Teenage gnome Junior wants nothing more than to invent gizmos and gadgets in his tree-house laboratory. But Junior's father, Jalle, the head gnome of the forest, would prefer his son to follow in his footsteps and one day be in charge of his own forest. In spite of their differences, on the eve of the first winter storm Junior helps Jalle distribute food rations to the soon-to-be-hibernating animals. But then disaster strikes and troll brothers Face and Slim execute their evil father's plan to steal the food from the gnome secret food chamber. Junior and his best friend Sneaky, a paranoid neurotic crow, embark on a heroic journey to the depths of troll cave to retrieve the stolen food.
Since ancient times, stories of epic battles and mystical legends have been passed through the generations across the rugged and mysterious Highlands of Scotland. In "Brave," a new tale joins the lore when the courageous Merida (voice of Kelly Macdonald) confronts tradition, destiny and the fiercest of beasts.
Merida is a skilled archer and impetuous daughter of King Fergus (voice of Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (voice of Emma Thompson). Determined to carve her own path in life, Merida defies an age-old custom sacred to the uproarious lords of the land: massive Lord MacGuffin (voice of Kevin McKidd), surly Lord Macintosh (voice of Craig Ferguson) and cantankerous Lord Dingwall (voice of Robbie Coltrane). Merida's actions inadvertently unleash chaos and fury in the kingdom, and when she turns to an eccentric old Wise Woman (voice of Julie Walters) for help, she is granted an ill-fated wish. The ensuing peril forces Merida to discover the meaning of true bravery in order to undo a beastly curse before it's too late.
Directed by Mark Andrews The Incredible, Ratatouille, John Carter and Brenda Chapman ("The Lion King," "Prince of Egypt"), and produced by Katherine Sarafian ("Lifted," "The Incredible"), "Brave" is a grand adventure full of heart, memorable characters and the signature Pixar humor enjoyed by audiences of all ages. The film takes aim at theatres on June 22, 2012, and will be presented in Disney Digital 3D in select theatres.
Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Gloria the Hippo, and Melman the Giraffe are still fighting to get home to their beloved Big Apple and of course, King Julien, Maurice and the Penguins are all along for the comedic adventure. Their journey takes them through Europe where they find the perfect cover: a travelling circus, which they reinvent Madagascar style.
Dragon Hunters is a fantastic tale telling the adventures of two dragon hunters: the world has become a vast conglomerate of islands of varying size and shape. This babbling universe is mainly peopled with ruthless rogues, surly peasants and illiterate, petty lords their main concerns revolve around two fundamental rules: Eat and don't get eaten. For this new world has become infested with a terrible plague: omnipresent, monstrously famished, mutant creatures, are wreaking havoc. They are known as : THE DRAGONS GWIZDO and LIAN-CHU are two dragon hunters, but are a long way from being among the best. Their only real talents: the size of the hulking brute with the heart of gold, Lian-Chu, and Gwizdo's talent for scams of all and any shape or form. Their sole ambition: to buy a little farm where they can chill out and raise mussels, a creature that is a lot less unpleasant and difficult to hunt down than dragons. A few islands away raise the fortress of Lord Arnold. Arnold has a problem: he's living in terror at the thought of the return of World Eater, that horrible dragon that returns every thirty seasons to spread terror and destruction. Nobody has been able to conquer him. In fact nobody's ever returned alive to spread the news of how the fight went. Zoe, the grand-niece of the lord, has decided to take matters in hand, and has met Gwizdo and Lian-Chu. Persuaded that she has found the heroes of her dreams, she is going to drag them into the maddest of adventures.
The sparks of violence dropped along Afro's bloody path now burn out of control - and nowhere are the flames of hatred more intense than in the eyes of Sio (Lucy Liu: Kill Bill). She won't quit until Afro is schooled in the brutal lessons he dealt those who stood in his way. There's no such thing as final vengeance. The cycle of bloodshed spinning around the Number One Headband must roll on. Featuring the voice of Mark Hamill (Star Wars) and fresh production from The RZA (Wu-Tang Clan), the saga that began in the best-selling anime DVD of 2007 continues in AFRO SAMURAI: RESURRECTION.
There comes a point in every boy’s life when he has to grow up. Ok, fine. There are many points in a boy’s life when he must do this but going off to college is certainly an undeniable turning point. You leave behind your family, your friends and the only home you know, including a chunk of everything you own. For young Andy, a boy we first met when he was just eight years old, leaving for college means putting away all the toys that brought him so many hours of enjoyment back in his day. And so he throws Buzz, Rex, Slink and the rest of them in a bag destined for the attic. Some have said that after sitting in their own attic, the people at Pixar should have left their very first success, TOY STORY, exactly where they left it eleven years ago. Fortunately for all of us though, the people at Pixar will never fully grow up. The toys are out of the attic and they’re better than ever!
Letting go, dealing with new realities, distancing yourself so as to avoid ever getting hurt – these are just a few of the touching themes that are subtly told in TOY STORY 3. The Academy Award winning writer of LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, Michael Arndt, follows up his first success with what could very likely net him another trophy. Arndt understands that adventure can be subjective – that what might seem small and unimportant to some is the biggest challenge others will ever face. He also understands that adventure is made perilous when those involved have much to lose. For our favourite toys, the loss is particularly significant – they are about to lose their reason for being. Being relegated to the attic means that these toys will no longer be played with, that they will no longer be able to bring joy to their favourite guy, Andy. So as Andy lets go of them, they must learn to let go of him as well.
Toys passing the time in the attic might not make for a very exciting film though. (Mind you, if anyone could make it exciting, it would be these guys.) Instead, the toys find themselves donated to a nursery school. Well, most of them anyway; our man Woody (Tom Hanks) was selected to go off to college with Andy but, as luck would have it, Woody seems to have found himself lost and on the loose once again. While Woody tries to make his way home alone, his pals are stuck in nursery hell, where kids play with you for hours, sure, but they also have no regard for these toys because they just aren’t their own. First time full-fledged Pixar director, Lee Unkrich (Unkrich previously co-directed FINDING NEMO, MONSTERS INC., and the second TOY STORY film), ties these two storylines together seamlessly and charges the entire picture with an intensity that never lets up and culminates in a climax so dire that it catches the viewer off guard and triggers an emotional response that cannot be contained. Just ask the guy sitting next to me.
TOY STORY 3is triumphant! It carries the depth and hilarity that one has come to expect from Pixar and then carries it even further still. Even though I say it again and again when I review their films, they are constantly outdoing themselves. Here, they’ve achieved the extremely rare feat of making three Sequel a decade after the last instalment that actually surpasses both films that came before it. Even though they’re playing with toys, their maturity continues to expand and their visual mastery continues to break their own barriers. Their films work because they have soul. The spirit of TOY STORY lives in that special bond between a boy and his toys. Back when life was simple, they were all we needed and, according to Pixar, we were all they needed too. And by taking these toys out of the attic and doing right by them one more time, Pixar incites that rare and wonderful feeling of nostalgic warmth that one gets all over their body when find themselves unexpectedly playing again with their favourite toys.
As I waited for RANGO to start, I was forced to sit through a number of trailers for this year’s other expected animated features. All are unnecessary sequels hoping to cash in on previous success and they all look forced at best. All are of course in 3D as well to ensure the largest returns possible. It all got me wondering where the originality has gone. Even RANGO is yet another animation where animals walk and talk like human beings but somehow this lizard manages to stand out amongst the competition. And he does this despite his best efforts to blend in.
When we first meet Rango, he is self-described as someone who “has yet to enter his own story”. To be fair, your story options are somewhat limited when you’re living in a tank. Fortunately for Rango, and at the precise moment when he realizes he is desperately in need of “an unexpected event to propel the hero into conflict,” he finds himself suddenly trapped in a chain of events that leads him to his new life in the Mojave Desert. Now, Rango is no ordinary lizard. More specifically, he is a chameleon and designed to blend in, but has been on display his whole life. With no idea who he actually is though, Rango has always had to rely on theatrics and drama to distract from himself, which appears to have taken its toll. The other particularly incredible thing about this lizard? He is voiced by Johnny Depp.
Depp is the epitome of neo-cool. He has always been cool by constantly coming off as the embodiment of the freshest take on more classical ideas of cool, without ever looking like he is trying. Here, Depp channels the sprawling cinematic drawl of the Spaghetti Western, with help from his former PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN director, Gore Verbinski. Depp brings his humbled awkwardness along with him and when you couple that with Rango’s incredibly deep-rooted insecurity, you’ve got a lizard in one heck of an existential crisis. While all of this elevates RANGO to a height of animated sophistication that is both thought provoking and hilarious at times, it is also decidedly adult. In fact, an owl mariachi band repeatedly reminds us throughout the film that we are watching the story of our hero’s demise. Taunting children that death is coming seems a bit frightening to me but the owls are awful cute so the news doesn’t seem quite so harsh.
Naturally, Rango meets a bunch of other critters in the desert, most of them not so cuddly, and he must help them save their town by playing the hero they so gravely need. In order to do so though, Rango must actually become the hero instead of just playing the part. Some of RANGO’s imagery and themes may be scary for younger audiences but its Rango’s angst over not knowing who he is that will be most frightening for adults. And seeing as how some us never actually get around to pointing that mirror inward, maybe it’s not such a bad idea after all to get people asking the question a little earlier in life.
CARS 2 marks the first time where I could not care less about a Pixar release. I didn’t buy the world made up entirely of cars in the first instalment and thought the idea of a race-car learning to slow down in life to be pretty dull. Getting behind the wheel again was the last thing I wanted to do but I’m sure glad I did. CARS 2 is a ton more fun than its predecessor, as it follows the best thing about the first film, tow-truck, Mater (Larry the Cable Guy), through a mistaken identity spy caper. It never reaches the true greatness that most Pixar pictures achieve but by speeding up the action, Pixar revs up for some much-needed excitement for these former clunkers.
Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) is once again racing to prove something in CARS 2, in this case to prove his virility and quiet the taunts of another racer, Francesco Bernoulli (John Turturro). In a bold move on Pixar’s part though, McQueen’s brilliantly animated race around the world is downgraded to a secondary plot for the sequel. This allows us to tag along with Mater as he joins forces with Finn McMissile (Michael Caine) and Holley Shiftwell (Emily Mortimer) to take down a bunch of lemon cars determined to dissuade the world from using new forms of fuel. The lemons are in possession of an untapped oil reserve so alternative energy is their nemesis. All the while, Mater and McQueen’s friendship is tested when McQueen is embarrassed by Mater’s naïve antics. This in turn forces Mater to pop his own hood and look inside so that he can learn to love his own make and model. Good thing too because nobody likes an insecure car.
In many ways, director, John Lasseter (who directed the first CARS and the first two TOY STORY films) has dumbed down the CARS 2 to make it even more accessible. It is completely ludicrous when you piece the plot together but its simplicity allows for a more enjoyable time that I’m certain will get little boys everywhere clamouring for more car toys, especially now that the cars come with guns and missiles attached to them. That said, this is a movie populated with talking machinery so I’m not sure whether ridiculousness should even be a consideration here. As gimmicky and forced as the spy adventure spin is, it adds some serious traction to this budding franchise that should surely carry it safely over the finish line in first place.
The crowd is uproarious. The stadium is practically shaking. Two checkered flags are waved and they’re off … to a sad and unfortunately slow start. I say “unfortunate” because I am speaking of Pixar Animation Studio’s seventh feature, CARS, and the Pixar name usually ensures sophistication, wit and insight in addition to awe-inspiring, revolutionary animation. Further to that, it usually means a darn good time but CARS drags its wheels, leading me to think Pixar might be due for a good tune-up. The problem is not with the quality of the animation, which bursts out straight away in the opening sequence. We are introduced to Lightning McQueen (voiced by the ever laid back, Owen Wilson), a spunky red sports car with a lot of scattered energy to burn and not enough experience or patience to see things through to the finish. He cruises past the rest of his competitors as he races for the Piston Cup, the highest achievement in race-car driving. The arena lights blare down on to the track and into our eyes as the cheers from the stands erupt to deafening new heights. Everything is as it should be but for one jarring detail. The patrons that fill the stands are other cars. Yes, people go to watch other people race against each other but this is a world inhabited by nothing but cars. It’s like “Planet of the Cars” and directors John Lasseter and the late Joe Ranft do very little to ground this reality. And yes, it’s an animated film but I couldn’t get past wondering how the cars managed to build the stadium and all the roads leading up to in the first place.
While on his way to another race in another town, Lightning gets lost and ends up arrested, or in this case impounded, in a middle-of-nowhere town after accidentally tearing up their road. He is sentenced to repairing the road before he can leave. Here he meets an expectedly colourful group of cars that run through a gamut of stereotypes, from the hippie minibus to the military standard hard-ass to the pimp-my-ride 59 Chevy. I have never seen the folks at Pixar deliver such one-dimensional three-dimensional characters. There is no good reason that these cars would inhabit the same town and so why would we even be there? The only resident that seems like he belongs there is a tow-truck by the name of Mater (as in to-mater). Voiced by Larry the Cable Guy, Mater is the dimwitted naïf who unknowingly bestows wisdom upon others. He is hilarious without realizing and is the most believable element of this film.
The clichés don’t stop at the characters either. The moral foundation of CARS focuses on being in too much of a hurry to get nowhere in particular. Upon being forced to slow down, Lightning learns that there is more to life than winning races and scoring cool sponsorships. When you aren’t speeding down the highway, you can see the cars around you and maybe even become their friend or fall in love. Lightning brings some much needed life to this dreary waste of a town and the inhabitants show him a thing or two about loyalty and the simpler pleasures that come from standing still. A good chunk of this lesson comes from Lightning’s love interest, Sally (a coy Bonnie Hunt), a car who studied law and climbed the corporate ladder before she realized she had no idea who she was. Ordinarily, I would find these themes engaging but cars are built for speed, not for taking the time to smell the motor oil.
The beauty of a Pixar film is best exhibited in their 1998 offering, A BUG’S LIFE. The ants and circus bugs that make up the majority of the characters have personality that more than makes up for the lack of time to develop them all. More importantly, the bug world is believable because it co-exists with a human world, bringing light to a universe that we ignorant humans don’t even know is right beneath our feet. Even the entirely unreal monsters of MONSTERS INC have doorways that lead to an earthly plain. CARS had an inherently huge obstacle to get past from the start line but instead of pushing harder, Lasseter and Ranft left Carson cruise control. The result is more a casual Sunday drive then a high speed race – enjoyable and pleasant but lacking purpose and drive.
I must have seen Disney’s THE LION KING a great number of times as a kid because when I finally sat down to watch the film again as an adult, I could practically recite it word for word as it played in front of me. The film’s recent theatrical rerelease success proves that THE LION KING is unquestionably one of the most well loved animated films of all time. And its debut appearance on Blu-Ray is a clear reminder why.
The 1994 Oscar winner is back and as majestic as it’s ever been. From the moment the procession of elephants, giraffes and zebras makes its way to Pride Rock for the unveiling of Simba, the newborn lion cub who will one day be king, THE LION KING roars loud enough to earn its moniker. The African savannah is breathtaking in its yellow and orange hues and the Elton John/Tim Rice song, “Circle of Life”, is a true triumph (one of many on the jubilant soundtrack). This ceremony is a celebration and the film itself is just as much of one. Its message of overcoming your fears and past to become the king you are inside, holds true to this day without falling prey to cliché.
The new Blue-Ray edition contains many of the same features that previous DVD editions did but it does also contain some never before seen deleted scenes, as well as a newly “discovered blooper reel featuring most of the original voice cast, from Matthew Broderick as the adult Simba to Jeremy Irons as the villainous Scar. Regardless of how many new features there are, the high definition transfer itself is well worth the upgrade. THE LION KING is simply a must-own for any family film collection.
When I was a kid, I abhorred the series of Tintin book. I found them to be tedious and terribly dull. And so when it was announced that the Belgian books would be adapted into a film, I was less than enthused. The involvement of director, Steven Spielberg, helped some but it wasn’t until I first saw the trailer for THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN that I ever even imagined it might actually be a lot of fun. No offense to Hergé, the author of over 20 Tintin adventures, or the millions of fans the world over who adore this adorable character, but after seeing Spielberg bring his particular brand of awe to the tale, I feel that all Tintin needed all along was a little bit of that good old movie magic to bring him to life. I’m not sure if that makes this an authentic adaptation but I think I prefer it this way.
Spielberg chooses to tell Tintin’s story with motion capture, 3D animation instead of the traditional hand drawn animation that would have been more loyal to its origins. This is actually Spielberg’s first crack at directing an animated film and to see it begs the question, why did he ever wait this long? Not only is the aesthetic richly detailed but his imagination is boundless in this limitless format. He can go anywhere he pleases and he most certainly does. Whether that finds our hero zip lining through a crowded marketplace on the handles of a motorbike or flying a plane through the clouds in the middle of a violent lightning storm, the action is always exciting and lofty. Some of it is a bit farfetched at times but as outlandish as it can be, it never feels impossible and it is always a ton of fun.
Tintin, as portrayed underneath all that animation by the charming Jamie Bell, is a curious journalist hot on the trail of a missing treasure. His pursuit finds him crossing paths with a modern day pirate bent of beating him to it (Daniel Craig) and a sea captain who contains the key to solving the mystery (Andy Serkis). As a hero, Tintin is a delight. His good nature and inquisitive mind make him extremely likable to the point where, if I had hair, I would wear it with a cowlick right up front in honour of the great explorer. THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN is the Indiana Jones movie Spielberg should have made instead of that last one. It appeals directly to my all too often silent boyish exuberance and runs with that unencumbered spirit as high and as far as it can. It is vibrant and its energy is electric, allowing Tintin’s own wonder and amazement at his adventure to wash over us and become our own.
From the moment the film opens on a spectacular view of a majestic castle through a forest filled with bustling foliage and sparkling waterfalls, the wave of love I felt for BEAUTY AND THE BEAST back in 1991, came rushing back over me when I saw it’s restored 3D rerelease on the big screen. Sure, the rerelease can be seen as nothing more than a gimmick to get more money out of already tapped out filmgoers. Disney doesn’t have to spend that much to make it happen so the returns will be plentiful. Sure, you can see it through this jaded filter if you like, but I choose to see it as an opportunity. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is a wonderful film, plain and simple. Having it back in theaters, having it brought to new heights with it’s 3D conversion, is a gift, a delightful and infectious gift.
We are certainly all familiar with the story of the spiteful, selfish prince who refuses kindness to an elderly vagrant and is placed under her spell when she reveals herself to be a beautiful woman. He is physically transformed on the outside into the beast of a man he is on the inside. Meanwhile, his castle becomes an enchanted prison that finds its inhabitants changed into household items, like clocks and candlestick holders. When a brave, young girl named Belle trades her freedom for that of her father’s, and agrees to become the Beast’s prisoner in lieu of her dad (it’s a long story!), the possibility of breaking the spell becomes a reality. The Beast must find true love before it’s too late and Belle might be his last chance. And, to top it all off, all of this grandeur is told in highly enjoyable song and dance.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is a classic love story and directors, Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, tell it with very little placating, which Disney is all too easily prone to these days. The theatrics of the enchanted castle provide plenty of lighter fodder to alleviate the mood but there is still ample room leftover for a tender exchange of love between one very independent woman and one very tortured man. Belle (voiced by Paige O’Hara) is one of the most intelligent and strong heroines in Disney history, without forsaking any of her innocent romanticism, and the Beast’s (Robby Benson) inner struggle is an antagonist unlike most found in the Disney lexicon. As spectacular as the animation is and as boisterous as every musical number is, what I find most moving and most memorable about BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is the way it captures the delicate dance that led these two guarded souls to the love of their lives.
DR. SEUSS’ THE LORAX is perhaps the most blatantly obvious attempt to speak down to people about the perils of industrialization on the environment since AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH. Yes, I understand this is a children’s film, but the original work from 1971 was a brave warning of trouble to come, while director, Chris Renaud’s follow-up to DESPICABLE ME, is just a complete farce, unlikely to inspire any young people to care about the planet. Sadly, I don’t see it encouraging a lot of laughter and enjoyment in kids either. As is unfortunately too often the case, this is another Seuss adaptation that gets the imagination in the imagery right but doesn’t understand the roots of the story.
It didn’t take very long for me to stop enjoying THE LORAX. This stumpy, little orange thing (voiced by Danny DeVito), with a pretty well maintained mustache appears on screen to welcome us to the tale at the onset of the film. He’s certainly cute but the rhymes he drops sound somewhat watered down. And then before you know it, the entire thing turns into a giant musical number to introduce the good people of Thneedville that make up the story. It is awkward and uncomfortable to watch and while I’m sure Renaud imagined this opening as a grand and triumphant celebration of Dr. Seuss, it merely only serves to confirm that this will be a Seuss translation that doesn’t sustain its expansion into a feature length film. I’m no Seuss expert but I’m pretty sure he would never have used the phrase, “I know, right.”
Weak rhymes and unsuccessful modernization aside, THE LORAX is weighty and that is ultimately its undoing. Ted (Zac Efron) tries to impress a girl (Taylor Swift) by finding her a real tree in a world made entirely of plastic. In doing so, he meets The Once-ler (Ed Helms), who proceeds to tell him about how he chopped them all down long ago to pursue his own greedy needs. Let alone that the entire motivation of this story is about a girl and not really about the environment itself, the manner in which The Once-ler’s story’s is told is almost condemning. By the time he sings about how bad could he possibly be for pushing his own agenda at the expense of the planet, towering on screen and painted as this evil, destructive giant, I was done with it. It’s one thing to use media to scare adults into conforming but its a whole other level of wrong to use that same tactic on children. At least, the movie looks pretty.
The Pirates! Band of Misfits,' Hugh Grant stars in his first animated role as the luxuriantly bearded Pirate Captain-- a boundlessly enthusiastic, if somewhat less-than-successful, terror of the High Seas. It's a quest that takes our heroes from the shores of exotic Blood Island to the foggy streets of Victorian London. Along the way they battle a diabolical queen (Imelda Staunton) and team up with a haplessly smitten young scientist (David Tennant), but never lose sight of what a pirate loves best: adventure!The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists, known internationally as The Pirates! Band of Misfits, is an upcoming 3-D stop-motion animated film produced by Sony Pictures. It is being directed by Peter Lord and co-directed by Jeff Newitt. The film is based on the first two books from Gideon Defoe's The Pirates! Series, the Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists and the Pirates! In an Adventure with Whaling. The film will feature the voices of Hugh Grant, Salma Hayek, Jeremy Piven, Imelda Staunton and David Tennant. Animations and set for release on April 27, 2012.
