Asterix

In an attempt to wipe out a Gaulish village, Caesar plans to build an estate next to it to absorb the villagers into Roman culture.

Adventure of N3bulandi@

B0rut0: N@rut0 the M0vie

Littl3 Princ3

A little girl lives in a very grown-up world with her mother, who tries to make sure she is prepared for it. Her neighbor The Aviator, introduces the girl to an extraordinary world where anything is possible, the world of The Little Prince.

Pe@nuts

Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus and the rest of the beloved "Peanuts" gang make their big-screen debut, like they've never been seen before, in state of the art 3D animation.

2013 Oscar Nominated Shorts - Animation: Parent's Guide

The Oscar Nominated Shorts Programs are a rare opportunity to see some of the short form films nominated for Academy Awards on the big screen. Last year I was really excited to take my kids to see the Animated selections but I couldn't find a single helpful resource online providing information on content since the packages are unrated. So hopefully, this post will reach at least one parent in a similar situation. I took a chance again this year and took my kids to the 2013 program and it really is a delight for the whole family.

The show this year consists of 8 shorts and some host segments. Seven of the cartoons are dialogue free - which makes the host segments a nice filler of sound in an otherwise quite theater. There is no bad language in any of the shorts, one of the hosts says hell or damn in an off-cuff remark. There are no gory or violent images in any of the shorts either.

Two of the films contain brief/tasteful nudity. Of course, it's cartoon nudity and it's not graphic or sexual in any way. The second film on the lineup, Adam & Dog, features Adam & Eve of Bible fame. Adam is seen nude throughout most of the picture. He's drawn in a cartoony style and even though he is seen from the front quite a bit, his man parts are only vaguely drawn. It looks more like he's wearing long underwear. Eve is seen nude in one scene, from a slight distance. She is sitting down so you only see her top half, the caricature reminded me of how a girl is drawn in one of those silly Playboy magazine comics. If you explain to your kids going in, that the man and woman are Adam & Eve none of it is shocking, inappropriate, or profane. Since the cartoon has no dialogue it's a little hard for kids to pick up that it's supposed to be Adam & Eve.

Dripped is the seventh film in the collection. The short centers on an art thief who eats the paintings he steals and takes on characteristics of the paintings. At one point he eats a painting of angels, at which point he spouts wings. His clothes shed off, with a very brief glimpse of his cartoon pee-pee and cartoon behind. It's super quick and not graphic at all.

In the end, the 2013 Oscar Nominated Animated Shorts is really a fun treat for kids. The two films that bookend the program are the most kid appealing: Maggie Simpson in The Longest Daycare and The Graffalo's Child. Also featured is Paperman which was seen by many before Wreck-It Ralph this past holiday season. Besides The Simpsons short, which is really funny and really sweet, My 7 year old enjoyed Adam & Dog the most. He's a big sucker for dog stories. My 9 year old singled out Fresh Guacamole as his favorite - a stop motion film using everyday items to represent food.

It's a fun night out at the movies and a way to introduce your kids to other types on animation besides Ice Age and Spongebob.

2012 Year End: Best Animated Films of 2012

It was not a banner year for animation in the sense that we didn’t have one truly great animated film this year. However, we did have more very good animated films this year – by my count 4 films worthy of lots of attention. That doesn’t sound like much, but it’s more than many years.

True, we had some unnecessary, loud, obnoxious sequels like Madagascar 3 Europe’s Most Wanted and Ice Age 4: Continental Driftboth of which gave me a headache. I didn’t hate Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax but it is certainly true that it needlessly complicated a simple, great story by the master children’s author. Rise of the Guardians was good enough that you wish it was just a little bit better – a great idea that doesn’t quite live up to it. The Secret Life of Arietty does not quite reach the levels of the best Studio Ghilbi films (which is a near impossible bar to hit), but is still wonderful, old school animation. And there are probably some great foreign films lurking out there among the films Oscar qualified, that we won’t be able to see until next year. The Pirates! Band of Misfits was not quite up to the high standards of Aardman, but was still an absolute delight.

But, for now anyway, the following five films were my favorite animated films of the year.

5. It’s Such a Beautiful Day (Don Hertzfeld)

Don Hertzfeld’s trilogy of animated short films – made from 2006-2012 – and edited together in this film, just barely over an hour, is easily the most original animated film of the year. It’s hero is Bill, a stick figure who has waking dreams and nightmares, which start out funny and absurd, and then slowly turn darker. Eventually, he will be diagnosed with an unnamed, but possibly fatal, disease, which explains his condition – and a flashback to his family life sheds even more light. The film is the most crudely animated film you’ll see this year, but it at times touching and funny, and the work of a true artist, struggling with mortality. Not completely satisfying as a feature – the fact that it was made as three shorts shows – but such an original film, you hardly care.

4. ParaNorman (Chris Butler & Sam Fell)

Like The Pirates, ParaNorman is also a stop motion animated film (with some CGI help) that has a wonderful hand-made look and feel to it. The story, about a strange little boy who can talk to dead people, who is the only one who can save his small New England town from the Witch`s Curse, is rather predictable. But the film is full of small details that make it a never ending delight to watch. For one thing, Norman is your typical kid’s movie hero – there is something undeniably creepy about him. And while the supporting cast seem to fall into archetypes – the bully, the ditzy older sister, the supportive mom, the strict father, the loving grandma, the crazy uncle – the film plays with those stereotypes quite effectively. The film also is filled with clever references to cinema`s Golden Age of horror movies. The film is a little creepy for younger kids – but older and intelligent ones should love it. If you missed it in theaters, and many seemed to, make sure to check it now.

3. Wreck-It Ralph (Rich Moore)

Although Wreck-It Ralph was made by Disney Animation, and not Pixar, the film certainly does follow the Pixar formula – of mixing great animation, heartfelt storytelling and nostalgia into an irresistible package. In this film, Ralph, a Donkey Kong like video game bad guy, is tired of being the guy after 30 years, and wants just once to be the good guy – so he escapes into another arcade game, and all hell breaks loose. The relationship between this big lug, and the charming, adorable girl race driver (voiced to perfection by Sarah Silverman) is genuinely heartfelt and moving. The animation is full of clever touches – like the way characters from older video games move compared to the more realistic newer ones. And old gamers, like myself, will certainly be thrilled to see many of their favorites show up in cameos. The movie doesn’t quite reach the levels of Pixar`s best – the third act is touch reliant on non-stop action for that, but for the most part, this was one of the most enjoyable films of the year – animated or otherwise.

2. Brave (Mark Andrews & Brenda Chapman)

Pixar has painted themselves into somewhat of a corner. Because their best films – Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Wall-E, Toy Story 3 and Up – are all great films in their own right, when they make a film like Brave – which is merely really good – it can be seen as somewhat of a disappointment. The storyline of Brave is rather straight forward – the type of Princess story that Disney has been making for decades, albeit with a modern twist. Its effective, but does feel like a little warmed over. Yet the animation in Brave is as stunning and beautiful – if not more so – than anything Pixar has ever made before. Princess Merida`s hair itself is a visual triumph. If any other studio made Brave, it would rank among their very best. But because Pixar, as I have said many times before, is the most consistent creative force in American movies today, Brave ranks as one of their middle pictures – like Monsters Inc. That`s still damn good, just not quite great.

1. Frankenweenie (Tim Burton)

Unfortunately it seems like pretty much every parent made the decision that Frankenweenie was too creepy and scary to subject their kids to, and that’s a shame, because this was my favorite animated film of the year. Every time I see a Tim Burton animated film, I think it would be better for all of us if he just stuck to animation full time – it is the perfect medium for his dark, creepy point of view. This remake of his own live action short film from the 1980s is made in brilliant, beautiful black and white, and is full of references to the old school horror and sci-fi films Burton was weaned on. It is also a surprisingly touching film about a boy and the love he has for his dog, even after the poor thing is killed by a car. This is Burton`s best film in years – and perhaps his most personal. So while I do not think this was a great year in animation, I have no problem with naming Franenweenie the best animated film of the year.

Movie Review: It's Such a Beautiful Day

It’s Such a Beautiful Day
Directed by: Don Hertzfeldt.
Written by: Don Hertzfeldt.
Starring: Don Hertzfeldt (Narrator).

Don Hertzfeldt’s It’s Such a Beautiful Day is one of the most unique animated films you will ever see. It is actually three short films – Everything Will Be OK (2006), I Am So Proud of You (2009) and It’s Such a Beautiful Day (2011) that Hertzfeldt has edited together into a seamless feature film of just over an hour long. It was barely released in theaters, and can be purchased on his website (http://www.bitterfilms.com/), which I encourage everyone to do. I was lucky enough to be able to borrow a DVD from a friend, and the film, while crudely animated, is actually quite sophisticated in its storytelling, sound design and at times, its visual effects. This is a one of a kind film that you should track down.

The film is about Bill, an animated stick figure in a top hat. The movie takes place mainly in his mind as it slowly falls apart. At first his visions, dreams and nightmares are simply surreal, and at times downright hilarious. But the film gets darker as it goes along, and ends up being a rather touching, sad reminder of mortality.

Why is Bill’s failing falling apart? For much of the movie, we don’t know, and neither does Bill. Eventually we will learn he has been diagnosed with some sort of disease – what I don’t think the film ever says. The movie contains a flashback to his childhood, which helps to explain why Bill is the way he is. And there is also a rather touching relationship with an ex-girlfriend, who seems to the be the only person who truly loves Bill.

I don’t want to talk too much about the story, because I think it is better left unsaid. What I will say is that although Bill is nothing more than a stick figure in a top hat, he is also a touching, realistic person that anyone watching can relate to. You will be surprised just how much you come to care about this little man.

The entire movie was made by Hertzfeldt working by himself, doing everything by hand. The animated sequences are inventive in their own crudely drawn way. There is also some interesting, lve action practical special effects sequences which are even more inventive in what Hertzfeldt is able to achieve. The sound design is even more impressive, especially in a few sequences where Bill’s mind seems to be completely falling apart.

It’s Such a Beautiful Day is a testament to what one man can accomplish when he has a story he wants to tell, and the skill and determination to do so in an intelligent way. Hertzfeldt is a one of a kind filmmaker, and It’s Such a Beautiful Day is a one of a kind film.

DVD Review: Ice Age: Continental Drift

Ice Age 4: Continental Drift
Directed by: Steve Martino & Mike Thurmeier.
Written by: Michael Berg & Jason Fuchs.
Starring: Ray Romano (Manny), Denis Leary (Diego), John Leguizamo (Sid), Queen Latifah (Ellie), Jennifer Lopez (Shira), Wanda Sykes (Granny)Keke Palmer (Peaches), Nicki Minaj (Steffie), Peter Dinklage (Captain Gutt), Drake (Ethan), Josh Gad (Louis), Aziz Ansari (Squint), Joy Behar (Eunice), Nick Frost (Flynn), Heather Morris (Katie), Kunal Nayyar (Gupta), Josh Peck (, Eddie), Simon Pegg (Buck), Seann William Scott (Crash), Patrick Stewart (Ariscratle), Alan Tudyk (Milton / Hunky Siren), Chris Wedge (Scrat), Rebel Wilson (Raz).

I was surprised to learn that I had never seen Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. I discovered this fact while looking for my review of the film to see if I had such a low opinion of that film as I did of Ice Age 4: Continental Drift. You see, movies like this all start to drift together at some point – apparently to such a degree that I didn’t even realize that I had only seen two Ice Age films before, and not three. Judging on the box office returns of this film, there will eventually be an Ice Age 5 – and perhaps I should follow the lead of my 2009 self, who skipped Ice Age 3, and not my 2012 self, who watched Ice Age 4. Mind you, by then my daughter (who is only 16 months old right now) will probably be of an age where watching these films is no longer a choice for me – but an obligation.

The story involves our three lovable heroes – Manny the Mammoth, voiced by Ray Romano, a constant worrier. Sid the Sloth, voiced by John Leguizamo, who is sweet but clueless. And Diego the Saber Tooth Tiger, voiced by Denis Leary, who puts up with the idiots around him, because his icy heart has been melted by them. In the opening sequence, we see Scrat once again trying very hard to get his hands on an acorn – which has the unlikely side effect of causing the Earth’s one land mass to break apart, and start drifting to wear they are today. Never mind that that happened a hell of long time before these creatures existed, and probably didn’t happen in a matter of seconds like it seems to here. That type of thing really isn’t what Ice Age 4: Continental Drift is about.

That’s because Ice Age 4 is all about rapid movement, lots of action sequences, bright colors and characters and everything else hurling at the screen almost constantly – because of course, in the theaters this movie was in 3-D, and you got give the audience their money’s worth of crap flying at the screen. Watching it  at home, this just looks pathetic.

I’m sure little kids will love Ice Age 4. There is nothing complicated about the movie at all, and it never slows down for a second. The film is full of chases and action sequences – many involving a band of animal pirates who constantly get in the way of Manny and his friends attempts to reunite with their family, after the continent split up. The jokes come at you fast and furious when the action isn’t, but they’re aimed at kids, with none of the knowing nods, winks or in-jokes direct at the kids parents.

The film was, for me, a chore to sit through. Like the recent Madagascar 3, this film foregoes any attempt at plot or character, and just throws one “visual extravaganza” at you after another. And nothing is more boring to me than constant movement.

DVD Review: ParaNorman

ParaNorman
Directed by: Chris Butler & Sam Fell.
Written by: Chris Butler.
Starring: Kodi Smit-McPhee (Norman Babcock), Tucker Albrizzi (Neil), Anna Kendrick (Courtney Babcock), Casey Affleck (Mitch), Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Alvin), Leslie Mann (Sandra Babcock), Jeff Garlin (Perry Babcock), Elaine Stritch (Grandma), Bernard Hill (The Judge), Jodelle Ferland (Aggie), Tempestt Bledsoe (Sheriff Hooper), Alex Borstein (Mrs. Henscher), John Goodman (Mr. Prenderghast), Hannah Noyes (Salma).

Everything about ParaNorman is delightfully off-kilter. This is a traditional stop motion animated film (with a little help from computers) about a very strange little boy named Norman, who cannot only see dead people all around him, but talks to them. For the most part, these dead people are nice to him – and like having someone to talk to. His dead grandmother hangs out on the couch to keep an eye on him. Everyone in town thinks he’s nuts and more than a little creepy. But when the Witch’s Curse threatens this small New England – still proud of it’s with trail days (or at least not ashamed enough to not use it as a tourist attraction – he may be their only hope.

There is something about stop-motion animation that I like. Unlike the more advanced computer driven animation that dominants children’s films nowadays, stop-motion animation isn’t perfect. The characters are lovingly sculpted by hand, and prone to look and feel imperfect. The same is true for how the characters move – not quite like real people. Computer animation can be great – but there is something I love about the handcrafted feel of stop motion – and it’s just about perfect for ParaNorman.

Norman is not your typical protagonist for an animated children’s film – he isn’t really a plucky, misunderstood, underdog. There is something creepy about him. He’s a nice guy, but he is certainly morose and has an understandable fascination with death. His hair stands straight up on, no matter what he tries to do with it, and his ears stick out funny. Even his own family doesn’t understand him – his father wants him to be normal, his mother loves him, but worries about him, and his older sister is a typical self-involved teenage girl. The only (living) person who likes him is Neil, a tubby kid in his class who finds Norman’s gift fascinating. Everyone else – including the school bully Alvin – hates Norman.

The plot of ParaNorman is fairly typical – a witch is going to release a curse on the town, and Norman is the only one who can stop it. He has to assemble his ragtag group – including Neil, Alvin, his older sister and Mitch, a lovable but lunkheaded jock who is Neil’s older brother. Their journey takes them all over town – including the cemetery a number of times. It is an effective plot, but a fairly by the numbers one.

What I admired about ParaNorman were the visuals, which as I mentioned has a lovable homemade quality to them, and the characters, who neatly skirt around cliché for the most part (not really in the case of the older sister or the bully). I’m glad they’re still making animated films like ParaNorman – aimed at slighter older kids, which treat them with respect, and has a distinct visual look all their own. I tire of many animated films with their concentration on bright colors and non-stop action, but ParaNorman is so lovable, I never grew bored.

Movie Review: Rise of the Guardians

Rise of the Guardians
Directed by: Peter Ramsey.
Written by: David Lindsay-Abaire based on the book by William Joyce.
Starring: Chris Pine (Jack Frost), Alec Baldwin (North), Jude Law (Pitch), Isla Fisher (Tooth), Hugh Jackman (Bunny), Dakota Goyo (Jamie Bennett), Khamani Griffin (Caleb), Kamil McFadden (Claude), Georgie Grieve (Sophie Bennett).

Rise of the Guardians is good enough to make you wish it was better. It has an ingenious premise – one of those ones that is so obvious you wonder how no one else ever thought of it before. Yet I wish that the movie had either taken that premise either a little more or a little less seriously. Rise of the Guardians is one of those strange children’s movies that is both a little too dark for younger kids, and a little too naïve for older ones. There is probably a sweet spot – that age that the movie is perfect for – but I’m not quite sure what it is.

The movie’s hero is Jack Frost (voiced by Chris Pine), who has spent the last 300 years bringing blizzard, ice and snow ball fights to the children of the world. But there’s a hole at his core – he doesn’t know why he was put here by the Man on the Moon – just that he was. He wants desperately to belong to something. Even the kids he gives snow days to do not believe in him – and as such, they cannot see him. He is a merry prankster, who isn’t all that merry.

But then the Guardians come calling. Their arch nemesis Pitch (voiced with appropriate menace by Jude Law), better known as the Boogey Man, is getting ready to make a comeback. The Guardians are a group of four childhood icons – Santa (voiced by Alec Baldwin, with a Russian accent for some reason), the Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackman, exaggerating his Australian drawl), the Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher, who has an unhealthy fixation on teeth), and the silent Sandman, my personal favorite, as he seems to have been inspired by Harpo Marx. Their job is to preserve children’s belief and innocence – and Pitch wants to destroy that, by giving them nightmares. Pitch ruled in the Dark Ages, when everyone was miserable and scared, and he wants that back. For reasons he does not explain, the Man on the Moon tells the Guardians they need to recruit Jack Frost to join their ranks.

Rise of the Guardians has enough action to keep children entertained for the most part. Jack Frost sails along on the wind and the other characters either fly, or take Santa’s sleigh everywhere, and their numerous battles with Pitch are handled well, even if they do start to repeat themselves after a while. These are the scenes that any kid will enjoy – even if other parts of the movie they don’t like as much. The character design is also interesting and well done – twisting the classic image of these characters enough to give them their own unique look for the film – Santa with Naughty and Nice tattoos on his arms, the Easter Bunny as a muscular jack rabbit, the tooth fairy more of a traditional looking fairy than a Tinker Bell-esque fairy princess, and Sandman as an ever shifting mass of sand, Pitch as an almost vampire pale creation, Jack Frost an innocent yet mischievous teenager. It didn’t surprise me to learn that one of the producers of the movie was Guillermo Del Toro – because the creatures resemble some of the ones he has put on screen before. At times, these characters are upstaged by their various sidekicks – I particularly liked Santa’s two groups of minions – the hapless, hilarious elves, and the put upon, exasperated Yetis who actually do all the work, and Pitch’s galloping, red eyed black horses, who are literal nightmares come to life. The idea of essentially making these childhood fantasy figures into superheroes – much like The Avengers – is an idea that is ingenious in its simplicity.

And yet, while I was watching the movie, I wanted more from the movie. For my tastes, I would have preferred a darker outlook. The movie sees childhood as either black or white – either completely naïve and innocent, or else mired in fear, when in reality these two states co-exist in every child. You don’t need to look any further than the original backstories of most of the Guardians themselves, who while they have become symbols of childhood innocence, have some pretty dark stuff in their past. Children are afraid of things precisely because they are more willing to believe in them – things that as adults we know are not logical – the monster under the bed for example – can scare the crap of a child. Personally, I would have liked to see the movie go darker into this area – much like Spike Jonze’s Where the Wild Things Are. But I also think that the movie would have better served had the gone the other way – and completely embraced the childhood wonder the movie endorses, and made this a purely innocent rollick for younger kids. The movie tries to have it both ways.

Overall though, Rise of the Guardians is a solid animated film – not quite as loud, flashy, colorful and headache inducing as many of the movie that pass themselves off as children’s entertainment these days. But it never rises to the level of greatness either – even though there are certainly great moments in the film. As I said at the beginning of the review, Rise of the Guardians is good enough that you wish it was even better.

DVD Review: The Pirates! Band of Misfits

The Pirates! Band of Misfits
Directed by: Peter Lord and Jeff Newitt.
Written by: Gideon Defoe
Starring: Hugh Grant (The Pirate Captain), Martin Freeman (The Pirate with a Scarf), Imelda Staunton (Queen Victoria), David Tennant (Charles Darwin), Jeremy Piven (Black Bellamy), Salma Hayek (Cutlass Liz), Lenny Henry (Peg Leg Hastings), Brian Blessed (The Pirate King), Anton Yelchin (The Albino Pirate), Brendan Gleeson (The Pirate with Gout), Ashley Jensen (The Surprisingly Curvaceous Pirate), Al Roker (The Pirate Who Likes Sunsets and Kittens).

The Pirates! Band of Misfits is a very much a British film – and I mean that in the best way possible. The folks who work at Aardman – and created Wallace and Gromitt among others – never quite rush like their American counterparts do. So often animated movies aimed at children whiz by so fast that they leave me tired by the end – no time is taken to make the screenplay anything more than an excuse to string one brightly colored scene to another, and the visual creations just don’t feel real. But Aardman has always been different – yes, they are shooting in digital know, and use computers to do at least some of their animation (not as much here as in Flushed Away), but their movies still feel hand made. Their characters are made out Play-Doh, or something very much like it anyway, and while you cannot see the literal fingerprints here, as you can on some other Aardman creations, you can feel them. The visual touches in The Pirates! Band of Misfits are so lovingly created, that the lift the entire movie. No, The Pirates! Band of Misfits doesn’t rise to the level of the best Aardman movies – but it’s still much better than most animated films I see.

The movie is about The Pirate Captain (voiced by Hugh Grant, with impeccable comic timing), who feels this is the year where he’ll finally win Pirate of the Year. He has been passed over so many times that he feels he is due. Never mind that his competitors – in particular Black Bellamy (Jeremy Piven) have pillaged much more booty than he has. He is determined to win. So, The Pirate Captain and his ragtag crew – who are more lovable than scary – set out to pillage once again – and wind up empty handed, until they raid a boat called The Beagle, and meet a young Charles Darwin – a buffoon who worries he’ll never get a girlfriend. Darwin informs the Pirate captain that his beloved parrot Polly isn’t a parrot after all – but a dodo, once thought extinct. Darwin convinces the Pirate captain to set sail for London, where they will surely win the top prize at the annual Scientist of the Year awards. The only problem is that Queen Victoria hates pirates with an absurd passion – and also has a healthy appetite for exotic animals.

The movie has a very British sense of humor – it doesn’t bang you over the head with its jokes, but is filled with witty one liners throughout, and are delivered by a cast to near perfection. Hugh Grant is an odd choice to play a pirate, but perhaps not this pirate – because The Pirate captain is so genial and put upon, so riddled with insecurity that he tries so hard to mask, that Grant is actually the perfect choice. Martin Freeman is the voice of reason as his Number 2, who tries so hard to get The Pirate Captain to see what he has. David Tennant is perfect as Darwin, not quite as smart as you may think. Jeremy Piven is obviously a bad guy the second he opens his mouth and his brash, American voice comes out. Best of all is Imelda Staunton as Queen Victoria – playing the villain here much like she did in Harry Potter, with her kind voice masking inner brutality. The movie draws parallels between Victoria’s imperialism and pirates, but doesn’t dwell on it – it makes its point in the background, and then moves on.

The Pirates! Band of Misfits isn’t as good as the best work Aardman has done – but perhaps that’s an unfair comparison. Not every Pixar movie can be Wall-E – and not every Aardman movie can be Wallace and Gromitt. I have a feeling kids won’t quite like this one as much as the non-stop action of American animated film – they’ll be entertaining but not overjoyed. Their parents, however, will have a much better time.

DVD Review: Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted

Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted
Directed by: Eric Darnell & Tom McGrath & Conrad Vernon.
Written by: Eric Darnell and Noah Baumbach.
Starring: Ben Stiller (Alex), Chris Rock (Marty), David Schwimmer (Melman), Jada Pinkett Smith (Gloria), Sacha Baron Cohen (Julien), Cedric the Entertainer (Maurice), Andy Richter (Mort), Tom McGrath (Skipper / First Policeman), Frances McDormand (Captain Chantel DuBois), Jessica Chastain (Gia), Bryan Cranston (Vitaly), Martin Short (Stefano), Chris Miller (Kowalski), Christopher Knights (Private), Conrad Vernon (Mason / Second Policeman), Vinnie Jones (Freddie the Dog), Steve Jones (Jonesy the Dog), Nick Fletcher (Frankie the Dog), Paz Vega (Horses).

The two best moments in Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted are the only two moments in the movie that actually slows the pace down at all, and doesn’t try to give you sensory overload with a non-stop blast of color, and dialogue spewed so fast between the characters you can never quite tell what is supposed to be funny and what isn’t. The first of these moments happens right at the beginning, when Alex the Lion (Ben Stiller) has a nightmare than the penguins he, and his group of friends from the Central Park Zoo still trapped in Africa, have put all their faith into will never come back and rescue them. He envisions growing old in Africa, and having an empty life. The moment is heartfelt, and may even resonate with some older members of the audience. The second moment comes late in the movie, when the animals finally arrive back in Central Park, and realizes they don’t really want to be there anymore – now that they have seen the world, the Zoo just doesn’t offer them the same rewards. You really cannot go home again.

If Madagascar 3 had more moments like that, then the movie could have been something a lot more than what it is – a diversion for kids, who will undoubtedly enjoy the non-stop barrage of action and color, but pretty tedious for the adults in the crowd. Madagascar 3 seems to want to do as much as possible as quickly as possible – so by the end of the film’s not quite 90 minute running time, after countless chase sequences and dazzling high wire circus acts, that foregoes any connection with even the slightest bit of reality, I was exhausted. The damn movie never lets up for a second.

The basic plot concerns Alex and his friends wanting to get out of Africa, and back to the Central Park Zoo. They have been waiting for months for the penguins to return from Monte Carlo with their winnings, which will get them home – so long that they decide not to wait anymore and just head there themselves. They get there, surprisingly quickly, and then almost immediately are spotted by the cruel animal control captain Chantel DuBois, who wants Alex’s head for her wall. They pull off an improbable escape, and end up on a train full of circus animals, heading to Rome and then London – where a big time American circus promoter will be in attendance, and if they do well, they’ll all be headed for America! But of course, the circus is a joke, and it’s up to Alex and his friends to give these once great circus animals their confidence back – and dodge DuBois, who will not denied her lion head, even though she clearly has no jurisdiction most of the places she goes to.

Surprisingly, the screenplay was co-written by Noah Baumbach – who normally makes his own indie movies like Greenberg, Margot at the Wedding, The Squid and the Whale or combines efforts with Wes Anderson on screenplays like The Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. I can only imagine that Baumbach wrote this one for the money, because there is nothing in this movie that has his normal wit or emotional underpinnings. The dialogue in this movie is worse than the other two Madagascar movies – hardly great to begin with – and favors a lot of rapid fire jokes, than occasionally make you chuckle, but mainly inspires groans.

There is a reason why Pixar movies are more critically acclaimed than most animated films aimed at children – and that’s because Pixar (normally) spends as much perfecting the screenplay as it does with its brilliant animation – and because Pixar doesn’t treat audiences like their idiots. A movie like Madagascar 3 simply wants to be a feast for the eyes – some brightly colored crap to amuse kids for a little while. On that level, I guess, the movie succeeds. Kids obviously like the movie. But for adults looking for something for them will simply end up bored by the movie.

Movie Review: Wreck-It Ralph

Wreck-It Ralph

Directed by: Rich Moore.

Written by: Phil Johnston and Jennifer Lee.

Starring: John C. Reilly (Ralph), Sarah Silverman (Vanellope), Jack McBrayer (Felix), Jane Lynch (Calhoun), Adam Carolla (Wynnchel), Alan Tudyk (King Candy), Mindy Kaling (Taffyta Muttonfudge), Joe Lo Truglio (Markowski), Ed O'Neill (Mr. Litwak), Dennis Haysbert (General Hologram), Edie McClurg (Mary ).

Poor Ralph. For 30 years, he has had to be the bad guy in an arcade game, Fix-It Felix Jr., where his job is to try and destroy a building, before that do-gooder Fix It Felix Jr. himself, with a magic hammer, comes along, fixes the building, and save all the residents, who then give him pie and a medal, while they throw Ralph into the mud below. Even after the arcade closes for the day, the other characters in the game celebrate in their nice apartments, while Ralph retires to his home in the dump. One day he goes to a Bad Anon meeting, where all the bad guys from the arcade games gather to tell their stories – about how hard it is to be the bad guy. But hey, just because you’re a “bad guy”, doesn’t mean you’re a bad guy, right? All Ralph wants is to just once get a medal of his own. So Ralph does the unthinkable and game jumps. One day, instead of reporting for work in his game, he disguises himself as a soldier for the new game Hero’s Duty, so he can win a medal. He does, but botches the escape, and ends up, along with an evil Cy-Bug, in the candy colored girls racing game Sugar Rush, where he almost immediately makes an enemy, and then a friend, of Vanellope, a “glitch” who just wants to race like the rest of the girls. Of course, by game jumping, he has put his own game at risk of being unplugged – and by bringing a Cy-Bug along with him into Sugar Rush, he may have put the whole arcade at risk, so Fix-It Felix teams up with Calhoun, the main character from Hero’s Duty, to bring Ralph home, and stop the Cy-Bug.

Wreck-It Ralph may not be a Pixar film, but it operates on the same principles of a Pixar film – give the kids a lot of brightly colored action and humor, while sliding in sly in-jokes and nostalgia for their parents. There’s no mistake that I, who played a lot of video games as a teenager, but very few (other than the yearly installment of EA Sports’ NHL series) since then, could almost immediately identify almost all the “real” video game characters that Wreck-It Ralph has in it. While it’s clear that Hero’s Duty is modeled, at least somewhat, on Call of Duty, for the most part the real game characters the movie has could be found on your old Super Nintendo or Sega Genesis. The movie wants to get that nostalgic laughter from the parents in the audience – and it does a wonderful job of that. Wreck-It Ralph is not quite at the level of the best Pixar movies, but it’s much better than most of the movies made for kids these days.

I loved the animation of Wreck-It Ralph, which is almost endlessly inventive. The film, directed by Rich Moore, moves seamlessly between the different video games it takes place in, but I loved how the characters from different games moved differently, depending on when the game was made. The Nicelanders (the residents of the building Fix-It Felix is building) move with that choppy motion anyone who grew up with a Nintendo will immediately recognize. When we move into Hero’s Duty, it has the same sort of energy that the best first person shooters have. And the candy land created in Sugar Rush is almost endlessly inventive, and sprawling. The movie is a visual delight from beginning to end.

The filmmakers also cast the movie very well. Is there anyone who can sound more depressed, and yet still be lovable as John C. Reilly, who was perhaps the only choice to give Ralph his voice? Or anyone who sounds more like a goody-two shoes, innocent hero than Jack McBrayer, who is great as Fix-It Felix? Or any woman who sounds more convincing than Jane Lynch barking out orders as Calhoun? The real treat here though is Sarah Silverman as Vanellope, who may not have jumped to mind to play an a character this cute and lovable, even if she does have a mischievous side. But Silverman nails it, and makes Vanellope into perhaps the most lovable animated creation this year.

Yes, the movie devolves into the kind of loud, seemingly never ending climax with lots of action and noise, that can grow tiresome after a while, unless you’re a kid. Yet, there’s some much here to love, that I’ll forgive the film for taking the easy way out with its finale. Wreck-It Ralph is one of the better animated films you’ll see this year.

Movie Review: Frankenweenie

Frankenweenie
Directed by: Tim Burton.
Written by: John August based on the character by Tim Burton.
Starring: Catherine O'Hara (Mrs. Frankenstien / Weird Girl / Gym Teacher), Martin Short (Mr. Frankenstein / Mr. Burgemeister / Nassor), Martin Landau (Mr. Rzykruski), Winona Ryder (Elsa Van Helsing), Charlie Tahan (Victor Frankenstien), Atticus Shaffer (Edgar 'E' Gore), Robert Capron (Bob), Christopher Lee (Movie Dracula), Conchata Ferrell (Bob's Mom), James Hiroyuki Liao (Toshiaki), Tom Kenny (New Holland Townsfolk), Dee Bradley Baker (Persephone van Helsing / Shelly / Were-Rat / Colossus / Mr. Whiskers / Driver), Jeff Bennett (Giant Sea Monkeys), Frank Welker (Sparky Frankenstein).

Perhaps Tim Burton should concentrate on animation from now on. He has been the driving creative force behind three animated films so far – The Nightmare Before Christmas, A Corpse Bride and now Frankenweenie – and the three films are far more consistent in quality than the majority of his career. And animation suits his dark, visual style – which is the highlight of most of films anyway – even better than live action films. Frankenweenie may not quite reach the heights of Nightmare Before Christmas, but it still one of the most enjoyable animated films of the year – and one that feels more personal than much of Burton’s films. It is easy to see Little Victor Frankenstein, the main character of Frankenweenie, as the director himself as a child – obsessed with monster movies, death and science experiments. Frankenweenie feels like an ode to Burton’s own childhood – and it makes this film one of the best Burton has ever directed.

The movie is a feature length version of the Burton’s (live action) short that he made almost 30 years ago at the beginning of his career. In the film, Victor Frankenstein is just a regular suburban kid – lonely because he has no real friends, and spends of all of his time in the attic making ingenious little 3-D monster movies with his toys, and his beloved dog Sparky – who is his only real friend. But when Sparky is tragically killed in an accident, Victor decides to use some of the lessons learned from the strange, new science teacher Mr. Rzykruski about electricity and reanimation to good use. But of course, bringing a dog back from the dead is one thing, keeping a secret is quite another.

The movie has a wonderful visual look – in black and white, which is appropriate given that much of the movie is homage to the monster movies Burton grew up loving. Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein are both obvious references, but really only scratches the surface of the movie references that Burton makes in this film. One of the pleasures for movie buffs watching the film will be to spot as many as they can.

And yet, while many of Burton’s films have made references to the movie of the past that he loves, Frankenweenie goes beyond that – and actually crafts a heartfelt story about a boy and his dog. One of the hardest things in childhood is dealing with death – and a pet’s death is harder than most because it often hits children before they know anyone else who has died. Pets offer the kind of unconditional love that people just do not offer – and having that suddenly taken away is truly heartbreaking. Frankenweenie gets that, and tells that story with genuine emotion, that had me on the verge of tears at times – which is rare for a Burton movie, which are generally style over substance affairs.

The style, though, is great. This is one of the better 3-D movies I can remember. One of the reasons is that 3-D generally makes everything darker, and given that the movie is in black and white anyway, it doesn’t negatively affect the movie.  For another, Burton doesn’t really use the 3-D to shoot stuff directly at the audience – he uses it more to add depth than anything else. The character design leaves no doubt who directed the movie. Frankenweenie is a dark, visual delight – but one that goes deeper than most of Burton’s films do. This is one of the best animated films of the year.

DVD Review: A Cat in Paris

A Cat in Paris

Directed by: Jean-Loup Felicioli & Alain Gagnol.

Written by: Alain Gagnol & Jacques-Rémy Girerd.

Starring: Dominique Blanc (Jeanne), Bruno Salomone (Nico), Jean Benguigui (Victor Costa), Bernadette Lafont (Zoé's Nanny), Oriane Zani (Zoé), Bernard Bouillon (Lucas).

When the Oscar nominees were announced last year, the Belgium film A Cat in Paris surprised many by being nominated for Best Animated Film. Having seen the film now, I am even more surprised, as I found the entire film to be rather thin, and not very involving. Yes, it has some charming moments – and the animation has a certain flair to it – but overall, this was just an exercise in style.

The plot centers of Zoe, a young girl living in Paris with her mother, Jeanne, who is the police superintendent. Zoe’s father was killed by a gangster named Victor Costa, and Jeanne has been trying to prove it ever since. Zoe has taken to stop talking since her father’s death – her only friends her seemingly nice Nanny, and her cat Dino – who unbeknownst to everyone, leads a double life. At night, Dino sneaks out and accompanies a cat burglar – Nico – on his jobs. While following Dino one day, Zoe not only discovers his secret – but also her Nanny’s, and falls into the clutches of Victor. Nico, car burglar though he may be – is not that bad of guy, and tries to save her.

A Cat in Paris has its charms – it falls with film noir conventions at times, and there are some wonderfully choreographed chase sequences over the roofs of Paris – including the climax, which ends up at Notre Dame. And while I liked the character animation – which uses some bold geometry to create the characters, there was a constant flickering of shadows across everyone’s faces that I found to be rather distracting.

Overall, I’d say that at best, A Cat in Paris is an interesting, mildly amusing distraction. It is charming in fits and starts, but it never really adds up to anything.

Persepolis (2007)

Genre: War/Historical Event/Drama/Romance/Animation/Action/Biography

Starring (voice): Chiara Mastroianni, Catherine Deneuve, Danielle Darrieux, Simon Abkarian

The story of a young girl who witnesses the rise and fall of Iran and its evolution from a free monarchy to an intolerant democracy. Like any other country of its time, Iran too was ruled by a ruler, the Shah of Iran. The Shah's ruthlessness against his enemies and those who opposed him did not go down well with his citizens and was eventually overthrown in the Iranian Revolution. Marjane Satrapi (Mastroianni) was brought up in a contemporary Muslim family, where freedom and western lifestyle was easily accepted and widely protested against the Shah and wanted Iran to be free. When Islamic Fundamentalists win the first general elections with a landslide victory, the peoples hopes of any freedom are squashed. Woman are forced to cover themselves from head to toe, all forms of music and entertainment are banned and life becomes hard to get by. Marjane's parents do not want her to be brought up in this Iran and send her off to Europe to experience a good life with freedom and education. If it is a lesson in history that you seek, the movie accurately recounts the Iranian Revolution and depicts modern fundamentalist Iran very accurately. The childish but yet modern animation is clever and easy to watch and makes the movie much lighter than what it would have been in regular print. An autobiographical movie is made only when the persons life story has something unique to narrate. Apart from being a part of a revolution at a young age, most of Marjane's life is like any other teenage girl and does not reflect a uniqueness that it should have. A slow and slightly tedious movie but a must watch for history lovers.

Thumbs up: Good animation

Thumbs down: Slow, nothing unique about the autobiography

Rating: 6.4/10

Ice Age 4: Continental Drift

As some of you must be aware I have started making vLogs (Video Blogs) with my daughter for the films that she watches. As is the case with Ice Age 4, there are a number of films that I might not watch, but she does. So I figured that it might be best to get the viewpoint of the target audience for these films.

Fourth in the successful series, Ice Age 4: Continental Drift follows the adventures of Manny, Diego, Sid, and Squint as they work their way through changes in their lives and the environment.

Here is what Saanvi thought of the film which she viewed in 3D. (At the time of the "interview" she was suffering from a cold, so do keep that in mind :-)

The Lorax Premier - From The Orange Carpet

The sun was out and orange with a dash of yellow was the color of the day. We've seen red carpets, we've even seen green, but the bright orange one, signifying the color of the film, welcomed everyone at the entrance of Birmingham Cineworld who were hosting the premier of the new animation, Lorax, based on the ever famous Dr. Seuss book. The event was also the very first UK premier for a film outside of London.

The event was beautifully organized with gracious hosts and a sense of joy and laughter all around with the Lorax character dancing and mingling on the carpet along with balloon makers and face painters. My sources inside the theater, wife and daughter, informed me the ambience was that of fun and frolic with cupcakes, candy-floss, sweets, Lorax mustaches, along with other goodies, in abundance to keep the young and the young-at-heart pleasantly satisfied.

Emile Heskey, Danielle Lloyd, members of the American Olympic Team, and Joe Egan were among the celebrities who walked down the orange carpet. Joe Egan, who has acted in the Sherlock Holmes films along with a part in the Indian film Ra.One epitomizes the "big lovable" character especially when he said one of his dreams was to walk down the red carpet with his mum. Called "the toughest white man on the planet" by Mike Tyson he modestly talked about how he's enjoying and loving slowly but surely rising up in the entertainment business making a name and mark for himself and can be seen next in the film Crying Wolf.

As expected, the arrival of Danny DeVito was greeted with unanimous cheering from all the fans present around the carpet. A legendary actor, he met with his fans and members of the press with the same kind of excitement and enthusiasm only a newcomer promoting his first movie has. Visiting Birmingham for the first time he was quick to point out that the much needed sunshine probably had something to do with the "Lorax" being in town. Crediting the entire team of the movie including producers, writers, and animators, he spoke about doing the voice for the movie in Russian, German, Spanish, and Italian himself. On stage, he emphasized the message that Lorax gives and how it is important that "if you see somebody abusing something, stop 'em".

I do hope that having the first ever UK premier of a major movie outside of London starts a new trend. The event was thoroughly enjoyed by all present especially the children. You can watch a video I made of my daughter about her experience on her return below. Both my wife and my daughter enjoyed the film and the orange Lorax 3D glasses for the children were a nice little addition to the goodie bag.

I would also like to thank the wonderful people at DDA PR and Prepared PR who organized my very first press pass which I will cherish forever.