“Lalaloopsy: Festival of Sugary Sweets” Review
Years ago I ripped apart the merchandising vehicle that was Monster High, hoping it would die out within a few years for a new fad. Not only did it spur forth with many more films, but now it has expanded into live-action music videos. I later saw grown women donning Continue Reading
“How to Train Your Dragon 2” Review
The sequel to How to Train Your Dragon succeeds where many continuing animated features falter. Having established this fantasy world, the next step is to naturally expand on the characters and exploring new wonders. Some films are not strong enough to keep these elements going and usually display how there Continue Reading
“Dragon Ball Z: Battle of the Gods” Review
Dragon Ball Z is perhaps one of the most notable and iconic series of Japanese animation, but not for its quality per se. Semi-based off the characters of Journey to the West, the series followed a host of characters in a universe of aliens and the mystical Dragon Balls that Continue Reading
“Jack and the Cuckoo Clock Heart” Review
Computer animated films tend to follow a specific track to keep everything looking clean, pretty and bouncy. ‘Jack and the Cuckoo Clock’ attempts to break all the rules and delivers a more artistic animated film as if it were a trippy fantasy from the 1970’s. It plays with the medium, Continue Reading
“Team Hot Wheels: The Origins of Awesome” Review
I’ve seen so many of these commercial-based animated films over the years which do little more to sell toys that you start to grow tired of their shameless formula. ‘Team Hot Wheels’, however, managed to surprise me from its first vivid and wildly colored shot. A mysterious car whizzes through the Continue Reading
“Batman: Assault on Arkham” Review
The villains of Batman tend to be much more intriguing than the title hero and now a handful of them have been given their own animated film. But rather than admiring their pathos, this film is more a Dirty Dozen deal. The villains are not spruced up to be more Continue Reading
“The Wind Rises” Review
The animated films of Hayao Miyazaki have always been one step above the competition in animation and storytelling, humbling even the best directors at Disney. So you can imagine my excitement and sadness to discover that The Wind Rises will be his final film. Even though this isn’t the first Continue Reading
“Son of Batman” Review
I fear that Warner Brothers may have exhausted their Batman animated movie ideas if they’re now resorting to estranged child plots. Such a concept seems like something more common for a television program in the twilight of its run. It’s a move that one would have to be very brave and Continue Reading
“Frozen” Review
Disney’s latest animated musical certainly has a lot to offer. There are a lot of songs, plenty of characters and a story that’s more focused on sisterly love than finding prince charming. While ‘Frozen’ certainly does bring a lot of new elements to the table, it ends up like Chinese Continue Reading
“Jeff Dunham: Achmed Saves America” Review
Jeff Dunham’s one-note ventriloquism puppet Achmed takes a leap into the world of animation. The result of a failed suicide bomber mission, Achmed is plucked from his Middle Eastern home and transported to America. Choosing to accept his now skeletal appearance, a family takes him as they mistake Achmed for a Continue Reading