Antz (1998) review

(9/10)

   Antz still remains one of the most nostalgic animated films from my childhood, earning more respect with its all-star cast, creative animation, pleasant storytelling, and an appealing dark side.

PLOT: Z (Woody Allen) is just your average worker ant in a colony of ants. However, Z isn't happy with his place in life and never has been. One night, when Z and his best friend, army ant Weaver (Sylvester Stallone), go to the bar, Z gets a chance to dance, unknowingly, with Princess Bala (Sharon Stone). When Z finally finds out this fact, he figures he'd switch places with Weaver in order to see the Princess. What Z doesn't know is that, on the day they switch places, the army's going to war with vicious termites. Through all this, however, Z lives to be the lone survivor and an icon among his peers. Things are going great for Z up until he meets Princess Bala. In a strange turn of events, Z "takes the princess hostage" and flees to the outside world. Now Z and the Princess must either agree to go home or go on to discover the legendary Insectopia, but what they don't know is that General Mandible (Gene Hackman) has a few fatal plans for the anthill. The plot is very well thought out and executed brilliantly, with a perfect balance of humor and dark.

VOICES: The voice acting for the film is very well cast and performed. I can imagine no one but Woody Allen suitable enough for the part of neurotic Z. Everybody does a great job, especially (aside from Allen) Sylvester Stallone as Weaver, Sharon Stone as Princess Bala, Danny Glover as selfless army ant, Barbadus, Jennifer Lopez as friendly worker ant, Azteca, and Christopher Walken as Col. Cutter. This is one of the few animated films that boasts a cast as diverse and all-star as this without ruining it.

SCORE: The score is very upbeat, inspiring, and at times, kind of delightful. Harry-Gregson Willams definitely brings some of his best work to the table for this film. The catchy version of "High Hopes" during the credits has also become very nostalgic.

ANIMATION: The animation for this film is not only nostalgic, but very innovative for its time. The ants actually somewhat resemble their voice actors, the background and effects for the outside world are both colorful and almost whimsical, and the animation for the war/death scenes are very gruesome. This type of animation may be outdated today, but it's still very excellently done for DreamWorks debut.

OTHER CONTENT: This film is probably one of the most memorable, nostalgic films from my childhood, but to the dismay of DreamWorks fans, I feel it pales in comparison to Pixar's A Bug's Life. Had I never seen A Bug's Life, this film would be perfect, but Pixar set my standard for insect movies. In comparison, this film is more dark, less kid-friendly, sloppier with animation, and less creative with its settings and insect variety. Pixar just made their bug movie more clean cut, while DreamWorks went for the risky choice. This film is still fantastic in most every way, winning over Pixar with only clever humor, but there can only be one best.

   Antz, though not the best, is definitely a nostalgic, impressive, and even fun watch for families and people who grew up around the same time as I. Everything from the animation to the score is excellently done.

The Corpse Bride (2005) review

(9/10)

   This animated film from the mind of Tim Burton combines a gothic animation style with cartoonish emotions while still keeping the mood dark and creepy. Well-cast voice actors, precise and caricature-like animation, and a plotline thick enough to bring the story to life turn the film into a nice little journey into the gothic mind of Burton's fancy.

PLOT: Victor Van Dort (Johnny Depp), the son of a wealthy family with new money, is set to marry young and beautiful Victor Everglot (Emily Watson), the daughter of a once-rich family of old money. However, Victor is still inexperienced, and doesn't even know how to get his wedding vows right. After embarrassing himself at the wedding rehearsal, Victor wanders off into the woods to hang his head in shame, practicing his vows along the way. He finally gets them right with practice, putting the ring on what he believes to be a tree. However, his recitation of the vows and placement of the ring awake a spirit in a wedding dress known as the Corpse Bride (Helena Bonham Carter), who believes Victor has broken her curse and has actually proposed. Victor then proceeds to faint and awakes in the underworld, where many corpses are there to greet him and tell him the story of the Corpse Bride. Meanwhile, news gets out above ground that Victor's run away with a mystery woman and a suave Lord Barkus (Richard E. Grant) steps in to take Victoria away from Victor. Victor must find his way upstairs again and stop Barkus from stealing Victoria away, as well as escaping the "marriage" of he and the Corpse Bride. The plot is excellently written, with a story that will keep more than just the normal movie-goer lively. The execution also followed as pretty great, keeping the central gothic theme while enthusing a more cartoonish tone.



VOICES: The voice acting in this film is excellently done. Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter played their parts very well as Victor and the Corpse Bride. I could feel the chemistry going on between their conversations, even if they didn't end up together in the end. Among the other performances, everyone did a very good job at adding a cartoonish personality to the characters we see. My favorites would be that of Richard E. Grant as Lord Barkus, Albert Finney as Finnis Everglot, Joanna Lumley as Maudeline Everglot, Tracey Ullman as Nell Van Dort, Paul Whitehouse as William Van Dort, Christopher Lee as Pastor Galswells, and Danny Elfman as Bonejangles. Each performance was done very nicely.

SCORE: The score and soundtrack of this film is very delicately done by Burton's favorite composer, Danny Elfman. Elfman composes a unique theme for the film that can grow memorable for ages, with a wonderful and gothic style. The songs throughout the film are also very well written, catchy, and cartoonish as well as everything else. They're just a lot of fun with a touch of morbidity thrown in.

ANIMATION: The animation in this work from Tim Burton is excellently done, showing the animated significance seen previously in Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas. The style of caricature-like characters Burton crafts in here are both comical and unique to his way of doing things. The animation moves so smoothly as well, adding personality to the characters within.



MISC. THOUGHTS: This film succeeds in doing something tough to accomplish without evident ridicule: blend gothic and cartoonish themes together. As seen in cult classics of yesteryear like Little Shop of Horrors, the film's don't usually get very many mainstream fans. However, Burton succeeds to appeal to all audiences in this film's execution. With all of the stylized execution, involved storyline, and emotional weight, there's little bad to say about the film. The only problems I had were a build-up of minor continuity errors. For example, the Corpse Bride tripping over a branch and running around when earlier she was shown floating across the ground without a foot moving. All of the errors are minor, but they build up to show the film's imperfections.

   Burton did strike animated gold again with this gothic cartoon of a film, with an involved storyline, excellent voice acting, delicate Elfman score, stylized animation, and many other cinematic perks. Only the minor continuity errors can throw it off its axis of cult-to-mainstream classic.

Mr. Peabody and Sherman (2014) review

(8/10)

This obscured-to-me revamp of an old cartoon was way more than I predicted with a little something for all ages, a nice cast, and a sense of fun adventure embedded.

PLOT:Mr. Peabody (Ty Burrell) is a wealthy, smart, and famous dog in the world of most fields of education, with an adopted son, Sherman (Max Charles). The two go on several crazy adventures all the time in a time machine Mr. Peabody invented called the WABAC. Things are going normal for the two until Sherman's first day of school, where a girl bullies him and he bites her to fight her off. Things start getting complicated when Mrs. Grunion (Allison Jenner), a mean-spirited social services worker, decides to stop by Peabody and Sherman's house to investigate. To patch things up, Mr. Peabody invites Penny (Ariel Winter), the girl Sherman bit, and her parents (Ellie Kemper and Stephen Colbert) over for dinner to make up for things. Sherman and Penny are still against each other, but things start to change when Sherman disobeys his dad and shows Penny the WABAC. From there on out, things get very complicated. It's a good plot executed very well.



VOICES:The voice acting in here was pretty well done. Ty Burrell voiced the part of Mr. Peabody excellently, putting a good, matching personality. The younger performances from Max Charles and Ariel Winter were alright, but easily separated from the rest. The cameo voices and supporting cast is mainly what takes the cake. Stephen Colbert, Stanley Tucci, Mel Brooks, and Patrick Warburton all played excellent parts as Paul Peterson, Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, and Agamemnon. All of the supporting cast was definitely very well chosen. The voices overall were pretty entertaining.

SCORE:The score was interesting, detailed, and very well done by the great Danny Elfman, with cameos by John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix.

ANIMATION:The animation was very fun and pretty detailed in a cartoonish sense. The animation of the past history, the WABAC, Mr. Peabody's plans, and even the characters faces were just well done, with every piece falling right into its place.



OTHER CONTENT:This was definitely a fun-filled movie with many references peppered throughout its length, from a Spartacus in a crowd of people to a flash of classic rock in the midst of dinner. The movie is definitely made for a wide age range, including reference humor for the older generation, familiar things for the middle generation, and even juvenile potty humor for the younger generation. The movie, however, isn't perfect by all means. The plot is just impossibility stacked on impossibility, making the whole aspect of time travel seem overdone. The humor also seems so wide that it isn't sure which generation it wants to please the most. This is a good, fun viewing, but it's nowhere near the best family animation.

OVERALL,a great revamp with a well done plot, excellent voice acting, interesting Elfman score, detailed and cartoony animation, many references, and a wide target audience, but the plot seems to overdone in convoluted time travel aspects and the humor doesn't seem to know who it wants to please.

The Lego Movie (2014) review

(9/10)

This blast of wild and wacky fun entertains with many creative jokes, a smart few plot twists in relation to the reality of Lego, and a very fun cast to work from. However, the plot seems way too familiar overall.

PLOT:In the world of Lego, everyone is the same. They all follow the instructions set before them and like all the same things with little creative thought in mind. One Lego person in particular, Emmett (Chris Pratt), becomes special one day when he discovers an unknown red object under his job site. Within discovery of this apparently special piece, Emmett is arrested and taken in for question by the Good Cop/Bad Cop (Liam Neeson) about a secret resistance Emmett's never heard of. After being busted out by rebellious Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks), Emmett is taken to the secret alliance of the master builders, the most creative Legos in the world, including the blindly wise Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman), the always-cheerful Unikitty (Alison Brie), Batman (Will Arnett), the reassembled Metalbeard (Nick Offerman) and Spaceman Benny (Charlie Day) among many others. The team of greatly experienced allies along with everyday Lego. Emmet, must unite to battle the controlling force of mastermind President Business (Will Ferrell) and stop him from destroying the Lego worlds with the mysterious Kragle. It's a good plot executed greatly.



VOICES:The voice acting in this movie is excellently done by a very impressive list of top actors. Chris Pratt did a very great and humorous job as inexperienced hero, Emmett, setting the scene just well for everyone else, including Elizabeth Banks as Wyldstyle, who was just as great. The best performances besides these two lead performances would have to be from Morgan Freeman as Vitruvius, Liam Neeson as Good Cop/Bad Cop, Will Arnett as Batman, Will Ferrell as President Business, Charlie Day as Benny, and Alison Brie as Unikitty. These performances all sounded great and just added the tones of humor and emotion to the movie's plot, entertaining all the way. Among all of these great performances, many other cameos and quick roles occurred excellently that were definitely worth noting, including Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, Billy Dee Williams as Lando, Shaquille O'Neal as himself, Channing Tatum as Superman, Todd Hansen as Gandalf, Will Forte as Abraham Lincoln, and Jonah Hill as Green Lantern. All of these extra performances were brilliantly and humorously done with nods to every fan in the book.

SCORE:The score in this movie is very well done by the great Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo and Rugrats fame. Mothersbaugh did an excellent job at composing a fun score of modern and classic sound for true cartoon effect. Also on the soundtrack is an original song by Tegan and Sara with The Lonely Island, which is fun and gives the movie a very memorable song for the kids and fans.

ANIMATION:The animation in this movie is fantastic with very great detail to the Lego world and its several perks. The CG animation of each piece, building, and motion just goes together very well with excellent detail and impressive vision, from the movement of the people to the fast building of the master builders and from the abstract thought of Emmett's mind to the sea and widespread effects of the Lego world. The animation in here is just excellent eye candy.



OTHER CONTENT:This movie is a great treat for kids, teenagers, and even certain adults that can catch all the references. This movie is just impressive entertainment for all ages with many cool plot twists and a subtle realism to the Lego culture and its people. However, this movie is by far completely original in plot. Aside from the borrowed characters and character references, the plot is derived greatly from Orwell's 1984, using the basis of complete thought control and rebellion of few people to give freedom of choice back. Aside from the constant derivations for the plot and its twists, the movie was a fun ride that could entertain nearly anyone.

OVERALL,an awesome movie with a good plot, impressive cast, excellent cartoon score, fantastic detailed animation, lots of references, plenty of entertainment, and many Lego perks, but there are far too many derivations for the plot development for it to be original humor.

The Rugrats Movie (1998) review

(7/10)

This childhood favorite of mine still holds true to the relaxed and nostalgic feeling for me, but with age came a less involved attitude toward the more juvenile aspects of the movie.

PLOT:Tommy Pickles (E.G. Daily) and his family star in this new adventure when Tommy's new brother, Dil Pickles, is born. Dil, however, seems to be a big nuisance, for all he does is cry and hog the attention from Tommy's parents. One day, Tommy's friends decide to take him "back to the baby store" in Stu's invention, the Reptar wagon. This attempt doesn't go well and ends with Dil and the babies stranded in the middle of the forest with Angelica (Cheryl Chase) and Spike looking for them. Now it's a search for the babies by the Pickles family and their neighbors and an adventure for the babies to get out of the woods. However, Dil is growing more and more stressful by the minute, and Tommy's running out of ways to deal with him, as well as the rest of the babies. Will the babies find their way out of the forest with Dil calm? It's an okay plot executed decently.



VOICES:The voices in this movie are the same as they've been for the series. E. G. Daily, Cheryl Chase, Christine Cavanaugh, and Kath Soucie all play their parts as Tommy, Angelica, Chuckie, Phil, and Lil as well as they could. It wasn't a big difference from the show. The performances that seemed to stand out more from the series would have been Jack Riley as Stu Pickles, Michael Patrick Bell as Drew Pickles, and Joe Alaskey as Grandpa. The emotion they put into this seemed a bit more amped-up as compared to the series. Along with these, the additions of Tim Curry as Rex Pester, Whoopi Goldberg as Ranger Margaret, and David Spade as Ranger Frank were the best voices in the movie. I really enjoyed their work.

SCORE:The score and soundtrack in here is more juvenile than anything. The various songs sung by the characters weren't particularly enjoyable, but the deeper soundtrack with names like Blackstreet and Busta Rhymes weren't half bad. As for the juvenile soundtrack, there was a pretty nice cameo from Lenny Kravitz, Beck, the B-52s and others. I enjoyed that.

ANIMATION:The animation in this movie kept the same style as the series but fine-tuned it for the big screen. It was more detailed and thematic than its relaxed look on TV.



OTHER CONTENT:This movie still holds a part of me close considering it was a great part of my childhood. The nostalgic characters, humor, and songs from the nineties and my childhood still hold a part of me. However, my age brought a dislike for the more juvenile humor types. This is definitely a family movie, with some more adult jokes and lots of little laughs throughout. The aspect I still appreciate about this movie is the heart-warming lesson about how responsibility and love can change a person. I'm still a sucker for the charms this movie has. The movie is a lot more juvenile to me now, but the lessons still take effect.

OVERALL,a good movie with an okay plot, some same and some improved acting, juvenile original score and cool nineties score, finely-tuned animation, nostalgia from my childhood, and a charming lesson, but this movie seems so juvenile to me now for the most part.

A Bug's Life (1998) review

(10/10)

A lot of Pixar fans say this is one of the weakest films they made, but the voice acting, clever script, beautiful imagery, and simplicity of the story come together to make it an overall great film.

PLOT:Flik (Dave Foley) is an oddball ant in his colony on Ant Island. He always tries to come up with a new way to gather grain and food faster to reach the ants' annual goal: collect enough food to offer to the grasshoppers, who offer them "protection" while really pushing them around, and then scavenge enough for themselves. However, Flick really screws up with one of his inventions and loses all of the food gathered up for the grasshoppers, causing them to burst into the anthill and demand twice the amount of food by the end of the season. Flik then, to the great disappointment of Princess Atta (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and the rest of the colony, stands before trial to be sentenced. Flik comes up with an idea, though, to go out to the city and find bigger bugs to help them fight the grasshoppers away. Granting Flik his wish in hopes he won't return, the council sends him out to the city where he finds a group of bugs appearing to be tough. However, little does Flik know that they are circus performers. It's a good plot executed very well.



VOICES:The voice acting is done very well and just very well cast overall. Dave Foley plays a great part as the outcast hero, Flik, as does Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the princess-in-training, Princess Atta. Kevin Spacey also plays a very great part as the villain and leader of the grasshoppers, Hopper. There really isn't a bad performance in the whole film. The other shiners would have to be Phyllis Diller as the Queen, Richard Kind as Molt, Hayden Panettiere as Dot, Joe Ranft as Heimlich, David Hyde Pierce as Slim, Jonathan Harris as Manny, Denis Leary as Francis, Madeline Kahn as Gypsy, Michael McShane as Tuck and Roll, Roddy McDowell as Mr. Soil, Bonnie Hunt as Rosie, and John Ratzenberger as P. T. Flea. The cast is nearly all-star as is.

SCORE:The score in this film is light and very well composed by the great Randy Newman, with a unique theme and original song, called "The Time of Your Life".

ANIMATION:The animation in this film is very beautiful and pretty detailed for its time. The animation of the blue sky, green trees and grass, and the many different colors of the bugs are just beautiful, colorful, and detailed overall. If you don't appreciate the movie for its story, you could at least appreciate it for the beautiful, early Pixar animation present.



OTHER CONTENT:This Pixar film is known as one of the weakest because it doesn't go as deep and intricate into its story and lesson as the likes of Wall-E or Ratatouille. However, I believe the pure simplicity of the story and its lesson of making a difference and standing up for yourself is enough to accomplish the simple task of making a great film and entertaining the masses. I will admit, I'm also partial to this film because it was a major part of my childhood and the memories that came with it. However, this Pixar film also has some pretty smart dialogue between the characters to match, played off the characters very well. I honestly don't see that much of a flaw in this film. It's simple, beautiful, and well-acted to say the least.

OVERALL,it's a great animated film with a great plot, very well done voice acting, light and well composed Randy Newman score, beautiful animation, a simple and entertaining story and lesson, and some smart dialogue.

Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003) review

(6/10)

This Looney Tunes and live-action crossover is actually much more fun and entertaining than its so-called predecessor with a few clever jokes to satisfy everyone, but the acting for one is pretty bad.

PLOT:In the world of Warner Bros. Studios, Daffy Duck is tired of playing secondhand star to Bugs Bunny, so he gets fired by the vice president of comedy there,  Kate Houghton (Jenna Elfman). Also at the same time, D.J. Drake (Brendan Fraser), son of big spy movie star, Damien Drake (Timothy Dalton), gets fired from his security guard job and finds out his dad is a real super spy and that he (with Daffy, who won't leave him alone) must go to Las Vegas and save him and keep the Blue Monkey diamond out of the evil ACME Chairman's (Steve Martin) hands. All the while, Kate and Bugs go on a journey to meet up with the two unemployed teammates to get them back to the studio, or Warner Bros. will fire her. It's a good plot executed fairly great.



ACTING/VOICES:The acting and voices in this movie are okay, but bad for the most part. Brendan Fraser and Jenna Elfman are actually pretty bad in this movie. Fraser had a couple of a good lines, but for the most part, the script let him down. The voice acting for the toons, such as Jeff Glenn Bennett, Joe Alaskey, Billy West, June Foray, Eric Goldberg and others was pretty good. It was actually an authenticity improvement from the last one. The acting overall was pretty bad, especially Steve Martin in with the main two. I just did not like the character and the acting he did for him. Of course, he had maybe a couple good lines. The shiners aside from whom I may have already named are Heather Locklear as Dusty Tails, Timothy Dalton as Damien Drake, Joan Cusack as Mother, and a special cameo by Michael Jordan.

SCORE:The score and soundtrack was mainly made up of some memorable and original songs, along with a bit of mood-fitting action score. The score was actually pretty cool in this movie.

ANIMATION:The animation in this film is more memorable and just better than in the last one. The toons are animated with a bit more detail and more as if they actually existed.



OTHER CONTENT:This movie was just a fun improvement over the first Looney Tunes crossover. This movie is a lot of fun and actually clever in referencing to the right places, like with the aliens in Area 52 and the paintings in France. However, aside with the bad acting, this movie gets old fast doesn't capture all of the same joy the original show once had. However, it does much better than Space Jam.

OVERALL,an okay movie with a good plot, better voice acting and bad real acting with a bad script, good score and soundtrack, improved and more detailed animation, a lot more fun, and a lot of good referencing, but aside from the bad acting, this movie seems to get old fast and shine little light into the old feel of the original show.

Space Jam (1996) review

(5/10)

This fun, basketball and Looney Tune movie is a classic to some, and is fairly entertaining, but for the most part, it seems just like propaganda for basketball fans with Looney Tunes to help it appeal to a wider audience than it actually accomplishes.

PLOT:There's a planet far out in space home to a theme park losing it's target audience to boredom, so the big, bad boss sends his tiny and dim-witted henchmen to Earth to fetch what he thinks will bring the kids back to his park: the Looney Tunes. The aliens go to Earth and try to steal away the Looney Tunes and force them into his boss's money-grabbing slavery, but the toons convince the aliens to give them a fair fight. Bugs Bunny and the rest of the toons decide on an event that goes against the current physical ability of the tiny, harmless aliens: basketball. The plan seems to work well until the aliens sneak into the human world and steal away the talents of many talented basketball players, such as Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, and Larry Bird, turning them into a big, strong, brutal team of skilled players named the Mon-stars. Knowing they now need help to win their freedom, the toons go to the human world and get the help of Michael Jordan, one of the best basketball players out there. Will Michael Jordan get the toons into shape and help win their freedom? It's a decent plot executed almost decently.



ACTING/VOICES:The acting and voice acting in this movie is okay. Billy West, D. Bradley Baker, and Bob Bergen provide the voicing for the various Looney Tunes characters throughout, such as Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Daffy Duck, and many others. They don't sound as authentic compared to the original, but they get the job done enough. Michael Jordan does an okay job as himself, the basketball player new to the toon world, as well as the other players, Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley, and Larry Bird. The voice acting and regular acting in this movie was just okay overall. Nobody truly surprised me. However, the other shiners (or honorable mentions) would be Wayne Knight as Stan, Bill Murray as himself, Danny DeVito as Swackhammer, Kath Soucie as Lola Bunny, and June Foray as Granny.

SCORE:The soundtrack of this movie was mainly made up of special songs composed specifically for the movie, including a modernized version of the classic, "Fly Like an Eagle". The score itself was nothing truly special.

ANIMATION:The animation in this movie was pretty good. The Looney Tunes are animated in a more modernized version of how they were back then, except set in the real world. It was okay overall. It got the job done.



OTHER CONTENT:This movie was just okay to me. I loved the fact that it had the Looney Tunes in it, and Michael Jordan played fairly well off the jokes they made. It was entertaining for the most part, and a good bit of fun. However, this movie is almost strictly for the fans of basketball. Even with the Looney Tunes added, most of the movie is centered around basketball and knowing MJ and the other players. Also, a lot of the jokes in here seemed just too juvenile and aimed toward the kids. I hardly laughed. The movie wasn't terrible, but it wasn't too good either.

OVERALL,a neutral movie with an almost-decent plot, okay acting and voices, a score and soundtrack not too special, okay animation, some good moments from the toons, and a bit of entertaining fun, but the movie is mainly for basketball fans, and the humor seems a bit too juvenile and childish.

Monsters University (2013) review

(7/10)

This prequel to the popular Pixar favorite was actually a pretty fun ride through the origins of the popular monsters with college humor laid throughout. However, a lot of cliches and borrowed elements were used to make this movie.

PLOT:Ever since he was little, Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) has wanted to work as a scarer at Monsters, Inc., the biggest company in their world. So, he goes to the best college in their world for the job, Monsters University. While there, he meets and rooms with a younger and much friendlier Randy Bogg (Steve Buscemi) and forms a rivalry against young Jimmy Sullivan (John Goodman), the slacker with a praised family name in scaring. They enroll in scaring class but due to their weaknesses, Dean Hardscrabble (Helen Mirren) kicks them out. Mike is devastated and Sulley's mad, but then Mike gets the idea to enter the Scare Games, the college's most famous event, and prove himself to the Dean that he can be a scarer. However, Mike must deal with Sulley's attitude and turn his loser sorority, Oozma Kappa, into a winning team. It's a good plot executed very well.



VOICES:The voice acting for the most part was about as good as the first movie. Billy Crystal, John Goodman, and Steve Buscemi all played very great and still-fitting parts of Mike, Sulley, and Randall. The new voices were really good also. Helen Mirren played a great part as the strict Dean Hardscrabble. There really wasn't a bad performance in the movie. The other shiners would be Joel Murray as Don, Sean Hayes as Terri, Dave Foley as Terry, and Charlie Day as Art.

SCORE:The score in this movie is mainly made up of borrowed score from the first Monsters movie. It's still good though, with a few new and cool themes throughout done by the great Randy Newman.

ANIMATION:The animation in this movie is very colorful and pretty detailed for the most part. The animation of the various monsters was pretty cool, especially on the freaky-looking Dean Hardscrabble.



OTHER CONTENT:This movie was a pretty good addition to the Pixar canon of movies and pretty fitting prequel to the older classic, Monsters Inc. This addition added a lot of color, college humor, unique perks, and interesting points as a Pixar movie. I loved some of the dialogue and the big climax near the end; not to mention, the movie was pretty funny by itself. I also enjoyed the references the the first movie this made. However, some of the jokes and plot elements seemed a little cliched at times and it made this seem like just another animated movie at times.

OVERALL,a good Pixar movie with a good plot, good and fitting voice acting, borrowed but good score, colorful and detailed animation, some funny moments, good dialogue and a good climax, but this seems to borrow a lot of familiar cliches and plot elements from past movies.

Tarzan (1999) review

(9/10)

This well-known Disney movie was a major part of my childhood. The detailed jungle animation, touching story, great soundtrack by Phil Collins, and fast action made this movie a win for kids and adults.

PLOT:Tarzan (Tony Goldwyn) is a man that's been raised by a family of gorillas. Shortly after his parents washed up on the shore in a lifeboat and built a home in the trees, his parents were attacked and killed by a leopard. A female gorilla named Kala (Glenn Close), found him and took him back to the family. Against the will of the leader, Kerchak (Lance Henriksen), who is still sore from the loss of their child, Kala takes Tarzan in. Tarzan grows up to be a strong man, along the sides of his best friends, Terk (Rosie O'Donell) and Tantor (Wayne Knight), the elephant. Things are going fairly normal for the family until Tarzan discovers a group of humans, including the beautiful Jane (Minnie Driver), the inquisitive Professor Porter (Nigel Hawthorne), and the brutal Clayton (Brian Blessed). The rest of the gorillas are wary about accepting the humans, but Tarzan tries and tries, learning about them and seemingly falling for Jane along the way. However, Clayton's forcefulness seems to get worse and worse, for he has a plan for these gorillas. It's a good plot executed greatly.



VOICES:The voice acting in here is really good. Tony Goldwyn played a great part as Tarzan, the ape man. Minnie Driver and Nigel Hawthorne also played memorable parts as Jane and Professor Porter; not to mention, Rosie O'Donnell and Wayne Knight also played a couple of really great parts as Terk and Tantor. There really wasn't a bad part in the movie, aside from the child voices. The other shiners would obviously be Brian Blessed as Clayton, Lance Henriksen as Kerchak, and Glenn Close as Kala.

SCORE:The score in here is brilliant. The score and soundtrack is mainly done by Phil Collins and Mark Mancina. They go together to create some fun, beautiful, and fitting themes and songs. Phil Collins did some great work on this soundtrack, from "Son of Man" to "You'll Be in My Heart".

ANIMATION:The animation in here is pretty good and detailed. The animation of the jungle itself was actually way better than the characters. It wasn't Disney's best animation, but I enjoyed it.



OTHER CONTENT:This Disney movie is a great addition to the Disney canon. It was a big part of my childhood movie collection. Along with the soundtrack, spirit, and story itself, there were a lot of touching aspects to the love story and some great action in here. The love story seems more touching and the action is just vibrant and active. However, I didn't seem to like how abruptly the transitions between the gorilla language and the monkey language took place. It was actually kind of confusing in a way.

OVERALL,an awesome Disney movie with a greatly-executed plot, really good voice acting, brilliant score, pretty good and detailed animation, some touching love scenes, and great action, but there were a few abrupt shifts that I didn't like.

Chicken Run (2000) review

(9/10)

This movie was a great part of my childhood. The humor is clean and funny, the voice choices are great, the animation is good for its time, and it's very entertaining overall.

PLOT:Mrs. Tweedy (Miranda Richardson) is a tough, greedy owner of a chicken farm. These chickens have pretty much dedicated their boring lives to laying eggs for Mrs. Tweedy, except for one brave chicken named Ginger (Julia Sawalha), who constantly tries to escape and lead the other chickens to freedom. No attempt has ever been successful, however, because of Mr. Tweedy (Anthony Haygarth) and his dogs constantly watching. Ginger's just about ready to give up when she meets an American circus rooster named Rocky (Mel Gibson), who flew into the farm and hurt his wing. At this moment, Ginger convinces Rocky to stay and teach them to fly. However, there seems to be something fishy about this rooster; not to mention, egg sales are going down so Mrs. Tweedy might have to resort to drastic measures to make a profit off of the chickens. It's a good plot executed greatly.

 

VOICES:The voice acting in this movie is great. Mel Gibson and Julia Sawalha play a great pair as the American rooster, Rocky, and the dedicated rebel, Ginger. Miranda Richardson and Anthony Haygarth also played a couple of great parts as Mr. and Mrs. Tweedy. There really wasn't a bad voice in here. The other shiners would have to be Jane Horrocks as Babs, Lynn Ferguson as Mac, Imelda Staunton as Bunty, Benjamin Whitrow as Fowler, Timothy Spall as Nick, and Phil Daniels as Fetcher.

SCORE:The score was pretty good as well. The score was simple but matched the moods of each situation and reminded me a lot of Aardman's previous works (the Wallace and Gromit shorts). There were also a couple memorable musical numbers, including a rather entertaining scene with "Flip, Flop, Fly".

ANIMATION:The animation in here was really good for its time. The claymation was fun and very cartoonishly detailed. However, compared to today's claymation marvels (Coraline, Corpse Bride, Curse of the Were-Rabbit), it seems a tad outdated. It's not as detailed.



OTHER CONTENT:This movie is just an entertaining treat. There's plenty of charm to go around as well as mostly-clean slapstick humor. It was a lot of fun. This movie has enough charm, humor, action, and slower moments to have the spirit of a great variety show. The only flaw I had with it is that the animation kind of took me out of it. Though memorable and a great part of my childhood, now it just seems outdated. However, I still love the spirit of this movie. They just don't make them like this anymore.

OVERALL,an awesome animated movie with a great plot, great acting, simple yet fun score, memorable animation, good slapstick, plenty of charm, lots of action, and a handful of slower moments to balance it out, but the animation is getting a little outdated and took me out of the experience a little bit.

9 (2009) review

(7/10)

This post-apocalyptic animated film from the likes of Tim Burton and Shane Acker is a visual treat that sucks you into a whole other world, but it may seem a little too bleak with trouble deciding its target audience.

PLOT:The future is bleak. Due to the creation of machines with great minds, mankind has become extinct. The robots have taken over. The only living thing left in the area is a group of little beings made out of cloth and spare parts with ordered numbers painted on their backs. One in particular, number 9 (Elijah Wood), wakes up in a lab next to a dead scientist with no clue what's going on. The only thing he finds interesting is a talisman with strange markings on it. 9 goes out scavenging and meets another being like himself numbered 2 (Martin Landau). After a big fight with one of the fierce machines, 9 meets the rest of the group, including the mean-spirited leader, number 1 (Christopher Plummer). Against 1's orders, 9 sneaks out and attempts to save 2, who got kidnapped in the fight. However, 9 only awakens an even more evil monster. It's a good plot executed almost greatly.



VOICES:The voice acting in this film was very good. Elijah Wood played a great part as the brave and adventurous 9, as did Christopher Plummer as uptight 1. The cast is nearly all-star aside from these, including the shining stars of John C. Reilly as 5, Crispin Glover as 6, Jennifer Connelly as 7, and Alan Oppenheimer as the Scientist.

SCORE:The score was very well done and intense by the team efforts of Danny Elfman and Deborah Lurie. It matched the intense and thoughtful themes of the film.

ANIMATION:The animation in this film is beautiful and detailed. Some of the aspects of the animation (fire, the cloth, dead bodies) seemed almost real and the rest was just purely beautiful and well done.



OTHER CONTENT:This film gave me something to think about. I liked the apocalyptic aspect of it involving the humans and the robots, though it was fairly familiar. This film had a way of trapping you in its story and keeping you involved in its world and how things are in it. However, this post-apocalyptic film might seem too bleak for some audiences to handle. All humans are gone, and the only beings left are artificial ragdolls bent on saving what's left of the world; not to mention, (SPOILER) they kill off over half of the cast. Also, I believe this film had a tough time finding out its target audience when it was released. The trailers advertised it as being for pre-teens and the animation suggested it was for some younger audiences, but this film has way more thought and frightening situations. This film enhances the feelings of despair, desolation, horror violence, death, and lack of hope, so it at least involves an audience that can fully comprehend it. Aside from the targeting errors and bleak outcome, the film was very involving.

OVERALL,a good animated film with a good plot, very good voice acting, intense score, beautiful animation, a good post-apocalyptic aspect, and an involving story, but it's a little familiar, the outcome may be a little too bleak for some, and the film has trouble deciding its target audience.

The Lion King (1994) review

(10/10)

This has to be my favorite Disney film of the '90s canon of films. This film's touching, emotionally deep, and just beautiful above all. This one shall forever remain a classic.

PLOT:Mufasa (James Earl Jones) is the king lion ruling over all of Africa. One day, Mufasa and his wife give birth to a son, which they name Simba (Jonathan Taylor Thomas), eliminating Mufasa's brother, Scar (Jeremy Irons), from taking the king's place on the throne. Mufasa tries to teach Simba everything he knows to be king one day, but Mufasa's life is cut short by a tragic accident caused by Scar. All Simba ever wanted to be for his dad was brave. Now, however, Simba is convinced by Scar that the best thing to do is to run away and never come back. Simba, down on his luck, is found by the two, loveable, careless outcasts, Timon (Nathan Lane) and Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella). Here Simba learns the life of no worries until he grows up to be an adult (voiced by Matthew Broderick) and his past comes back to haunt him, not even knowing how bad his former pride is actually doing. It's a great plot exected very well.



VOICES:The voice acting in this film is brilliant. All of the voices are entertaining, fitting, cartoonish, and all-star. The best voice performance had to have been by Matthew Broderick as the adult Simba. He performed his role best. James Earl Jones and Jeremy Irons also played excellent roles as Mufasa and Scar. The other shiners would be Nathan Lane as Timon, Ernie Sabella as Pumbaa, Rowan Atkinson as Zazu, Whoopi Goldberg as Shenzi, Cheech Marin as Banzai, Jonathan Taylor Thomas as young Simba, Moira Kelly as Nala, Robert Guillaume as Rafiki, and Jim Cummings as Ed. As you can see, there really wasn't a bad performance in the cast.

SCORE:The score was beautiful and very well done by the collaboration of Hanz Zimmer, Lebo M., and Elton John. Every song in the film is either fun or beautiful, including the score itself.

ANIMATION:The animation in here is also beautiful. The animation is realistic, rich, and shows evidence of a lot of effort. Disney didn't laze around on the job with this film.



OTHER CONTENT:This film is more than just a fun Disney animation. This film contains a bunch of touching, emotional twists as well as a realistic story (if you replace the animals with humans). This film can make you laugh, cry, and cheer more than most animated films nowadays. This film has all of the techniques and such needed to make a good film.

OVERALL,an epic Disney film with a great plot, brilliant voice acting, beautiful and fun score and soundtrack, beautiful and rich animation, many touching moments and emotional twists, a realistic story, and all of the elements a good film needs.

South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut (1999) review

(8/10)

This dirty, loud-mouthed movie was both hilariously crude and a charming treat for the fans of the comedy series. It's crude and dark sense of humor aren't for everyone, however.

PLOT:In the town of South Park, we focus on four good friends: Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski (Matt Stone), Eric Cartman (Trey Parker), and Kyle McCormick, whom you probably already know by now. These four friends sneak into the movie of their choice, the Terrance and Phillip movie. However, these four learn horrible language that infects their classmates and puts the parents of South Park into a raging fit. So, the parents of South Park go on a rampage to make sure Terrance and Phillip and their Canadian race are destroyed. However, a sinister plan is going into effect involving Satan and Saddam Hussein. It's a good plot for South Park executed fairly well.



VOICES:The voice acting in this movie is the basic standard for South Park and it's pretty good and fitting. As usual, Trey Parker and Matt Stone do most of the voices for the characters in the film, including Kyle, Eric, Mr. Garrison, Kenny, and more. Aside these two, the movie has vocal appearances from George Clooney, Eric Idle, Dave Foley, and Mike Judge. The other shiners besides al these would be Mary Kay Bergman as a lot of the moms and Isaac Hayes as Chef.

SCORE:The soundtrack of the movie is pretty funny and catchy. There are crude little songs laced all-throughout. Some are annoying, yet again, a lot of them are catchy and get stuck in your head. I liked a handful of them.

ANIMATION:The animation in here is the standard style of animation always used in South Park. It isn't the best anyone will ever see, but if you've seen South Park before, you'll know that the animation is a key part to how the show and movie work. The animation is actually pretty fun and detailed for this South Park adventure.



OTHER CONTENT:This movie was pretty funny, though very crude. There are many moments placed throughout that are gut-bustingly funny, as well as many actually good pop culture jokes. It also has a special brand of charm that appears to the fans of South Park that sets up a child-like innocence and then shatters it with a good joke. However, this one is pretty much for the fans of dirty, black comedy and the show of the same name. The crude and nasty style isn't appreciated by everybody. Also, there were a couple of jokes and running gags in here that really failed to make me laugh and actually kind of disturbed me. Overall, it's a pretty funny movie, but only for those who favor the humor style.

OVERALL,a great movie with a good plot for the show, basic voice acting for the show, catchy and crude soundtrack songs, fun animation, lots of gut-bustingly funny moments and pop culture jokes, and a special brand of South Park charm, but not everybody will agree with the humor style and some jokes even disturbed me.

Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Movie (2004) review

(7/10)

I can't help but love this movie for the fact that I grew up with it. Even today, I'm still a nerd for the franchise.

PLOT:Yugi Moto (Dan Green) is known among the popular card game, Duel Monsters, as the most best player in the world. After putting together the ancient Millenium Puzzle, the spirit of the great dueling pharaoh was given to Yugi along with the all-powerful Egyptian god cards. In this adventure, Yugi is challenged to a duel by his arch rival, Seto Kaiba (Eric Stuart). However, Kaiba has prepared to finally beat Yugi with two cards taken from the deck of the game's creator. One of these cards, the Pyramid of Light, has a supernatural power given to it by the spirit of Anubis, an evil ruler from ancient Egypt. After a discovery of his tomb and artifacts, Anubis awakens with an age-old grudge against the pharaoh. So, in this one duel, Anubis' spirit is powered through the Pyramid of Light card and is bent on ruling the world and taking down the pharaoh. It's a decent plot executed fairly well.



VOICES:The voice acting in here was okay. The voice acting was done by the same actors who do it in the show, so if you've ever watched it, you kind of know what to expect. Dan Green did his usual good job of voicing Yugi Moto, as did Eric Stuart as Seto Kaiba. The other shiners would have to be Amy Birnbaum as Tea Garnder and Darren Dunstan as Maximillion Pegasus. Everybody else was fairly annoying.

SCORE:The score to this movie wasn't really too important. It was just basic score that set the mood for each scene. It was much like the TV show.

ANIMATION:The animation in here was pretty good. It's in the anime style and fairly detailed. If you're into anime, you'd probably like it. It's pretty detailed with the monsters and comical with the characters' faces at times.



OTHER CONTENT:This movie was really no big deal among most people, but to the fans of the franchise, it's pretty good. I've been a fan of the franchise since I was about five years old and I still do get into it some. The movie is mainly all cards and dueling and milking all the franchise has to offer. I like that, since I'm into it, but to those who aren't fans of the series, this movie doesn't really matter. This movie is strictly for fans of the series and card game. Also, even though I'm into it, this movie did have a few problems with me as well. There were some parts of it that were just cheesy and uncalled for, which kind of threw the movie off. Also, this movie is honestly just one great big episode of the show. With all the non-stop dueling, you'd be almost as good with the TV show itself. I'm into it, but I'm sure those who aren't either despise or don't care about it. It's one strictly for the fans.

OVERALL,a good movie with a decent plot, okay voice acting, basic score, pretty good anime animation, and a good following for the fans of the franchise, but there are some cheesy parts to it, it's no different from the show, and it's strictly for the fans.

Persepolis (2007) review

(8/10)

This animated biography about this girl's life explores the culture of an oppressive government in a touching and accurate way.

PLOT:Marjane Satrapi (Chiara Mastroianni) is an Iranian girl who constantly speaks out against the oppressive government she lives in. She loves music, rebels, and her family. This film chronicles her life from her childhood to her early adulthood through the Islamic revolution and covers most every rule from the dark veil she must wear everywhere to the restriction of media interference. It's a good plot executed brilliantly.



VOICES:The voice acting in here was pretty good. Even though I watched the French version and couldn't understand the language (I used subtitles), I still found the voices very well done. Chiara Mastroianni played a great part as Marjane Satrapi, speaking out emotionally, as if she was Marjane. The other shiners would be Catherine Deneuve as Tadji, Simon Abkarian as Ebi, Francois Jerosme as Uncle Anouch, and Danielle Darrieux as Marjane's grandmother. Danielle specifically did a great job among this bunch, due to the script she was given.

SCORE:The background score in this film was very touching and soft, matching the exact mood of the film. This also contained a rather comedic appearance of Iron Maiden and rendition of "Eye of the Tiger". I enjoyed it.

ANIMATION:The animation in here is unique and very accurate emotionally to the film. Though it was very detailed, it didn't cover some scenes as well as I believe a live-action film could've done.



OTHER CONTENT:For the most part, this film was emotionally and factually accurate. It left a fairly good emotional impact on me and made me thankful for the freedoms I have. However, I think a few of the things in the film were exaggerated outside the facts, and I didn't understand this as much as I think I should've. I think this film was mainly made for a certain crowd, and a bit of it didn't catch my attention. It did leave a big emotional impact and had a lot of good parts to it, but I feel that it had just these couple of mistakes.

OVERALL,a great animated film with a brilliant plot, pretty good voice acting, touching score, unique animation, a good emotional impact, and a lot of good parts, but I think some things are exaggerated, and I don't understand it as well as I thought I should've

Frankenweenie (2012) review

(8/10)

Tim Burton has done it again in this charming tale based on his live-action short film from the 80s.

PLOT:In the strange little town of New Holland, Victor Frankenstein (Charlie Tahan) abides with his parents (Catherine O'Hara and Martin Short) and his beloved dog, Sparky. Sparky is pretty much Vic's best friend and they act very inseparable. However, Sparky is hit by a car and killed one tragic day, leaving Victor in his despair. Inspired by the new science teacher (Martin Landau), Victor pulls a classic move and brings his beloved dog back to life with wind and lightning. Now, Victor must try to keep this big breakthrough a secret from his peers and parents. It's a good plot executed greatly.



VOICES:The voice acting in here is pretty good. Charlie Tahan is fairly okay as young Victor Frankenstein, but he doesn't really steal the show. The voice that stole the show belongs to Martin Landau as Mr. Ryzkruski. He did a truly chilling performance of the creepy new science teacher. The other shiners would be Catherine O'Hara as Mrs. Frankenstein, the weird girl, and the gym teacher, Martin Short as Mr. Frankenstein and Mr. Burgemeister, and Winona Ryder as Elsa Van Helsing. A lot of the Tim Burton usuals are in here.

SCORE:The score in here is very charming and done well by the great, Burton favorite, Danny Elfman. The themes are very soft, fitting, and clean.

ANIMATION:The animation in here is one of the best things about this movie. The animation in here is of Burton's usual brand and is done beautifully. The movements are smooth and the design is unique and artful. I appreciate Burton for this.



OTHER CONTENT:Tim Burton revitalized his animation skill in this little movie. This movie is mainly built on charm and entertaining twists, which get it by fine, but it's actually quite scary. It's scarier than I imagined it being. There are jumps and creepy visuals to give you scares. Burton takes the classic Frankenstein story and adds a bunch to it to make it a quirky adventure for kids and family alike. However, there are few points for originality. Though class shows through the way it's shot, the Frankenstein genre has nearly been done to death; not to mention that there are several cliches located throughout the movie.

OVERALL,a great movie with a good plot, pretty good voice acting, charming Elfman score, beautiful animation, lots of charm, entertaining twists, a good bit of scares, and class, but it's not that original and fairly cliched.