zulu chanting, you can thank Hans Zimmer for that. That was all his idea. (If you listen closely, you can even hear the Zulu tongue click.)
2. Speaking of Hans Zimmer, that man is a genius. His name may be very familiar to moviegoers everywhere, but what you probably didn't know is that despite his decades in the business, he only has one Academy Award, and that was in 1994 for Best Original Score for The Lion King. But does he really need another Oscar to cement his status in Hollywood? No, he doesn't. He is a wonderful musician, despite not having any formal musical training, and he will continue to be one of my all-time favourite film composers.
3. The only dynamic in this movie that truly works is the one between Timon and Pumbaa. That's because Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen recorded most, if not all, of their lines together, and their chemistry is just so natural that children watching this wouldn't doubt that a meerkat and a warthog could be friends in real life.
4. By comparison, Donald Glover was perfect as the adult Simba, while Beyoncé Knowles-Carter was perfect as the adult Nala. But that's individually. Together, there's something a bit off. Their dynamic just doesn't work well as a duo, and I'd chalk that up to faulty chemistry.
5. Chiwetel Ejiofor, meanwhile, is brilliant as Scar. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that Chiwetel Ejiofor is this film's strongest asset. His Scar performance was subtle and nuanced enough to bring it up to the same level as Jeremy Irons's excellent performance in the animated version. The only downside, I guess, is that Ejiofor's rendition of "Be Prepared" dwelled more in spoken word territory than actual singing, but that doesn't really matter. Lions can't really sing, anyway.
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| Ladies and gentlemen, the real star of the show. |
6. The good thing about Disney's catalogue is that it is so extensive, you can make pop culture references in any Disney film and not worry about trademark infringement. Here in this film, Pumbaa and Timon made a Beauty and the Beast reference, specifically Lumiere's intro to "Be Our Guest" in Beauty and the Beast. Of course, that's one Disney film referencing another Disney film, but think of the possibilities: A Disney film can reference something from Pixar, Marvel, or Star Wars, because these are also owned by Disney.
7. Photorealistic animals are creepy when they talk. That's of course because of the way their mouths are. I think the only animal that could pull off human speech would be the great apes, which is why Planet of the Apes works so well. That's because heir mouths are similar to humans, specifically their lips, tongue, and teeth – three elements that affect speech. Director Jon Favreau could have gone with altered photorealism instead, similar to The Jungle Book or The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, instead of going for a BBC nature documentary look.
8. One of the nice things about this remake is the updated anti-shaming lesson given by Pumbaa. In the original film, Pumbaa goes on a tirade after the hyenas call him "Mr. Pig". Here, Seth Rogen expands on his admonition by stating that what the hyenas are doing is actually considered body-shaming, and he calls them out on it. Nice move by the writers, since body-shaming has been identified as one of the biggest social problems in the Instagram age.
9. "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is an old song, like really old. The original song was recorded in 1939, but the version most of us are familiar with, the one by The Tokens, was released in 1961. I first encountered this song watching a short-lived children's afternoon show called Going Bananas in the 80s, and I've loved the song ever since. The original 1994 animated film had Timon and Pumbaa singing a few lines, but in the 2019 version, they went all out and sang more than half of the song.
10. Rafiki is a shaman. I just realised that now, of course. When I was a kid, the only shaman I knew was a character in the animated series Bravestarr. I became interested in shamanism and sorcery in college, and by then my Lion King days were behind me. It was only after watching this 2019 remake that I realised Rafiki is in fact the most powerful animal in the Pride Lands.
11. John Oliver wasn't as good as Rowan Atkinson as the voice of the hornbill Zazu. It's kind of obvious that he was going for an Atkinson-like performance, but he came off as a sort of poor imitation. Kids who haven't seen the old version might see no problem with Oliver's performance, but the real question is this: How could those parents allow their kids to go through life without having seen the original Lion King?
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| This shot is so iconic that it's enough to give 90s kids goosebumps. |
The Lion King. USA. 2019.
Original rating: 8.5/10
No lion sex: -0.1
Final rating: 8.4/10
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| Strangely, Duke Caboom looks a lot like Keanu Reeves. |
I've said this over and over again: I am not a fan of sequels for profit's sake.
That said, Toy Story 4 should not have been made. Toy Story 3 would have been the perfect closer, as the entire Toy Story franchise would've focused on Andy and his relationship with his toys. We began with Andy as a young boy, and ended with Andy going off to college and passing on his toys to someone worthy of playing with these magical mischief-makers. Toy Story 3 was the perfect ending we all needed.
But that's that. Toy Story 4 did get made. So we're gonna have to deal with it.
The good thing about this fourth film is that it wasn't terrible. It wasn't bad at all. Well, it wasn't perfect, and neither was it great. It was just... good.
The rest of the cast, I believe, reprised their roles, led by Tom Hanks and Tim Allen as Woody and Buzz, Annie Potts as Bo Peep, Joan Cusack as Jessie, Wallace Shawn as the slightly neurotic Rex, John Ratzenberger as Hamm, and Don Rickles as Mr. Potato Head. But the best thing about this ensemble would be the new additions. Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele of Key and Peele fame play the amusement park stuffed toys Ducky and Bunny, Christina Hendricks plays the creepy doll Gabby Gabby, Tony Hale plays Forky, while the Internet's boyfriend Keanu Reeves plays Duke Caboom, the Canadian daredevil with a penchant for motorbikes. If only a ten-movie deal were in order, these new guys definitely need to be back.
The thing that ties the whole four-film series together would be Randy Newman's music, which has Toy Story written all over it. Newman's country-like drawl set to the soothing sounds of acoustic steel guitars has been the series's signature sound since Toy Story's debut in 1995, and to deviate from that now would be alienating to the fans, especially those who didn't want a fourth movie in the first place.
All in all, Toy Story 4 feels like an epilogue. But not just your usual epilogue – it feels like an epilogue that forces its nostalgia on its viewers, sort of like having a completely wrapped trilogy and then going, "Hey, wait! We still have more little anecdotes to share! Don't leave!" Honestly, though, I hope this is the end of the series. New and original films are what's missing in Hollywood right now, and it seems that even the pre-movie Pixar short film, the last great venue of original animated storytelling, was taken out of the equation. Bring it back, please.
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| "Nah, I don't think we're getting our own spin-off." |
Toy Story 4. USA. 2019.
Original rating: 8.0/10
Rashida Jones as one of the story writers: +0.1
Badass Bo Peep: +0.1
No Pixar short: -0.3
Final rating: 7.9/10
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| "You're probably coming back as a Netflix series." |
•Being the last film in a trilogy, I was expecting a cry-fest. You know, like what Toy Story did when it (supposedly) ended. There were a few scenes that could've unleashed tears, but they didn't come.
•The courtship scene of the two Furies, where they danced and flew in beautiful formation, kind of reminded me of the robot courtship ritual of Wall-E and Eve. Although of course Wall-E was set in space, but it was pretty much the same. It even had the same effect, making you go, "Aww, how cute! They're just like humans, but less horny!"
•I was hoping for more Kit Harington also, but he was relegated to one of the grownups like the one-legged Gobber (Craig Ferguson) and Hiccup's mom Valka (Cate Blanchett).
•For some reason, I enjoyed the villain here. So his name is Grimmel, and he's voiced by F. Murray Abraham, and you couldn't tell it was him because he used some kind of accent. He doesn't invite that much hate, compared to the previous film's villain Drago, voiced by Djimon Hounsou, who loved screaming his lines. Grimmel seemed smarter, more relatable, maybe because he actually used strategy, compared to Drago's brute force.
•The movie felt less animated, for some reason. I mean, except for the character designs, the details in this film tend to lean towards photorealism. The cinematography was great, as usual, since they used cinematographer Roger Deakins as visual consultant for all three films in this series (Deakins won an Oscar for 2017's Blade Runner 2049). He captured the bleak, dreary look of the Viking world quite beautifully, and I think the colourful huts compensated for the lack of color, even if it did remind me of third world slums.
•Okay, let's talk about TJ Miller. I know the guy's difficult to work with, which was the reason he was kicked out of HBO's Silicon Valley. But is an actor's work ethic enough to grant him something close to persona non grata status in Hollywood? I mean, I can understand if he gets a marked decrease in acting gigs, but it has to be something really serious if he loses a voice acting gig for a character he's already voiced in the previous two movies, right? Okay, I just Googled it, and apparently, TJ Miller has some sexual assault allegations on his plate. Tuffnut – I mean, tough luck.
•Just some minor nitpicking, but is it possible to have a sinkhole in the ocean? Isn't "sea level" supposed to be the lowest level for land that isn't submerged in the water? Because the "hidden world" referred to in the title, the ancestral domain of all dragons, can be found below sea level, but on dry land. I'm sorry, but that's just not realistic for me. Dragons I can suspend my disbelief for, but not that.
•I think it's a fitting ending for Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and Toothless to part ways. A lesser franchise would've kept Hiccup and Toothless together until the end, like they were meant to be together. But Toothless is a dragon, and I appreciate how the filmmakers stayed true to the essence of dragons. These are majestic creatures, and they cannot be tamed, so it's a good thing Hiccup and Toothless parted ways as equals, not as master and pet ending their relationship.
•And on that note, I think the filmmakers did a good job of ending the series. Some film franchises give you a trilogy, then suddenly come out of left field with a fourth film (I'm looking at you, Toy Story). A trilogy in itself can sometimes feel like an obvious money-making venture, like how they forcefully stretched out The Hobbit into three films. But a good trilogy, when done right, can be a beautiful thing. How to Train Your Dragon as a trilogy was well done, and I really hope the producers leave the franchise alone. Any additions to this film universe should be done in the form of spin-offs, not forced continuations.
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| "Of course I have facial hair. I'm a Viking." |
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. USA/Japan. 2019.
Original rating: 8.0/10
Stoic scenes: +0.1
Final rating: 8.1/10
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| "I sense an Oscar win, guys." |
Let me begin this review with my sentiments, which a lot of other people share: "This is the best animation style I have ever seen." Well, of course stop motion animation is still a glorious thing to behold, but Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse gives us a much-needed break from all the computer-generated animation flicks that are basically just Pixar clones. And Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), together with last year's T'Challa from Black Panther, gives us a much-needed break from all the Caucasian superheroes of the silver screen.
Into the Spider-Verse does beautifully what Ang Lee's Hulk tried to do back in 2003, and that is to blend the visual comic medium with the audio-visual medium of cinema (Lee received a lot of hate with Hulk, but I was one of the very few who genuinely thought it was groundbreaking). The result is a visual style that is totally new, a breath of fresh air in this age where every computer animated film looks the same. There are several nods to the source medium of print, such as using speech bubbles and sound effects text, using CMYK offsetting instead of blurs, and of course the iconic use of halftones. Nothing says print more than those halftone dots.
The plot's pacing was okay, although there were times when the almost two-hour running time felt longer than that. And the story is a good take on the alternate universe template. If this were a live-action flick, the filmmakers would probably put the same actor in different makeup and costumes to illustrate different alternate dimension versions of the character. But why should Spider-Man in another dimension always look exactly like Peter Parker (Jake Johnson)? Why can't there be a black Spider-Man, a female Spider-Man (Spider-Gwen, voiced by Hailee Steinfeld), an anime Spider-Man (Peni Parker, voiced by Kimiko Glenn), an animated pig Spider-Man (Spider-Ham, voiced by John Mulaney), or a black-and-white Spider-Man who sounds like Nicholas Cage? In the same vein, why shouldn't an alternate dimension version of me look like Brad Pitt?
Directors Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman could also have chosen to go the cheesy route and have Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy kiss in the end. It's a good thing they didn't, and they replaced it with Miles hugging his dad in the end instead. This film is about friendship and family, and isn't about Spider-Man's romantic love interest, because Miles Morales just hit puberty, after all.
This review comes a bit late, as the film was released in December, but it does come off a recent Golden Globe win for Best Animated Film. And that is a good sign that Into the Spider-Verse just might take home the animated film Oscar. This is important because I've met children nowadays who would ignore a beautifully animated Hayao Miyazaki flick for a crappy Paw Patrol episode simply because Miyazaki is 2D. Sad, I know, but kids need to be reintroduced to great animation that isn't overtly computer-generated. I guess we need to wean them off gradually, so maybe give them a film that's CGI, but doesn't feel totally CGI, and that pays homage to the 2D medium – and coincidentally, that's what this film is.
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| Honestly, I think this would still rock even as a 2D-animated film. |
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. USA. 2018.
Orinal rating: 8.0/10
Mahershala Ali looking like his character: +0.25
Brian Tyree Henry voicing Miles's dad: +0.25
Liev Schreiber's unrecognisable voice: +0.25
Stan Lee's cameo: +0.25
Final rating: 9.0/10
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| This probably looked good in 3D. |
Like most computer-animated films being released nowadays, The Secret Life of Pets is also released with a preceding animated short film. Unlike other computer-animated films, however, this film's short sucks. The plot is about the Minions (those cute/annoying yellow turds from Despicable Me) trying to purchase a blender, then hilarity ensues. For adults, that hilarity is ho-hum. But the kids will probably have a good laugh over it.
The premise of The Secret Life of Pets is basically like Toy Story for animals. It's pretty straightforward in the title: when the owners are away, pets have a secret life, like this classic poodle that plays death metal music while banging its head. The timeline for this movie occurs in one of those periods between the owner's departure and arrival. So that's maybe twelve hours? I wonder how long that is in dog time.
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| Duke is so cute. Like a walking chocolate carpet. |
This film isn't bad. It's just not Pixar-level good. For adults, it doesn't have that "Aww" factor we associate with animated films that tug at the heartstrings, except maybe for those who are hardcore pet lovers. I wouldn't know, because I'm not hardcore, but there might be a pet reference or two in this film that could be considered as nuggets of wisdom. Again, I wouldn't know, as I mostly just sat back and laughed at the jokes.
Seeing that this film is mainly for children, the casting of voice actors was most likely the studio's attempt to appeal to the grown-up crowd. There's Louis C.K. as Max, Eric Stonestreet as Duke, Kevin Hart as Snowball the bunny, Albert Brooks as Tiberius, Dana Carvey as Pops, among other stars–these are just some of the biggest names in comedy right now, in case you didn't notice (except for Carvey, who was big in the '90s and is making more of a comeback here). These comics are supposed to draw the parents into sharing a two-hour family-friendly movie with their children, although the little kids couldn't really care less about who voices the characters they're seeing onscreen.
That said, The Secret Life of Pets succeeds as a traditional animated film, and I mean traditional in the "cartoons are for children" sense. Adults may not share the same sentiment, especially those who've been exposed to a lot of Pixar and Studio Ghibli.
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| You just gotta love the texture on that dog's nose. |
The Secret Life of Pets. USA. 2016.
Original rating: 6/10
Dana Carvey: +0.1
Taylor Swift's "Welcome to New York" as the opening song: +0.1
Final rating: 6.2/10
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| What a waste of food. |
Following the tradition of Pixar shorts preceding a feature presentation, Disney comes out with Feast. It's a story about a carnivorous man and his carnivorous dog─a win-win situation for both of them. That is until a herbivorous (okay, vegetarian) woman enters their lives, The dog doesn't like it, of course, and when the couple break up, master and mutt go back to their binging. The dog is more than happy to resume an all-meat diet, but the master is not, returning to meat more out of depression than dependence. And he finds out how far his dog will go for him, proving that a dog is indeed a man's best friend.
Feast is the accompanying short to Disney's Big Hero 6. Like its predecessors from Pixar, there is also no dialogue, which I think is the standard for animated shorts for both companies. This allows the animators to practise animating body movements and facial expressions instead of worrying how the mouth and lips should open when speaking a certain sentence. And they'll be needing all the practise they can get, as these shorts are the training ground for future directors of full-length features.
If you can, watch this in 3D. The original wireframe animation was done with computers but then rotoscoped with traditional hand-drawn animation. The result: a 2D cartoon that pops out like 3D. Actually, I only saw the 2D version, not the 3D one. But I could tell, because I am a big fan of animation and 3D.
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| And food. |
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| "I'm scanning you for anything that might infringe on existing superhero franchises." |
As the follow-up animated feature to last year's phenomenal Frozen, Disney has made sure to give us something very different from its "fairy tale princess" template. Thus we have 2014's Big Hero 6, a colourful spectacle of a superhero flick, loosely based on the Marvel comic of the same title.
Is it an awesome film? Yes, it is, by Disney standards. Its themes reach out across all age groups, making it a film the whole family can enjoy. Is it groundbreaking? Maybe. Probably in its methods of animation. I don't know. But is it fresh? Definitely not. Because Big Hero 6 is nothing more than a modern animated version of the Japanese Super Sentai genre, as evidenced by:
1. Fusion of East and West
The Super Sentai genre originated in Japan, but it couldn't have successfully crossed over to the other side of the Pacific without retaining its predominantly Japanese core elements. In order to make it appeal more to American audiences, there inevitably had to be a fusion of East and West. Hence the portmanteau "San Fransokyo", one of the more obvious clues, as well as the character and set designs, such as the city's bridge looking like the Golden Gate with unmistakeable Japanese arches.
2. Team Roster
As demonstrated in this film, the composition of Super Sentais almost always follow a specific formula, such as
- A five-member roster, popular examples of which are Voltes V, Bioman, Voltron, Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, and Captain Planet (yes, I would argue that Captain Planet qualifies as Super Sentai);
- A group composition of three (3) males and two (2) females, popular examples of which are the ones mentioned above, with the exception of Voltes V and Voltron, which have only one hot, kick-ass female on the team.
3. Team Composition
The team members are almost always made up of:
- 1 Cool guy - Usually the leader of the team. In this film, Fred (TJ Miller) is the cool guy, but he serves as the film's comic relief instead of the leader.
- 1 Little guy - Usually the brainiest in the group. In this film, the little guy is Hiro Hamada (Ryan Potter), who serves as both the brains and the leader of the group.
- 1 Hulk - Usually the biggest and the strongest in the group. In this film, it's Wasabi (Damon Wayans, Jr.).
- 1 Tomboyish Girl - Usually the less prettier of the two girls. In this film, it's GoGo Tomago (Jamie Chung), though I find her more attractive than the other girl in the group. In a cartoon-y kind of way, of course.
- 1 Ethnic Minority Girl - Usually the less dominant of the two. In this film, it's Honey Lemon (Genesis Rodriguez). Though she may stand physically taller, it's GoGo who has the stronger character. Honey Lemon's ethnic background is emphasised by the annoying way she says "Hiro" with a Latina accent.
Not on this list: One (1) robot, who is either the team's assistant, or the team's mecha fighting machine. In this film, it's Baymax (Scott Adsit), who performs a little of both roles as the team's medic and as Hiro's flying fighter robot.
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| In this scenario, Captain Planet would be the robot. |
4. Character Names
Despite speaking in American West Coast accents, the characters of Big Hero 6 have unmistakeable Japanese origins. The brothers Hiro and Tadashi Hamada (Daniel Henney), GoGo Tomago, and even the dreadlocked Wasabi all have Japanese-sounding names. I think even the robot Baymax was named after the Betamax, the Japanese counterpart of the West's VHS.
5. Colours... Lots of It
The Super Sentai genre makes liberal use of colours, primarily to differentiate between team members who fight in identical costumes. Although the characters in this film are distinguishable from one another even in full battle gear, the art department made sure to use an extensive palette in the character designs, because let's face it–nobody wants to see a monochromatic Super Sentai flick. Colour is encoded into the Super Sentai DNA. That's just the way it is.
6. Character Secret Identities
The fact that they fight evil as a team puts them on the same level as a superhero group. Since they live normal lives as university geeks, then that means their Super Sentai personas must be separate from their real world alter-egos. Even the villain in the kabuki mask hid his face. The whole world of Super Sentai revolves around secrecy, which necessitates the need for costumes, masks, and helmets.
There are some who insist that Big Hero 6 will be a standalone film, but this film ended with so much breathing room, and Disney has a habit of bleeding franchises dry (hello, Pirates of the Caribbean and The Lion King) that it's quite possible that they might throw in a sequel. And if you've stayed after the entire end credits sequence, you'll know what to expect.
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| A sequel? Yes, please. |
If given the chance, watch this film in 3D. I only got to watch the 2D version, but I'm thinking of seeing it again, if only for the preceding short Feast, which I'm pretty sure looks awesome in 3D.
Big Hero 6. USA. 2014.
Original rating: 7.5 / 10
Character design: + 0.1
Set design: + 0.1
Alan Tudyk voicing another villain: + 0.2
Aunt Cass: + 0.15
Dramatic moments: + 0.1
Final rating: 8.15 / 10
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| YouTube |
As I mentioned in a previous review, sequels are the bane of Hollywood. This is especially true of animated films, because children cannot discern good movies from bad ones, and will most likely drag their parents to watch anything with their favourite characters in it.
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| Or anything with wingsuit flying. |
This, however, is not true for How to Train Your Dragon 2.
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| See? How can you go wrong with lots of warships? |
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| Enable Magazine |
As far as computer animation studios go, Blue Sky is probably at the back of the pack, trailing behind industry leaders Pixar and DreamWorks Animation. However, Blue Sky also seems to be making the same mistake as the other studios by attempting to capitalise on the one thing that Hollywood should avoid like the plague – sequels.
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| Although the babies are kind of cute. |
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| Zeke Film |
I classify animated films into two categories: 1) time-killers; or 2) works of art. This film, sadly, belongs to the first category.
WHAT IS A TIME-KILLER?
Despite how awesome it may sound (like it's some villain from Doctor Who or something), time-killers do exactly what the name says: they kill time. It's the type of film you watch because there's nothing better to do while waiting for your wife as she gets her nails done.
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| Those Gallifreyan-like markings are probably a Doctor Who shout-out. |
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| Read the date at the bottom. Yes, that's "2013" in Roman numerals. |
As mentioned in the Frozen review, Disney is going back to the spirit of the animated classics. But this isn't true for just the full-length features. Even the preceding short film has gone retro with "Get a Horse!"
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| Not full-retro, as this is 2013, where everyone is allergic to black-and-white. |
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| Walt Disney Studios Ph |
To a lot of kids, the golden age of Disney animation reached its peak with The Lion King. Then basically everything went downhill from there.
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|
We're looking at you, The Emperor's New Groove. And to think this was released on my 21st birthday. Tsk. |
But with Frozen, the future of Disney's animation arm seems secure indeed. It's gone back to the same spirit of the beloved classics, which will please old fans while creating new ones. Here are three reasons Disney fans can rest easy.
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| "Hello! I'm Olaf the Snowman, and I'm this film's comic relief!" |
Kotonoha no Niwa (The Garden of Words) is Makoto Shinkai's 2013 release. It's a typical Shinkai love story because the characters don't end up together. (A love story is different from a romance because the latter requires that its characters end up together.)
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| YouTube |
Illumination Entertainment has fallen into the Hollywood money-making mentality called "the sequel trap". With only four releases under Illumination's belt, it's sad that they already had to resort to sequels.
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| They also had to resort to seeing through women's clothing. |
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| DisneyPixar on YouTube |
Monsters University is an excellent example of a good prequel or sequel. First, it doesn't appear forced (at least on the surface), and by "forced" I mean "made for the sake of box office returns". Second, it's a stand-alone film, which is what good sequels or prequels should be. It's possible to enjoy this film without having seen Monsters, Inc., and it gives a whole new level of meaning to those who have actually seen it.
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| I wish I watched Monsters, Inc. again before watching this. |
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