Bee Movie (2007)
Next: "The UP Series" (various years)
Cute and kinda funny. Nothing too big. I only kinda watched this movie w/ the boys so I don't have the best grasp of it. I think the failing of this movie is the law suit: not very interesting, not funny, boring for kids, not engaging, etc. I mean, who thinks "Yeah, let's have this fun animated movie... w/ a trial!"
Haiku Summary
Barry's not content.
Goes outside the hive. Meets girl.
Sues for honey. Wins?
Showing posts with label animation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label animation. Show all posts
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Beowulf (2007) - 3/5
Beowulf (2007)
Best thing about this movie: Crispin Glover's performance. But too little of him.
Decent action, but w/ CGI I can often feel like I'm watching a video game and can't really be impressed by the fight moves b/c... well, no one really did most of them.
Best thing about this movie: Crispin Glover's performance. But too little of him.
Decent action, but w/ CGI I can often feel like I'm watching a video game and can't really be impressed by the fight moves b/c... well, no one really did most of them.
Monday, July 07, 2008
The Emperor's New Groove (2000) - 3.5/5
The Emperor's New Groove (2000)
Next: "Hellboy" (2004
Funny and clever w/ some good humor that's funny to kids and adults. I wdn't say it stands out in any one area, but it's just a fun little movie.
Haiku Summary
Emperor fires
adviser. She turns him into
llama. He gets nice.
Next: "Hellboy" (2004
Funny and clever w/ some good humor that's funny to kids and adults. I wdn't say it stands out in any one area, but it's just a fun little movie.
Haiku Summary
Emperor fires
adviser. She turns him into
llama. He gets nice.
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
WALL-E (2008) - 4.5/5
WALL-E (2008)
Next: The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)
Another great animation film! I'd say this is even better than "Kung Fu Panda" and that was great. No only did this movie have pretty much all the same strengths as "Panda" (action, camera work, animation, characters, etc.), but it had a few things extra...
It varied the styles of animation w/o feeling "wrong." It threaded aspects of the story so well that I just marveled. It expressed emotion in the characters very well... and they're robots! And it did all this w/ almost NO dialog!
I love Pixar shorts for telling stories w/ no dialog and this movie does just about the same thing!
SPOILERS
On Earth, the animation is more life-like and very well done, but on the ship, the people are more cartoony. I felt this contrast flowed well which is hard to imagine. Also, they even have a real human in a couple clips (Fred Willard) which also didn't seem too harshly real. Well played, Pixar. Well played.
Haiku Summary
Wall-E is lonely.
Eva comes and finds a plant.
Fight for ships return.
Next: The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)
Another great animation film! I'd say this is even better than "Kung Fu Panda" and that was great. No only did this movie have pretty much all the same strengths as "Panda" (action, camera work, animation, characters, etc.), but it had a few things extra...
It varied the styles of animation w/o feeling "wrong." It threaded aspects of the story so well that I just marveled. It expressed emotion in the characters very well... and they're robots! And it did all this w/ almost NO dialog!
I love Pixar shorts for telling stories w/ no dialog and this movie does just about the same thing!
SPOILERS
On Earth, the animation is more life-like and very well done, but on the ship, the people are more cartoony. I felt this contrast flowed well which is hard to imagine. Also, they even have a real human in a couple clips (Fred Willard) which also didn't seem too harshly real. Well played, Pixar. Well played.
Haiku Summary
Wall-E is lonely.
Eva comes and finds a plant.
Fight for ships return.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Kung Fu Panda (2008) - 4.5/5
Kung Fu Panda (2008)
Next: "Wall-E" (2008)
This was great. The action was well done and the camera work made it natural to see exactly what was happening (unlike so many live action movies where it's just a blur). All around, I think the camera work was great.
The story is well done and the characters are well developed. The humor is good and not insulting or too adult and the animation is amazing.
It's all around great.
Haiku Summary
Panda is dragon
warrior? Others don't like.
Scroll is blank. Ska-doosh!
Next: "Wall-E" (2008)
This was great. The action was well done and the camera work made it natural to see exactly what was happening (unlike so many live action movies where it's just a blur). All around, I think the camera work was great.
The story is well done and the characters are well developed. The humor is good and not insulting or too adult and the animation is amazing.
It's all around great.
Haiku Summary
Panda is dragon
warrior? Others don't like.
Scroll is blank. Ska-doosh!
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Horton Hears a Who! (2008) - 4/5
Horton Hears a Who! (2008)
NEXT: "Wall Street" (1986)
UPDATED: 6.19.08 - saw it again at the $1 movies.
Very funny (at least the first half) and good story and animation. I thought it was good, creative and fun.
SPOILERS
I thought the kangaroo character was unnecessarily negative and judgmental while not adding a lot to the character makeup of the movie. They seemed to be calling out conservatives (based on the homeschooling reference) and it was just underhanded and judgmental on their part. The biggest bummer about that was that I didn't think it was necessary.
UPDATE: 6.19.08 - Again, I think they were trying to slam conservatives and probably religious conservatives w/ the kangaroo role, but maybe I'm looking for it (or just used to it). However, w/ the kangaroo saying "if you can't see it, heart it or feel it, it isn't real" they can't really be attacking those of faith. So maybe they're slamming atheists a bit??? Anyway, I'm not sure it was necessary, but I'm not familiar w/ the book so who knows if it was accurate anyway.
Haiku Summary
Horton hears a who
on a speck and saves it. Great
dentist scene. Funny.
Next: "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" (2007)
NEXT: "Wall Street" (1986)
UPDATED: 6.19.08 - saw it again at the $1 movies.
Very funny (at least the first half) and good story and animation. I thought it was good, creative and fun.
SPOILERS
I thought the kangaroo character was unnecessarily negative and judgmental while not adding a lot to the character makeup of the movie. They seemed to be calling out conservatives (based on the homeschooling reference) and it was just underhanded and judgmental on their part. The biggest bummer about that was that I didn't think it was necessary.
UPDATE: 6.19.08 - Again, I think they were trying to slam conservatives and probably religious conservatives w/ the kangaroo role, but maybe I'm looking for it (or just used to it). However, w/ the kangaroo saying "if you can't see it, heart it or feel it, it isn't real" they can't really be attacking those of faith. So maybe they're slamming atheists a bit??? Anyway, I'm not sure it was necessary, but I'm not familiar w/ the book so who knows if it was accurate anyway.
Haiku Summary
Horton hears a who
on a speck and saves it. Great
dentist scene. Funny.
Next: "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" (2007)
Friday, June 13, 2008
Piglet's Big Movie (2003) - 3/5
Piglet's Big Movie (2003)
Next: "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981)
Simple, cute, non-offensive, sweet kids movie. Simple ideas and concepts combined w/ good friendships and wanting to help such.
Haiku Summary:
Piglet overlooked.
Hurt, wanders. Friends miss him. They
look, find and value.
Next: "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981)
Simple, cute, non-offensive, sweet kids movie. Simple ideas and concepts combined w/ good friendships and wanting to help such.
Haiku Summary:
Piglet overlooked.
Hurt, wanders. Friends miss him. They
look, find and value.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
The Little Bear Movie (2001) - 2.5/5
The Little Bear Movie (2001)
NEXT: Scaphandre et le papillon, Le (2007)
We got this for our 3 year old. He picked it out. It's a sweet story. It's pretty calm and not scary and fairly funny. Not really something adults wd get into, but certainly something I'm fine w/ him watching.
Haiku Summary:
Little Bear meets Cub.
Cub lost parents in storm. They
search and find them. Cute.
NEXT: Scaphandre et le papillon, Le (2007)
We got this for our 3 year old. He picked it out. It's a sweet story. It's pretty calm and not scary and fairly funny. Not really something adults wd get into, but certainly something I'm fine w/ him watching.
Haiku Summary:
Little Bear meets Cub.
Cub lost parents in storm. They
search and find them. Cute.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers (2004) (V) 3.5/5
Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers (2004) (V)
This was a real surprise. I can't remember why we recorded this for our son, but he liked it and after a few times of him watching it, I had seen the whole thing too. The best part of this movie was that it surprised me so well. It's really funny!
It has a good combination of silly, funny stuff w/ just a bit of more advanced (I don't want to say mature or adult) humor.
There's one part where the 3 'bad guys' (I love how they keep calling them 'bad guys' - today's shows have lost that) are going to dropped into 'the pit.' The door in the ground opens, they fall down, the obligatory fading yell is heard... then one of them pops up his head from the 3 foot deep 'pit.'
That's pretty funny, but then later we see them again and they're still in there wasting away the time... like they're really trapped and can't get out. Not so funny when written out here, but funny in the show.
Another great part is when a 'bad guy' is sword fighting w/ Mickey on top of the moving coach. The 'bad guy's sword cuts away Mickey's Musketeer uniform and his has his trademark Mickey shorts on and he immediate strikes the 'Mickey pose.' It just feels like their poking fun at themselves a bit.
Don't get me wrong: this is no "Cars" or anything, but it's a clever, cute, funny little show that really surprised me.
Great stuff for our son!
Haiku Summary
Mickey, Goofy and
Donald want to be in the
Muskateers... and are!
NEXT: "300 (2006)"
This was a real surprise. I can't remember why we recorded this for our son, but he liked it and after a few times of him watching it, I had seen the whole thing too. The best part of this movie was that it surprised me so well. It's really funny!
It has a good combination of silly, funny stuff w/ just a bit of more advanced (I don't want to say mature or adult) humor.
There's one part where the 3 'bad guys' (I love how they keep calling them 'bad guys' - today's shows have lost that) are going to dropped into 'the pit.' The door in the ground opens, they fall down, the obligatory fading yell is heard... then one of them pops up his head from the 3 foot deep 'pit.'
That's pretty funny, but then later we see them again and they're still in there wasting away the time... like they're really trapped and can't get out. Not so funny when written out here, but funny in the show.
Another great part is when a 'bad guy' is sword fighting w/ Mickey on top of the moving coach. The 'bad guy's sword cuts away Mickey's Musketeer uniform and his has his trademark Mickey shorts on and he immediate strikes the 'Mickey pose.' It just feels like their poking fun at themselves a bit.Don't get me wrong: this is no "Cars" or anything, but it's a clever, cute, funny little show that really surprised me.
Great stuff for our son!
Haiku Summary
Mickey, Goofy and
Donald want to be in the
Muskateers... and are!
NEXT: "300 (2006)"
Thursday, January 31, 2008
The Secret of NIMH (1982) - 2.5/5
The Secret of NIMH (1982)
Original, but not very compelling. It's a children's book adaptation, but I'm not familiar w/ the book.
That characters and animation are good, but I wasn't really drawn into to care about what was happening (and to a degree, I wasn't really sure what was happening).
SPOILERS
The idea that an experiment by NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health) made the mice/rats "smart" seemed out of left field in the reality of the story. It also gave it a too realistic and dark feel IMO.
Haiku Summary
The plow is coming.
The boy mouse is sick, can't move.
Rats are smart, some bad.
NEXT: "Air Guitar Nation"
Original, but not very compelling. It's a children's book adaptation, but I'm not familiar w/ the book.
That characters and animation are good, but I wasn't really drawn into to care about what was happening (and to a degree, I wasn't really sure what was happening).
SPOILERS
The idea that an experiment by NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health) made the mice/rats "smart" seemed out of left field in the reality of the story. It also gave it a too realistic and dark feel IMO.
Haiku Summary
The plow is coming.
The boy mouse is sick, can't move.
Rats are smart, some bad.
NEXT: "Air Guitar Nation"
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Treasure Planet (2002) - 3.5/5
Treasure Planet (2002)
This is a very interesting animated movie in several areas: mix of 2D and 3D, the characters, the scope, etc.
The story is solid and the characters are fully developed. The action is good too.
It's more serious than funny (like Pocahontas and Tarzan) though the robot is pretty comical.
I think the production quality is way up on this one so the animation, effects, details, characters, etc. are really good. It's a Ron Clements and John Musker movie which says a lot.
There's some great behind the scenes/making of stuff on the DVD too.
Haiku Summary
Boy finds treasure map.
Goes w/ pirates. Dad figure
turns, boy saves them all.
NEXT: "King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters"
This is a very interesting animated movie in several areas: mix of 2D and 3D, the characters, the scope, etc.
The story is solid and the characters are fully developed. The action is good too.
It's more serious than funny (like Pocahontas and Tarzan) though the robot is pretty comical.
I think the production quality is way up on this one so the animation, effects, details, characters, etc. are really good. It's a Ron Clements and John Musker movie which says a lot.
There's some great behind the scenes/making of stuff on the DVD too.
Haiku Summary
Boy finds treasure map.
Goes w/ pirates. Dad figure
turns, boy saves them all.
NEXT: "King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters"
Monday, January 28, 2008
Tarzan (1999) - 3.5/5
Tarzan (1999)
Great animation and really good characters. Also, the story was more compelling w/ the deeper characters and expressiveness of them.
I felt this movie had a fuller feel to it w/ humor, action, animation, character development, etc.
Haiku Summary
Ape takes babe as own.
Raises him, others come. Love,
songs, white man stays there!
Great animation and really good characters. Also, the story was more compelling w/ the deeper characters and expressiveness of them.
I felt this movie had a fuller feel to it w/ humor, action, animation, character development, etc.
Haiku Summary
Ape takes babe as own.
Raises him, others come. Love,
songs, white man stays there!
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Pocahontas (1995) - 3/5
Pocahontas (1995)
Good animation but it just didn't keep my attention too well. I think the characters and story were a little thin or something. Nothing big, but I just wasn't drawn in.
However, again, the animation was good. The wind effects and water and such were fun to watch.
Haiku Summary
Indians happy.
White man comes for gold. Love, songs,
guns. White man goes home.
Good animation but it just didn't keep my attention too well. I think the characters and story were a little thin or something. Nothing big, but I just wasn't drawn in.
However, again, the animation was good. The wind effects and water and such were fun to watch.
Haiku Summary
Indians happy.
White man comes for gold. Love, songs,
guns. White man goes home.
Friday, January 18, 2008
The Rescuers Down Under (1990) - 2/5
The Rescuers Down Under (1990)
I think these earlier Disney movies just aren't holding my attention and such. The stories and characters aren't that compelling.
The artwork was good and the backgrounds (first CGI backgrounds for Disney) were good. The opening sequence w/ the eagle was fun too.
Like many older movies (and probably some newer ones too???), there's a real "bad guy" as opposed to just opposition or just a situation (see "Cars"). He's a poacher.
I didn't see the prequel so that didn't help, but I doubt I will.
Haiku Summary
Boy helps eagle and
poacher traps boy to get the
location. Mice help.
I think these earlier Disney movies just aren't holding my attention and such. The stories and characters aren't that compelling.
The artwork was good and the backgrounds (first CGI backgrounds for Disney) were good. The opening sequence w/ the eagle was fun too.
Like many older movies (and probably some newer ones too???), there's a real "bad guy" as opposed to just opposition or just a situation (see "Cars"). He's a poacher.
I didn't see the prequel so that didn't help, but I doubt I will.
Haiku Summary
Boy helps eagle and
poacher traps boy to get the
location. Mice help.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
The Little Mermaid (1989) - 3.5/5
The Little Mermaid (1989)
Good animation, great songs and story. The characters and their expressions really come to life.
I think, to me, this was the beginning of the 'new Disney' in animation.
Haiku Summary
Mermaid wants to be
a person. Falls in love and
needs his kiss to stay.
Good animation, great songs and story. The characters and their expressions really come to life.
I think, to me, this was the beginning of the 'new Disney' in animation.
Haiku Summary
Mermaid wants to be
a person. Falls in love and
needs his kiss to stay.
The Black Cauldron (1985) - 2.5/5
The Black Cauldron (1985)
Interesting b/c of it's position and place in Disney history. Also, the animation was good and interesting techniques at times.
But I think the Disney animation department was a bit scattered and schismed at the time and it shows. The story is a bit spotty at times and the characters, to me, aren't very sympathetic.
There's some witches and a magic sword and several references the Horned King's war and army and such, but none of them are really explained.
It has some influences from Lord of the Rings, I think.
Haiku Summary
Cauldron holds power.
Horned king wants it, boy must stop.
Witches, fights. We win!
Interesting b/c of it's position and place in Disney history. Also, the animation was good and interesting techniques at times.
But I think the Disney animation department was a bit scattered and schismed at the time and it shows. The story is a bit spotty at times and the characters, to me, aren't very sympathetic.
There's some witches and a magic sword and several references the Horned King's war and army and such, but none of them are really explained.
It has some influences from Lord of the Rings, I think.
Haiku Summary
Cauldron holds power.
Horned king wants it, boy must stop.
Witches, fights. We win!
Monday, January 14, 2008
The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie (2008) - 4/5
The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie (2008)
Incredible animation. Wow.
The action is pretty good and I like the humor (witty, but not too 'adult'), but I felt the story was a bit slow at times.
Also, the 'scope' of the story was narrow: they just focus on the main characters. It feels kinda small. Rarely do they cut away to another story line or anything.
I thought maybe that's b/c it's a kids' movie, but lots of other kids' movies do that.
Anyway, it's fun, funny, entertaining and "safe" for kids which all add up to a lot.
Haiku Summary
Prince is taken. Sis
seeks help. Cabin boys go there.
King's help always near.
Incredible animation. Wow.
The action is pretty good and I like the humor (witty, but not too 'adult'), but I felt the story was a bit slow at times.
Also, the 'scope' of the story was narrow: they just focus on the main characters. It feels kinda small. Rarely do they cut away to another story line or anything.
I thought maybe that's b/c it's a kids' movie, but lots of other kids' movies do that.
Anyway, it's fun, funny, entertaining and "safe" for kids which all add up to a lot.
Haiku Summary
Prince is taken. Sis
seeks help. Cabin boys go there.
King's help always near.
The Great Mouse Detective (1986) - 3/5
The Great Mouse Detective (1986)
This movie suffers in comparison to more established stories Disney usually used/uses and can't compare to modern animated movies so it's probably somewhat forgotten.
The characters are good and there's good aspects to the story, animation (first use of CGI), etc., but overall it's pretty far down the list of my favorites.
However, listening to a lot of podcasts interviews w/ animators, most of whom worked on this movie to some degree, I have a fond feeling towards it.
Haiku Summary
Rat takes girls dad. She
gets Basil to help find him.
Mouse as Sherlock Holmes.
This movie suffers in comparison to more established stories Disney usually used/uses and can't compare to modern animated movies so it's probably somewhat forgotten.
The characters are good and there's good aspects to the story, animation (first use of CGI), etc., but overall it's pretty far down the list of my favorites.
However, listening to a lot of podcasts interviews w/ animators, most of whom worked on this movie to some degree, I have a fond feeling towards it.
Haiku Summary
Rat takes girls dad. She
gets Basil to help find him.
Mouse as Sherlock Holmes.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Frank and Ollie (1995) - 5/5
Frank and Ollie (1995)
This is a documentary about two of the great Disney animators; two of the "nine old men." These guys started out in school together and wound up sharing an apartment and then building houses next to each other where they lived the rest of their lives (Frank died in 2004, but I believe Ollie is still alive).
It's a great look at what they did and their motivations, humility, skills and general approach to animation.
I've been listening to the AnimationPodcast.com and they talk a lot about Frank and Ollie. So getting to see them and learn about them was a lot of fun.
Haiku Summary
Two animators
for Disney tell their story.
Great insight for us.
This is a documentary about two of the great Disney animators; two of the "nine old men." These guys started out in school together and wound up sharing an apartment and then building houses next to each other where they lived the rest of their lives (Frank died in 2004, but I believe Ollie is still alive).
It's a great look at what they did and their motivations, humility, skills and general approach to animation.
I've been listening to the AnimationPodcast.com and they talk a lot about Frank and Ollie. So getting to see them and learn about them was a lot of fun.
Haiku Summary
Two animators
for Disney tell their story.
Great insight for us.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
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