Finding the reason for Akira’s resonance with all manner of audiences is not particularly difficult, since it is the zenith of great narrative-meets-dreamlike philosophical reality bending. For all that it blurs the lines of established faux-reality and fantasy, science-fiction and existentialism, it is ultimately a film about the fatal danger posed by one’s own anger.
Walt Disney Animation Studios has become, in its relative old age, both charmingly and cripplingly self-conscious. Each new entry seems to quiver in the shadow of the greats, the vaunted classics that have become untouchable for many.
This is the Mousterpiece Cinema schedule for the end of 2013 and the first six months of 2014: November 23, 2013: The Jungle Book 2 (2003) November 30, 2013: Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) December 7, 2013: Frozen (2013) December 14, 2013: The Santa Clause 3 (2006) December 21, 2013: Babes in Toyland (1961) December 28, 2013: Saving Mr. Banks (2013) January 4, 2014: Toy Story (1995) January 11, 2014: Sleeping …
The new animated film Free Birds lives in a strange purgatory of concurrently trying way too hard and not trying nearly hard enough. Though its high-concept hook—turkeys go back in time to right before the first Thanksgiving to devise a way for the settlers to not dine on their feathered brethren at the inaugural feast—is admittedly not something animation studios have tried before, the execution is tired, manic, exhausting, and nonsensical.
The French animated horror anthology Peur(s] Du Noir, or Fear(s) of the Dark, is all atmosphere, though it uses this to great purpose.
The film is surprisingly immersive, even as an anthology of six shorts with different animation styles, two of which are used as buffers between the other four, played in sequence.
There’s a long, storied history of Hollywood films being turned into Broadway musicals, none quite so much as animated classics such as Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King. One of the more recent Hollywood-to-Broadway transplants is none other than DreamWorks Animation’s 2001 hit Shrek, which was turned into Shrek the Musical. For those of us who weren’t …
It’s 2013, and in the world of pop culture, most of us comfortably take Pixar for granted. Here is a studio that, from 1995 to 2010, churned out financially successful films that were also unique, exciting, fresh, and captivating in ways other movie studios could only dream of. The relatively dark days arrived with Cars 2, a sequel to a movie that wasn’t as well-liked (rightly so) as Pixar’s other work.
We are living in a golden age of animation, yet so many people working at Hollywood’s studio-funded animation companies are content working in the realm of the familiar. Too frequently, new mainstream animated films are like a big bowl of soup, with countless flavors that you’ve tasted before tweaked only slightly to not be total carbon copies of something bigger and often better.
Alice in Wonderland Directed by Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, and Hamilton Luske Written by Winston Hibler, Ted Sears, Bill Peet, Erdman Penner, Joe Rinaldi, Milt Banta, Bill Cottrell, Dick Kelsey, Joe Grant, Dick Huemer, Del Connell, Tom Oreb, and John Waltridge Starring Kathryn Beaumont, Ed Wynn, Verna Felton I should not pride myself in my …
The Emperor’s New Groove Directed by Mark Dindal Written by David Reynolds, Mark Dindal, and Chris Williams Starring David Spade, John Goodman, Eartha Kitt, Patrick Warburton One of the underlying goals of our show is to discuss the contextual issues at hand with any film we highlight. It’s impossible to attempt a halfway-intelligent discussion of …
Herbie, The Love Bug Written by Arthur Alsberg and Don Nelson Starring Dean Jones, Patricia Harty, Nicky Katt, Larry Linville, Claudia Wells When people speak of the possibility of alternate dimensions, they leave out the one closest to us all. We like to imagine a universe so similar to our own, nearly identical to the …
It’s been 60 years to the day since Peter Pan, the Walt Disney animated classic, opened in theaters nationwide. So what better way to commemorate the birthday of the boy who wouldn’t grow up than by checking the film out on Blu-ray for the very first time? That, at least, is the thinking behind Disney’s …
Saludos Amigos Directed by Norman Ferguson, Wilfred Jackson, Jack Kinney, Hamilton Luske, William Roberts Written by Homer Brightman, Bill Cottrell, Dick Huemer, Joe Grant, Harold Reeves, Ted Sears, Webb Smith, Roy Williams, Ralph Wright Considering Saludos Amigos in comparison with its follow-up, The Three Caballeros, is akin to analyzing the pregame to the Super Bowl. …
The Rescuers Down Under Directed by Hendel Butoy and Mike Gabriel Written by Jim Cox, Karey Kirkpatrick, Byron Simpson, Joe Ranft Starring Bob Newhart, Eva Gabor, George C. Scott The level of faith the Walt Disney Company places in its own products never ceases to be amazing if inexplicable. Each era at this massive corporation …
One of the best things about a new Pixar film being released is that they are always accompanied by a new Pixar short! As a lover of short films and a lover of animation, there is nothing better. Here is the first still from The Blue Umbrella the new Pixar short: From the film’s publicist: …
The Rescuers Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, John Lounsbery, Art Stevens Written by Larry Clemmons, Vance Gerry, Ken Anderson, Frank Thomas, Burny Mattinson, Fred Lucky, Dick Sebast, Dave Michener Starring Bob Newhart, Eva Gabor, Geraldine Page, Pat Buttram, George Lindsey One of the most fascinating aspects of our podcast is watching the struggle within the Walt …
I have rarely seen a movie as undeserving of its lead performance as I have with Enchanted and Amy Adams. And I want to reiterate, in this column, what I said on the podcast: I think Adams’ work in this film is one of the best lead performances in any American film in a long time. It is a monumentally difficult, brave, and daring role to play. Whatever opinion people have of Enchanted is first informed by their opinion of Adams’ performance as Giselle. If she’s not so sparkling and lively and entertaining in this film, we would not be thinking of it fondly in any form. It’s not just that this is a character-driven film, it’s that it’s so singularly performance-driven, to the overall film’s detriment.
Ernest & Celestine Written by Daniel Pennac Directed by Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar and Benjamin Renner France, 2012 Based on Belgian author Gabrielle Vincent’s children’s books, Ernest & Celestine is an infectiously joyous piece of entertainment from the duo behind the manic A Town Called Panic, who direct here alongside Benjamin Renner. That earlier film’s …
Blu-ray technology is a blessing and a curse. Because it’s now the standard in home media creation and distribution, the basis behind this innovation has perhaps become obscured. Some of the greatest films of all time have been given new life on Blu-ray, as recently as last week, for example. (One can only imagine how …
Wreck-It Ralph Written by Phil Johnston and Jennifer Lee with additional story material by John C. Reilly Directed by Rich Moore USA 2012 imdb If you haven’t seen Wreck-It Ralph, go see it, it’s really good, no matter what my Grouchy McGroucherson co-host on the Mousterpiece podcast has said and written, but the purpose of this …
Wreck-It Ralph Directed by Rich Moore Written by Jennifer Lee and Phil Johnston USA, 2012 If, as some theorists believe, there are alternate universes where the vast infinity of possibilities in life actually come true, there’s a world out there where The Princess and the Frog was Walt Disney Animation Studios’ biggest hit since The …
The Sword in the Stone Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman Written by Bill Peet Starring Rickie Sorenson, Richard Reitherman, Robert Reitherman, Karl Swenson, Junius Matthews How important is fidelity in a movie adaptation? And, more to the point, do you need to be familiar with the source material for a movie to get more enjoyment out …
Secret of the Wings, the latest in the Disney Fairies series, is the movie-length definition of the word “innocuous.” It’s hard to imagine that anyone would be truly offended by the film, and that any children would be too scared or frightened by the extremely friendly, candy-colored world of Pixie Hollow and the neighboring Winter …