Animation goes spoooooky

While I struggle with my other feature reviews lets do some more trailer reviews! Looks like those of us who are fans of fun spooky animation are going to be in for some treats this year!
First, in August we get to meet Norman, aka ParaNorman, a lonely social outcast who can see ghosts and ghouls. He has to summon up his powers to help save his town when an evil witch raises a zombie army. YAY! Colour me excited!

Then in September, we're all going to pack up our bags and head out to Hotel Transylvania. Dracula has set up a five stake resort for him and his spooky buddies to get away from the everyday hustle and bustle of being monsters. It's the lap of luxury and most importantly they can be themselves, that is, until Jonathan shows up and ruins everything. Also, it looks like we're staging an SNL reunion with the voice cast of this movie which features [among many others] Adam Sandler, David Spade, Molly Shannon and Andy Samberg. Most excitingly for me is that this movie is directed by Genndy Tartakovsky. I love this man. He brought me some of the greatest animated series of all time, including Dexter's Lab, Powerpuff Girls  and my all time favourite Samurai Jack, of which I am still waiting impatiently for a movie to be made. [Maybe if this does well, it will be? EVERYONE SEE THIS MOVIE!]

Last but most certainly not least comes Tim Burton's Frankenweenie in October. Here's the thing about this one. I do love Tim Burton, his movies make me all kinds of happy, but I've already seen this one. Seriously, he made it back in 1984 as short film, and if like me you own the deluxe version of Nightmare Before Christmas then you've probably seen it already too. It's the story of Victor who brings his dog back Sparky back to life. I can only assume that there's more going on in the feature version, and of course I'll go see it, due to the aforementioned love of all things Burton, but still...seen it.

What do you think? Excited for this year's crop of spooky animated movies? Any other animated movies you're excited about this year?

I know, I know, I know...

Sooooo, I'm seriously behind again. I wish I had a really good excuse, but I sure don't.
Right now I'm coming down from an 'Avengers' adrenaline high, but I'm pretty sure it'll be the first one I write tomorrow. I would write it RIGHT NOW, but it would be filled with so many enthusiastic 'awesome's and 'amazing's that it would be a tad ridiculous. [Seriously, folks, I want to see it again, like RIGHT NOW] But I do have several late ones on the way as well. I'm hoping that once I get going with the first review I'll be able to power through the others.
Here's what's coming up!
-Avengers
-Hunger Games
-Mirror, Mirror
-paranormal animation
-Cabin in the Woods
-and maybe Wrath of the Titans...we'll see.

See you soon!

Kung Fu Panda 2

Oh kids movies! How I love thee! Oh 3D! How I loathe thee! Seriously. This is the dilemma that comes up EVERYTIME a new kids flick comes out. I adore kids movies, they're (usually) so imaginative and cheeky, and just plain fun to watch. However, these days it seems that every kids movie is in 3D, and I'm not going to harp on it AGAIN, but I think we all know how I feel about 3D and it's evil grip on the film industry these days. Now that's out of the way, Kung Fu Panda 2!
I loved the first one, to be quite honest, I was supremely surprised by how much loved the first one, so needless to say I was pretty psyched to see Po and the Furious Five back in action. I have to say when I first found out that the new baddie that Po was going to have to up against was a peacock I was a little apprehensive. A bird? Really? With fancy feathers? However, Shen [voiced by the always amazing Gary Oldman] turned out to be truly menacing, with metal claws and hypnotic spots on his plumage not to mention a psychotic need to be all powerful. Po has to unearth the secrets of his past to figure out how to stop Shen and his gunpowder powered weapons. 
I really loved in the first movie when we were first introduced to Po's dad, the little noodle obsessed goose. They have such a cute dynamic, although one that becomes strained as Po searches for his lost family. What really comes across in this movie is that parents love their kids, whether they're biologically theirs or not; they just want what's best for their kids.
One thing I find very interesting about both Kung Fu Panda movies is that they have all this amazing voice talent that just goes to waste. Don't get me wrong, Jack Black and Dustin Hoffman, who have the majority of the speaking parts are wonderful. Jack Black has a voice made for animation and Hoffman's gravelly tones are great in any format. But Dreamworks has gone out and hired an all-star cast that mostly, in my opinion, goes completely underused.   Sure, the story is about Po, and Jack Black, is well, loquacious, to say the least. But why hire Angelina Jolie, Seth Rogen, David Cross, Lucy Liu and Jackie Chan if they're all only going to get a line or two at most? I suppose it's so you can say they're in your movie, but only barely.
However, that being said, I think Dreamworks continues to impress. The animation in the movie was gorgeous. The characters look great and the backgrounds are just amazing. Not only that, but the story is well done, sure not overly original considering the first movie and all, but still pretty darn good. 

Rio

Yet again I'm a little behind schedule getting my post up, I have a couple of excuses, first of all work's been a bit exhausting this week, plus the Stanley Cup Playoffs [GO CANUCKS GO!]have been diverting a lot of my attention these days, however, I think the main excuse when it comes to the review for this particular movie is that just wasn't that great, so I don't have that much to say.

I didn't hate it, but I most certainly didn't love it. As I've previously mentioned I'm actually a huge fan of animation, and I really thought that 'Rio' would be a good one, but I was disappointed. It certainly had it's moments, the colours are gorgeous, and the carnivale scenes are pretty fantastic. Jesse Eisenberg is adorable as a neurotic macaw and Jemaine Dupuis [from 'Flight of the Conchords' which is awesome] was hilarious as the evil cockatoo, but other than that the movie was just kind of blah.

I went to the movie on Easter Monday, and I have to admit, I forgot it was a holiday. I was promptly reminded when I got into the theatre, that was packed with kids and their parents. And as the movie went on I started to feel bad for those parents. Sure, I paid to be there, and to see it in my old nemesis, 3D, but I don't ever buy snacks at the theatre, so my expenses are down to just the ridiculous $15.5o to get in. However, the poor parents around me had to pay for not only themselves, but also their munchkins [again, for the terribly overpriced 3D]. And all of the kids around me had those snack packs, I'm not sure how much those are running these days, but I'm sure it's not cheap. And after shelling out the big bucks they had to sit through a movie that didn't offer anything for them. I've found in the past that watching kids movies with kids in the audience often improves the watching experience, they laugh at silly things and really get into it, which helps me get into it. Not this time. There were a few '3D moments' that they 'oohed' at, but that was about it, even the kids weren't really into it, which lead to me just being a bit bored.

I really don't like putting out bad vibes for movies, especially animated ones, but I was really hoping for more from 'Rio', and was sorely disappointed. I also have to admit that we seem to be sitting in a little movie lull here. I honestly have no clue what I'm going to see on Monday. I'm not really excited about anything that's in theatres right now. The awards season movies are all gone and the summer blockbuster season doesn't start until 'Thor' comes out on May 6th [which I'm super psyched for]. Sure, 'Fast Five' came out this week. I'm sure anyone who's perused this blog before will remember my absolute astonishment that yet another movie is being made in this franchise. Let me just add that both Rotten Tomatoes and Entertainment Weekly, have given this movie favourable reviews, I expect to see pigs flying past my window any minute now. These are both places I usually check to see if a movie is worth seeing if I'm still on the fence, they have let me down. So, no, I won't be seeing 'Fast Five' on Monday, if anyone has any suggestions, bring em' on!

Rango

I'll say it. I love cartoons. I still watch them on TV, well, if there isn't anything else on. [Most of the time, at least] I still consider several animated series to be among my favourites of all time; 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' and 'Samurai Jack' among those. But these are all things I can watch at home, without paying anything other than my cable bill. I don't shill out the big bucks at the theatre for just any animated/kids flicks, that being said there are some of these movies that I don't feel any shame going to, namely anything from Pixar and most of the movies that Dreamworks Animation puts out. 'Rango' falls squarely into this category. Actually 'Rango' falls into a unique category of its' own. It's being advertised as a "family movie" but I honestly don't know if I would take kids to this one. It has a LOT of adult references that would fly right over even the smartest 7 year old's head. More than it's fair share of violence, and a story that's a little bit complicated for munchkins.

'Rango' follows a pet chameleon with a penchant for the dramatic who gets lost in the Mojave Desert. He comes to the drought ridden town of Dirt, where he takes on a heroic persona to ingratiate himself with the townfolk and then must transform into that hero to save the town. A common enough archetype, true, but the wit and charm with which it's done in this movie make it a winner. Rango is verbose to say the least, he likes to hear himself talk, and, for a long time in his terrarium, that's all he has, but he can't seem to break the habit once he meets real people. But it's so well written and delivered by Johnny Depp that you really don't mind.

Not only is the dialogue great but the movie is also visually stunning. There's no doubt in my mind that director Gore Verbinski has done his research watching Sergio Leone and John Ford's old Westerns. The scope that was present there is more certainly present here. One of the best examples of this is near the end as Rango walks over sand dunes in the moonlight, just gorgeous, you almost forget you're watching something animated. There's another interesting visual that anyone who's watched 'Pirates 3' will recognise. While Rango is searching for the Spirit of the West, he comes to a dreamlike place that's white as far as the eye can see, and then he's carried to meet the Spirit [who looks like Clint, of course, but is voiced by Timothy Olyphant] by some hard shelled insects. Sound familiar 'Pirates' fans? When Jack's in Davey Jones' Locker, and is carried on the backs of those white crabs? Perhaps he's reminding us that the next 'Pirates' flick is out later this year. Nonetheless it didn't feel out of place in the movie, it actually fit quite well with the oddball-ness of Rango himself.

There are a lot of little things that I really loved that really made me love whole all the more. There's a charming quartet of tiny mariachi owls that narrate the story, who are adorable and hilarious, often predicting Rango's not-so-inevitable demise, and providing tunes for Rango's heroic sequences. There's also a quick homage to 'Fear and Loathing Las Vegas' when Rango gets stuck on the windshield of the Red Shark. Those are my favourite little bits, but there are plenty of other great parts as well.

As for the not-kid-friendliness I don't want to get too much into it, but let's just say we meet an armadillo that's been run over by a car in the first 10 minutes. It's literally in two halves folks. Don't worry, it survives, but still....

So, overall 'Rango' was a super enjoyable film that I would recommend to anyone over the age of 12 or 13. Kids might enjoy it, but they won't get it. Take my friend Kim's 8 year-old son, when asked what the movie was about, he said 'a lizard,' which I suppose is technically correct, but he seems to have missed the whole water, hero, town-coming-together thing...That's about all for now! See you next week, when I will be reviewing 'Paul'! Which I'm super excited for, I really hope it doesn't let me down...Pffft! What am I talking about!? It has Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and an alien! How can it fail!?!

The Illusionist

Continuing on with my parade of awards movies [the Oscar's are only 20 days away people!] I went and saw the only non-American nominee in the Best Animated Feature category, 'The Illusionist' [the other two are 'Toy Story 3' and 'How to Train Your Dragon' for you heathens that didn't know.]

'The Illusionist', made by the folks that brought us the delightful 'Triplettes of Belleville', is most definitely not the type of animated film you would take your kids to, and with it's slow pace and lack of dialogue it might not be the type of animated film you would even go to. Two guys actually walked out of the movie this afternoon, something I haven't witnessed in a long time.

All that being said, I really enjoyed 'The Illusionist'. It's a sweet and charming as well as melancholy. The title character, The Illusionist, is one of a dying breed of vaudeville performers who are being weaseled out of their spotlights by 50's rockers that fill the seats with screaming and swooning girls. He's a sweet old man who just wants to perform, and after a series of not so great gigs he goes to Scotland where he meets Alice, a young girl who believes his magic is real. I think that he's rejuvenated by this belief and when Alice ends up running away to join him in Edinburgh, he lets her stay.

They stay in a boarding house full of characters, a ventriloquist, a very sad clown, three identical acrobats, all vaudevillians looking for a stage. Unfortunately work for all of them is getting more scarce and Alice's wants are growing, she wants new shoes, a new coat, a new dress. And since she thinks they just appear out of thin air and the Illusionist doesn't want to dispel this notion he goes to ever depressing lengths to get them for her. As his fellow vaudevillians slowly give up the Illusionist keeps on trying. However, the last straw for him, is making bras and perfume 'appear' in a department store window, while wearing a terrible pink suit. During this time Alice is growing up and falls for a young man in the city. Alice was a frustrating character for me. She's a silly girl, the kind that drives me crazy. She wants to grow up too fast, and while she seems fairly intelligent she ignores how hard life is for the man that's caring for her. When he sees that she's finally grown up and he's given up he leaves a kind of heart-breaking, yet obvious note, that 'Magic is not real.' A bittersweet ending for a bittersweet tale.

The real scene stealer for me throughout this sweet, sad tale was the Illusionist's white rabbit, that he pulls from the hat in his routine. This rabbit is hilariously mean. It bites him and anyone else who tries to touch it. Constantly tries to run away. Despite all this, the rabbit is part of his family. This is most evident when the Illusionist comes home to a stew made by Alice. When she leaves to deliver soup to the other residents of the boarding house he looks at the recipe [we see the pages change in the wind, but he doesn't] and sees 'lapin' [rabbit] is one of the ingredients. He then worriedly starts to look for his mean, white friend. When he's finally given up the magic life he sets his little buddy free out in a field. The scene as the rabbit realises he's finally free is so adorable.

While I'm still sure that 'Toy Story 3' will be the big winner on February 27th [and really, come ON! It's Pixar, and they can do no wrong in my eyes], it's wonderful that little gems like 'The Illusionist' can get some well-deserved press.

Until next week, which I've just realised is my all-time least favourite 'holiday', Valentine's Day, ugh. Don't get me started. ANYWAYS! See you next week when I'll be watching a movie that has nothing to do with that ridiculous made up cash cow for chocolate-flower-card companies.