The Savage Planet, also called The Fantastic Planet, is an allegorical science-fiction animated movie about morality and the established social order.
The story is set in the dystopian planet of Ygam, where the Draggs, a species of giant blue humans, rule. There is another human species, the Oms, tiny in size, whom the Draags consider a pest and exterminate regularly, keeping some some of them as pets. Terr, one of those pets, is found and kept in captivity by a girl called Tiva. He grows with her master, learns all the secrets of the Draags, and then...
The universe and atmosphere created by Laloux are superb. Mix Salvador Dalà surreal landscapes and imagery, Bosch architectural fanciness
and oniric creatures, add a hint of 19th century botanical
drawings, slowly pour some psychedelic music by Alain Goraguer, and whisk all
energetically with an allegorical story adapted from Stephan Wul's by Laloux and Roland Topor, and you get something unique. The 2-D animation has all the limitations that the genre had in the 1970s, but the creativity and artistry of the drawings and story will make you forget the deficiencies of the animation (especially clear in the poor mobility and reduced facial expression of the characters). Some of the scenes are memorable, and I especially liked the Draag's mating and meditation practices, and some of Tiva's learning trances.
The movie is not apt for children because it has violence, sex, nudity, and elements that are difficult to explain to children. The movie, indeed, touches many adult serious themes: slavery, class
domination, racial extermination, relationship between Theology and Science, relationship between Humans and Nature, cohabitation/conflict between different social systems, colonial and imperialistic attitudes. The movie is complex enough to offer many elements of reflection without being dogmatic, and the viewer will be surprised at finding oneself understanding the good and bad points in both societies and ways of acting and living.
The main problem with the movie is its slow pace, and the emotional frigidity of the characters that don't allow the viewer to empathize with them beyond a pure intellectual or visual level. Furthermore, there is not enough action or thrill, so one gets easily bored after the initial fanciness of the imagery sinks in.
The Fantastic Planet is weird, artistic, psychedelic (even hallucinogenic), naive and delightful, but not always engaging - one of those movies that you want to watch because it is like no other, and sounds too cool not to have in your watched-movies list. The movie wan Cannes Jury's award in 1974.
A Japanese animation movie based on a comic by Osamu Tezuka, that tells the story of android Tima and her human friend Kenichi in the city of Metropolis. It is loosely based in the classic movie of the 1920s.
Metropolis shares with Astroboy two of Tezuka's themes: 1/ Father-son troublesome relationship due to the Father's rejection and unloving treatment of the son. 2/ The presence of a great variety of old-style chunky robots and very developed humanoids who ask themselves what/who I'm I?
The animation is flamboyant and amazing regarding the settings, backgrounds, architecture and machinery, and combines 2-D and 3-D mixed with some real movie elements. Some of the scenes at the end of the movie are spectacular from a visual point of view.
The mood of the movie is excellent, with the creation of a retro-futuristic city very developed, but impoverished and without freedom. We have the bright city and the underworld, with different colours and styles.
The music is fantastic, also retro, with lots of Mow-Town, classic Jazz, alternating with symphonic pieces that reminded me of John Williams'.
The script, though, is a poor mix of well-known sci-fi elements and characters. I found the script not engaging most of the time, not only because of the lack of originality of the same, but, above all, because of the drawing of the characters is completely childish, which barely fits with the innovative and more artistic style of the rest of the movie. Tima and Kenichi are beautifully drawn, and, being children, the style suits them, but the adults are drawn in a very different style, very 1970s cartons!, which doesn't seem to give visual homogenity to the film or fit the story.
I felt that the movie was perfect for teenagers, with elements that would suit both children and young adults, not as much for adults, unless you are a Tezuka's fan. Entertaining nevertheless.
Krysar is an adult stop-motion animation film, loosely based on the German folk tale the Pipe Piper of Hamelin. A real art-house piece of animation that has a mix of Renaissance and Medieval elements. There are many original elements about this film. The first one is the story, which deviates from the original, or better said digs into its original meaning, to offer a social allegory. Barta's Hamelin is a greedy, glutton and lusty male-dominated society - a kind of Sodom and Gomorrah. The piper is the punisher and redemptor, and the catalyst necessary for human renewal. The children are only seen at the end.
The second element of originality is its language... which is onomatopoeic: sounds, grunts, mumblings and gibbering, perfectly understandable by anybody in the world. I found it hilarious!
The third element of originality is the visual style of the movie, traditional and innovative at the same time, very odd and very artistic. Hamelin's backgrounds, architecture and interiors are made of dark carved wood, similar to the ones you find in some Renaissance cathedral choir chairs. The overall design is German expressionist in its design, which is noticeable in the diagonal and curved collapsing lines, unbalanced proportions and oniric elements, and the general darkness and oppressiveness of the space and atmosphere. On the contrary, the luminous colourful paintings used for the landscape are bucolic and very artistic, the sort of images you find in Medieval Gothic Books of Hours. They are human spaces, associated to the most human characters in the story, and a complete counterpoint to the rest. I found in the movie very Bergman's, with the sort of vibe, feeling, and themes one can find in movies like The Seventh Seal or the Virgin Spring.
The third element of originality is the design of the characters. Most of the Hamelin dwellers are wood puppets, with mobile parts and fabric clothing; they have angular-faces and are thin and tall. The Piper is also a wood puppet, but it looks very different - a mixture of walking skeleton, a Goth band member, and an apocalyptic angel. The only two good characters and pure souls in the city -the lady living in the city outskirts and the fisherman- are very refined sweet and delicate wooden puppets. The rest of the characters are the rats, real ones (more like big mice!), which are as big the human characters, naughty monsters as greedy as the humans, which move rapidly and awkwardly.
The music is terrific - a mix of dark classic pieces and rock sounds with the ethereal sound of the flute as only breaker.
The ending is great, and has nothing to do with the traditional story. It couldn't be otherwise, as the movie is an allegorical reflection of Society's sins. The title in Czech means rat trapper, which refers to the rats in Hamelin and also to its dwellers, which are a pest as much as the rats are, and the piper also traps.
I found annoying that some general scenes -landscapes shots, movement of groups- were repeated over and over.
The film is not for small kids because there are too many adult explicit elements in it: lust, rape, killing of animals, stealing, death, and the general nastiness of the dwellers of the city.
Krysar is an amazing movie, but also a bit freaky and grotesque! Dare to watch it.
When Walt Disney was a person alive making animations movies and not just a brand, he had the dream of making animated concerts mixing his animation with classical music. Fantasia was born. It was 1940.
Fantasia 2000 is a celebration of Disney's vision, an a celebratory anniversary of the original Fantasia. James Levine directs the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in seven new animated short films. Some of them are an abstract mix of colour, light and movement. Some other are a creation inspired by specific musical pieces, while others have a story for which a piece of music was created a posteriori.
1/ An Allegro from Beethoven's "Symphony No. 5", offers an abstract light, colour and abstract birds & butterflies very short short.
2/ Respighi's "Pines of Rome" shows a family of humpback whales playfully swiming from water to air. This is my favourite short, as it is completely experimental, pure fantasia and extravaganza, but still very modern in animation style and feeling. Very New Age, in a way.
3/ Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" inspires a story set in New York during the Big Depression, with moody unhappy characters who dream of having a different life. The animation style is very 1930s and is based in Al Hirschfeld's cartoons. The first seconds of the segment are brilliant, but the whole piece captures the spirit of old-style 2D animation with great mastery.
4/ An Allegro from Shostakovich's "Piano Concerto No. 2" matches a version of Hans Christian Andersen's The Steadfast Tin Soldier. This is the most linear story, and the one I enjoyed the least.
5/ Saint-Saëns's "Carnival of the Animals" offers a colourful flamboyant scene of dancing flamingos that are trying to get a yoyo-obsessed dancing flamingo back into the flock and dancing routine. It reminded me of the Warner Bross old classics cartoons! Delightful.
6/Dukas's "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" accompanies Micky Mouse naughty slovenliness in his sorcerer chores in this old well-known piece included in the original Fantasia. Despite its age, the piece is still delightful and fresh.
8/ Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance" offers a version of Noah's Ark with Donald Duck and Daisy leading the animals into the ark and into a safe land. 9/ Finally, Stravinsky's "Firebird Suite" offers a story of a death and renewal with a spring fairy and her companion Elk.
The movie has, overall, a retro-style that mimics the style of the original. Walt Disney and Disney Factory's old spirit are still here. However, the fact that each short is introduced by different celebrities (Steven Martin, Quincy Jones, Bette Midler, James Earl Jones, and Angela Landsbury among others) rests fluidity to the movie. I thought the introductions were funny and charming, but I would have preferred longer shorts and shorter speeches. The original Fantasia was original in its conception, but also daring and experimental in its visuals and the stories told. Creativity was overflowing. That cannot be said about Fantasia 2000, although the contrary could be expected with the digital revolution allowing Animators to bring to the big screen almost anything. Still, this is a good entertaining movie. Fantasia 2000 is a very enjoyable family movie that can be enjoyed by both adults and children; it might not be fit for small children as some of the pieces are a bit abstract. This is a wonderful movie to introduce Classic Music to children.
The Iron Giant tells the story of the fall into Earth of an alien giant robot, and his relation with a naughty child who lives with his single mother in a small town in the States.
The movie is set in the 1950s, during the Cold War period and the space race, when aliens and robot populated TV shows, comics and the imagination of everybody. The movie is able to reproduce the mood and style of the era, even the animation style, but with all the improvements that technology has brought to animation.
The characters are well drawn psychologically, which is not a surprise the movie being a Warner Bros'. Moreover, the cartoons have a superb body movement and facial expression.
The script is engaging and very entertaining, very funny and lovable. At the same time, the film address serious social and political issues in a simple approachable way, without lecturing: You are who you decide to be, if you respond to violence is your option., it is in your hands to make your own destiny no matter what your past is, your heart is always a great power to connect with others no matter how different they are. Great messages to pass on to children. All the voice actors are terrific, and the movie is never dull, but cheerful and full of life thanks to them. Eli Marienthal is terrific as the little hero Hogarth Hughes. Jennifer Aniston is extremely lovable as his mother Annie (perhaps Aniston's best performance ever...), Harry Connick Jr is very likeable as the quirky Dean McCoppin, Vin Diesel very sweet as the "brute" Iron Giant, and Christopher McDonald terrific as the annoying paranoid Government Agent Kent Mansley.
The Iron Giant did not have success at the box office when first released, due to poor marketing, but it has proven to be one of the most charming, entertaining and lovable animation movies of all times, matching Miyazaki's and other classics of 2D animation because of both the quality of its animation and script. The Iron Giant is a a movie with a great script, characters and old-style animation suitable for both adults and children. Forget the hollow modern movies for children, and show them one that has some substance.
In a world inhabited by locomotive machines and cars, the little abandoned town of Radiator Spring is languishing. The visit of a posh race car, Lightning McQueen, will revitalise the live of the locals and will teach him invaluable lessons on life. The whole film is a long visual feast and you feel like clapping to those big digital artists working for Pixar in this movie. The mate drawing of the landscape and town settings is magnificent. The cinematography and shot angles are truly artistic. The design of the cars is equally impressive regarding animation, colours, texturing and lighting. The night scenes in the open field are among my favourites because of their beauty and artistry.
The voicing of the characters, done by A-list actors (Paul Newman among them, in his last acting role before passing away), is extremely good, very charming and effective, as the viewer really feels that the voices match the cars' personality and give a big cosy feeling to the movie.
However, all of this is not enough to save the movie, which suffers from an absurd point of departure, stereotypical script and characters/role models, and a childish storyline. This will delight small children, guaranteed, but will not engage most adults. I thought that Pixar had lowered their storyline standards and made a movie that would suit more Disney's requirements. No wonder, Disney bought Pixar little after Cars was released.
Cars is an enjoyable movie for kids, with spectacular animation and eye candy colours.
Dr Seuss's eponymous story is brought to the big screen with respect, truthfulness and heart in this animated movie. The thing that makes the movie good is not not the animation, but Dr Seuss's story, which is universal, timeless, simple and complex at the same time: A person is a person no matter how small. Stand for what you believe. Believe in what you don't hear or see. The world is more than yourself and more of what you see. What you do has a direct effect on other people. Reality is not always full of reason. These are some of the important life messages that are embedded in a story that is, beyond the message, full of fun and adventure, and archetypical characters.
Steve Carell and Jim
Carrey, who are well known for their over-the-top performances, are
gladly very restrained in their performances in this movie, and their
interpretation really gives life to their respective characters: Carell
as the bullied Major of Who, and Carrey as the good-hearted elephant
from the Nool Jungle. Carol Burnett is also great as the matter-of-fact
Kangaroo. The animation is not as
spectacular as in other modern animated films, but some parts of it
deserve praise: The characters' facial expression and body language, the
attention to the detail in the creation of the Major, the
architecture of Who world, and the visual creation of some characters are excellent. My favourite characters were the creepy fluffy
yellow Katie, and the pathetic vulture. My favourite scene is the one with Horton is searching for his lost speckled world in a field
of pink of thousands cloves, which is truly magic.
Heart-warming and charming for both children and adults, this is a movie of which Dr Seuss would feel proud.
Little Ottik is a bizarre horror comedy that adapts and reinterprets the folk story of Otesánek (aka Greedy Guts) for the big screen.
This is the story of the struggle of Bozena and Karel to hide and control heir piece-of-wood son Otesánek, a freak of nature with an insatiable hunger, from their neighbours.
The film re-examines the myth of the primeval creation, in which the natural order is subverted and disrespected. The couple succumbs to an act of greedy love that produces, as a result, a greedy gluttonous carnivore woody creature. Svankmajer depicts with great insight the sins of parenthood in our modern world, in which children are spoiled rotten, and anything they do is excused or justified. The movie also depicts with great humour and realism the social dynamics of small groups in blocks of apartments and neighbourhoods, paced not only by a net of support, but also by gossip, the power of appearances, and enmities and tensions.
The role of food in this movie is also very interesting, as most human characters in the movie eat disgusting porridge-like meals, despite them longing for meat, while Otesánek, a wooden creature, is eating meat all the time!
The Actors are all great and charming in their respective roles. Veronika Zilková plays with great conviction barren wife Bozena, while Jan Hartl plays with sweetness her doubtful and confused husband Karel. Also terrific are the actors playing the good-hearted neighbours: Kristina Adamcová as the incisive rebel child Alzbetka -who is also the catalyst of the story-, Jaroslava Kretschmerová as Alzbetka's sensible Mother, Pavel Nový as Alzbetka's working-class male Father, and Dagmar StrÃbrná as the building caretaker.
The stop-motion animation of Otesánek is delightfully odd, and the drawn illustrations (by Svankmajer's wife) shown in the book that Alzbetka is reading are colourful and artistic. Also delightful are the episodes involving the interaction between old spectacled neighbour and Alzbetka, which are really really naughty.
On the negative side, the film was shot using ugly-looking 1970-like colours and lighting, which are a bit weird for a 2000 movie; still they somewhat go well with such an odd story. Moreover, the movie is too long and its pace too slow at times, and that is not excusable in this case.
Little Otik is a grotesque mesmerising adult tale with a great story, terrific performances, and very interesting themes. Nothing you've watched before!
Sita Sings the Blues is an animated film based on one of the episodes in the Ramayana, but adapted to modern sensibilities, that has Sita -Rama's wife- as the centre of the story. The movie deals with love, longing, faithfulness, exile, search for love and destiny.
The movie intertwines four different types of 2-D colourful animation, each one offering four different approaches to the same chapter of the Ramayana: 1/ There is the story on how the movie was created and how the author came to think of it, how her personal life got mixed up with the project. 2/ There is the story of the chapter told straight forward. 3/ There is a musical version of it in which Sita -the main character- sings some classic blues that convey what is happening in the story, and in which Sita expresses her feelings and mood. 4/ Finally, there is a review of comment of the story told made by two h-i-l-a-r-i-o-u-s Hindu shadow puppets, who offer a witty interpretation of it expressed in an every-day language. 5/ There is even an intermission, as still happens in Indian cinemas, with a cute and kitsch show.
The movie can be confusing at the beginning, but once you understand the different parts, you will immerse yourself in a movie that is original, witty and very entertaining. Something completely different from what you are used to watch in modern animation.
There are not many
independent animation movies being made by women. Just this deserves
praise. However, what makes the movie so good is its originality, the concept lying behind, and its wittiness. The music is great, not just because of the blues. The film has been controversial because Paley was not aware that the Annette Hanshaw's songs used in the film were still under copyright, despite the singer being dead for many years. Hanshaw's heirs sued Paley for an astronomical sum, but they reached an agreement and settled for $50,000, which is a tremendous amount of money for an independent artist who made this film using her own money, donations, and counted with the free help of Indian musicians and actors.
Waltz with Bashir is a documentary animation movie that narrates director Ari Folman's personal trip to recover his memory regarding his participation in the invasion of Lebanon and in the massacre of Sabra and Shatila (1982) while he was a soldier in the Israeli Army.
Different elements are shown in the movie, all interconnected. 1/ The story shows how post-traumatic disorder works in soldiers, how tricky and fanciful human memory is, and how memory hides from our conscious anything that causes us pain and shock. The trips and chats Folman had with some of his old Army fellows and one journalist who covered the events helped him to understand what happened to him.
2/ There is a depiction of the reality of war, with its drama, blood, death, fear, and normality. We see young teen soldiers doing a job that overwhelms them, and their fear being the trigger to kill, not hatred. We also see the happy every-day moments lived in their fight idle days and moments: soldiers listening to music, talking about girls, life plans, and longing for home and a normal life.
3/ There is the narration of the events leading to the massacre of Sabra and Shatila, in which thousands of Muslim civilians (mostly women, children and old people) were pitiless slaughtered by a group called the Christian Phalangists, with the passive connivance of the Israeli Army. We witness with horror the impact that such barbaric acts had on the victims and on those who witnessed the events.
The movie succeeds at presenting such a harsh story by combining different elements in a masterly way. [1] The movie creates an animated world that is alien and intimate at the same time. This is done by using an unique animation style that is very realistic (very similar to rotoscopy), by using and odd combination of orange & beige hues, and great chiaroscuro, which create an ominous atmosphere that is surreal at times. The recurring image that Folman remembers -he and two soldiers emerging naked from the beach with a gun (as shown in the movie's poster)- shows very well the sense of spiritual abandonment, alienation and regret that permeates the movie.
[2] The movie paces and presents the research for Folman's memory as if it was a mystery movie. We walk side by side with him while he puts together the pieces of his past; the tempo (and the uneasiness) goes in crescendo and ends in the shocking non-animated final minutes of the movie. They moved me to tears.
[3] The movie uses an impacting and soulful soundtrack that will touch you. It mixes some classical music pieces, well known songs of the 1980s, and some songs and musical pieces specifically written for the movie.
[4] The movie showcases the importance of our oniric world to understand our present and to retrieve pieces of our past that lay dormant in our subconscious; they are -and were for Folman- a doorway to any locked-in memories. In fact, the movie starts with a dream, and contains several oniric surrealist scenes.
[5] The movie mixes the harsh images and sub-stories with others full of intimacy, lyricism and poetry, and shows different facets of the life of a soldier and of War.
My main criticism to the movie is that Ari Folman does not explicitly condemn the Israeli involvement in the massacre. He does so implicitly and from a personal point of view, which is full of regret and shame. In a way, the movie is politically correct for the Israelis. To me, the fact that only the Christian Phalangists are depicted as the barbarians and slaughters is a bit washing one's hands. If you see somebody killing frail people and do nothing to stop it or succour them, you are as guilty as the butchers themselves. Most of the victims were women, children and elderly people. How could a soldier do nothing to stop the slaughter?
***
This is one of this movies that everybody should watch, not only because it is a piece of art, but because it as powerful reminder that War debases us all, destroys the lives of all the parties involved, except of those politicians who started them, and whom we elect.
One of the most amazing films I have seen in the last years. Multi-layered. Confronting. Lacerating. Unforgettable.
A stop-motion comic-horror-romance musical directed by Tim Burton, which has all the elements and icons of the Burton's quirky universe.
The movie tells the story of Victor (Johnny Depp), who is in love with shy sensitive Victoria (Emily Watson) and finds himself married to the lonely Emily the Corpse Bride (Elena Bonham Carter) due to the release of an old spell. He'll have to find the way to leave the underworld and his unwanted dead wife, and return to the real world to marry sweet Victoria.
The movie mixes the moods of the classic Charles Dickens's novels and the 18th-19th century horror stories, and it is sprinkled with a great sense of humour and lots of winks to the adult viewer.
The colours and backgrounds are beautiful, with a mix of the dark bright colours and precious quirky design that characterises Burton's world.
The characters are physically well designed, his personalities well-constructed and brought to live, and they are very witty and charming with the very charming old English and Scottish accents. The dubbing is excellent and helps the characters to come to live; you won't recognise the famous actors behind the characters, which says a lot about the good job they did at dubbing them.
The musical numbers are brilliant, hilarious sometimes.
The Corpse Bride is a very entertaining engaging animation movie for both adults and youngsters (not for kids, unless properly supervised) - Very sweet and funny despite the title. A classic of the stop-motion animation, perfect for the approaching Halloween.
The Grave of the Fireflies is the story of survival of two Japanese brothers: 4y.o. girl Satsuko and her 14y.o brother Saita, at the end of the Second World War in Japan. It is based on the semi-biographical novel by Akiyuki Nosaka.
Grave of the Fireflies is one of the saddest stories and movies I have ever seen. It puts a face to the children of any war, those who lose everything and are left with nothing, those too easily forgotten and so easily neglected. What makes the movie sad is the verisimilitude of the story, that something like that happened and is happening any time that there is a war anywhere in the world.
The animation is marvellous, colourful, attentive to the detail, scenic and intimate, with a lyricism that only Ghibli’s Studies are able to create. The drawing of the Japanese countryside is simply superb, and the same can be said of the city destroyed environments. The atmosphere is great. The colours are precious - a little more saturated than usual for Ghibli’s. The music by Michio Mamiya is extremely subtle and beautiful, perfect for the story.
The characters of the two brothers are wonderfully drawn and dubbed by the Japanese actors. Some of the intimate scenes of the two brothers are really magical, especially the ones involving the fireflies that give tittle to the movie.
What is great about this movie is that, very soon, you forget that you are watching animation, as the story is so strong, captivating and engaging, that those drawn characters become real - alive. Please watch it in Japanese with English subtitles, otherwise you will miss a bit of the essence of the film.
A classic animation movie difficult to forget, soulful and marvellous in every possible way. One of those movies that should be in any bucket movie list. So good it is. One of the best animation film I have ever seen and ever made. No doubt. No perhaps. Go and grab it.
Merida is the oldest daughter of Fergus and Elinor. She is a tomboy, a bit of a rebel, opinionated and wild. She happily lives with her parents and triplets until she is asked to fulfil her destiny, comply with her clan's tradition, and choose a husband from the allied clans' suitors. In constant conflict with her mother, Merida visits an old witch in search for a potion to help her escape her destiny. However, what she finds is a curse of cosmic proportions. How is Merida going to save her mother, herself and the kingdom?
Pixar lost a bit its essence and idiosyncrasy when was engulfed by Disney. Since then, every second Pixar movie we get a real Pixar movie in conception, ideas and originality. The in-between years are for movies like Brave, which follow a template with structured predefined characters, values and jokes that are very much modern Disney.
Brave's animation is amazing from a visual point of view: the colours, layouts, backgrounds, the rendering of the landscapes and characters movement, the camera angling, the 3D design and even the movement of Merida's hair are spectacular. Still, a good animation movie needs of a good script with a sound story and narrative to be successful: what it tells and how it tells it are always more important than how it looks like.
Brave's script -by Mark Andrews, Steve Purcell, Brenda Chapman and Irene Mecchi- is, a priory, a winner. It mixes many European folk legends and human archetypes (like the ones we see in Anderson or the Grimm Brothers' tales) with modern attitudes and sensibilities. Moreover, Merida is in a way, a combination of all old Disney's heroines. The film is entertaining and beautiful to watch, and some of the characters are very funny. There are many funny moments especially those involving the witch, Merida's triplet brothers, and the lady bear.
All the cast of actors do a good job at dubbing their respective characters: Kelly Macdonald as Merida, Billy Connolly as Merida's father, Emma Thompson as her mother, and Julie Walters as the Witch. To be fair, Billy Connolly's dubbing always sounds like himself not as the character he plays.
Still, Brave does not deliver beyond the artistic qualities of the animation, because the story sends contradictory messages. It feels as if the writing team had done bit and pieces separately, and then stitched them together without further adjustment and polishing. Being so, the movie can be labelled, depending on the moment, as feminist, sexist, retrograde, modern, advanced or conservative. Two main messages are sent to the world. 1/ "Obey your mother". That can be a revolutionary message in a world in which children are spoiled-rotten and disrespect their parents. However, going from there to deciding that everything mammy says is good for your future and that the tradition has to be respected no matter how senseless it is, it is a bit reactionary. 2/ On the other hand, the story tells us that you can be brave and daring, but until certain point - bravery is subversive, and subversion is not good. What?! Be brave and make your own fate, free will do exist, but fate is fateful and will crash you if you subvert the status-quo. What! What? What?!
Too much is always too much. Brave is a beautiful senseless sermon that gets lost in its own wordiness and senseless preaching. It is perfect for small children, as it has lots of action and some funny moments that the little ones (and your inner child) will enjoy. More sounded boys and girls, our just your sound self, could get a bit puzzled at the moral of the story and the wordy ending.
Kiki's Delivery service is a Studio Ghibli's traditional hand-drawn animation movie loosely based on Eiko Kadono's eponymous book, but with important additions by Miyazaki. It tells the story of Kiki, a 13's y.o. witch who leaves the family home with her cat Jiji to get a life of her own and start her training as a witch in a big city away from parents and friends.
It is a Ghibli's trademark the detail and artistic drawing of the scenery and cityscapes, and Kiki's is no exception. It has a precious and colourful drawing. The European city where Kiki goes is a mix of Northern European architecture and Southern European lighting and mood. The time frame is an imprecise point in time, a golden-era of peace and tolerance, set around the 1950s, but with elements that go from the 30s (the zeppelin) to the 60s (B&W TV), with other elements that can be placed in between.
Three elements stand out in this movie beyond the hand-drawn precious animation. The first one is Kiki's story - a metaphor of the changes that take us from childhood to adulthood, from being in the family's womb, many times taking for granted what we have, to being alone, unprotected, standing by ourselves, defining who we are and want to be as individuals. Jiji's evolution with regards to Kiki is just the result of Kiki's transformation into an adult, not of the cat's changing ways!
The second element is very Miyazaki's - the presence of magical and non-magical elements combined harmoniously in a world of good-natured tolerant humans that accept magic as a natural thing, like Kiki's flying her broom through a city making courier deliveries.
Thirdly, this is a movie about women, female nature and sisterhood. Except for Tombo -Kiki's admirer and good-natured inventive friend- the main characters are powerful savy women: Osono, the pregnant baker, represents acceptance without questions, maternal care, the City, hard work and determination. Ursula the painter, on the contrary, represents freedom, personal independence, individuality, the wild, the follow your heart and explore your soul message. Finally, the two old ladies in the blue-roofed house -Madam and Bertha- are examples of kindness, carefulness, attention to the detail, old manners and class. In fact, Kiki finds a mother, two grandmas and a big sister in the city. Miyazki's Europe is, it seems, a a matriarchal society. There a few points that I would have liked further explored with extra footage, as the movie is enjoyable, and the ending was unnecessarily hasted and leaves you with a big sweet and sour after-taste. Still, Kiki is an adorable
story with lovable characters, that is entertaining and good for both
children and adults, especially if you love magic realism and Ghibli and Miyakazi's magic worlds. A warning - Some of the DVDs come with several dubbing versions and several captions. Beware, the original first dubbing of the original was done without respect to the original, and changes and mutates the dialogues without respect, changes the tone of the movie and even transforms Jiji into a sarcastic adult cat. It is not a proper dubbing but an interpretation with additions to the original made by Disney. It is shameful and disrespectful and you better ignore it. There is a second American dubbing that is truthful to the original. Watch the original Japanese with captions, and choose the captions that follow the Japanese script not the invented superposed American. Who wants to watch an adulteration when the original is perfect?
Kirikou et la Sorcière is a delightful French-Belgian traditional animation movie loosely based on a West-African folk tale.
The movie tells the story of newly born Kirikou, a special child who asks his mother to be born, and who, immediately after being born, starts talking, running, and offering a wise practical approach to life to his fellow villagers in their fight against Karaka, the beautiful wicked sorceress who has been impoverishing his village. The story is entertaining and full of magic, with great messages for children, but will enchant adults because is unique, it has soul and wit, it is clever and tells a West-African story that is respectful with that culture and philosophy of life. Even the approach to the wickedness of the sorceress is West-African, as Karikou tries to understand why Karaka is so evil to fix her, not to destroy her. Wining over and destroying are two different things, and the first gets better results is a great message for kids. Even the ending of the movie is unexpected, still in tune with this same approach: magical and very alien to Western Culture.
The character of Kirikou is just adorable, a sweet know-it-all boy, and very
naughty child at times. The rest of the characters are realistic, a mix of
the human types we could find in a small African rural village. The old-style flat animation is an artistic reinterpretation of the reality, in which landscapes, dresses, hairdos, architecture, and other elements directly mimic those of West Africa. That is, they are not a western modernised interpretation of them despite the movie being European. Ocelot used African Art as a direct and strong inspiration for the drawing of this film. Especially beautiful is the detailed and artistic drawing of the landscapes -this is one of Ocelot's signature marks- in a naïf precious style, as eye-catching as the bright earthy bold colours of the film.
The English dubbing is lovey, as it was personally supervised by Ocelot. Still, when the characters sing, the wonderful original music and chants get lost a bit. The French original version with English subtitles is truly delightful.
Senegalese Youssou N'Dour and Cameroonian Manu Dibango provide an very cool, catchy and African soundtrack.
The movie being respectful with and true to the West-African reality, it depicts most women with their breasts uncovered, while Kirikou is naked during the whole movie, moving his bum and "willy" cutely. Puritans and morons of the world, especially out of continental Europe, thought that this was an offence and inappropriate for children viewing, and the screening of the film was banned in some countries; even the release of the DVD in the USA and the UK was not exempt from controversy either. Shocking but true. If you cannot explain to your child that mummy has breasts, that they produce milk, that they are a natural part of the human body, and that in some parts of the world they do not cover them, I feel sorry for your child. Children should be protected from this sort of people who try to "protect" them, and not vice versa. Show Kirikou to your kids, and seat side by side with them, to explain them what they are watching instead of parking them in front of a TV, unsupervised.
Persepolis is a French animated movie that narrates the autobiographical story of Iranian artist Marjane Satrap; it is based on her own graphic novel. It is an honest movie, heart-warming, extremely funny and very engaging.
Persepolis tells Marjane's story from childhood to mid youth. We witness her family upbringing, her relationship (or lack of) with God, the political and social events that happened in Iran during the Islamic Revolution, her university years in Austria, her love stories, her emigration to France and her approach to life as a female artist.
There is a lot of humour in this movie. Some of Satrapi's love stories are hilariously narrated despite the impact they had on her. The black market of Western Music will put a big smile in your face (it is directly connected with the situation told in the Iranian movie Nobody Knows about Persian Cats). Also delightful it is the presence of little funny street cats, dogs, and worms in general scenes, which create an atmosphere of proximity and tenderness even during the saddest moments.
The story is mostly presented in
a black-and-white flashback, with a superb use of chiaroscuro and cut-out bold colours for the narration in the present tense. The absence of colour gives the story
historical perspective and seriousness, and it is perfect to portray
Satrapis' past treasured moments: day-dreams, hopes, ideals, music,
culture, smells and happy family times. On the other hand, the black and
white gives the story a necessary emotional detachment to show many of
the hard themes presented in the film: oppression, depression, war,
censorship, torture, immigration and loneliness, among others.
The animation is
minimalist and schematic, flat, but attentive to the detail, very traditional comic-book, still very classy and
contemporary. Persepolis reminded me sometimes of the freshness and creativity of "Sita Sings the Blues" in the way different animation sub-styles are used within the movie. For example, the story of how the Shas of Persia got into power is very "puppetish", while the recreation of the different movies watched on TV (Terminator and Godzilla) have a chunky sort of drawing and are definitely modern pop comic book.
I would have liked that the movie went a little bit further on in time, as Satrapi is a fascinating character, and her story is wonderful. Still, this is one of my favourite animation movies ever, because it touches me in ways that most animation movies cannot. Satrapi's story
succeeds because it goes beyond herself, and we understand -even if it is superficially- what does mean and feel like being an Iranian and Middle
Eastern person in Europe, being a woman -and a special type of woman- in
Iran, being and
artist out of place, and being a foreigner both in your native land and
abroad. Satrapi's story serves to highlight the process of alienation that most immigrants suffer, but also a reflection on what is what makes us who we are, which is something intangible and indescribable, but powerful and unique that
escapes categorisation, national borders or gender, no matter these are part of your cultural background.
This is the sort of movie
that will captivate animation and art lovers, and people
who are into Arts, comics, graphic novels and illustration. It is intellectually
elating and emotionally absorbing, and will feed those viewers who are hungry for
an animation that is different, daring, and meaningful.
Go and grab it
right now (in French with English subtitles, please!).
A Franco-Belgian-Canadian animated movie, The Triplets of Belleville tells the story of a French cyclist Champion, his Portuguese grandma, and their unwanted adventures in America, where they meet three American sisters. There is a lot to praise in this movie, but the main praise to any film is that time flies when watching it, so entertaining and enchanting is.
The animation looks like old style hand-made Miyazaki's, both in detail of de drawing, style, fluidity of the images, quirkiness of the characters, and action. Still has a very special feeling, which is both very European and very American.
It is remarkable that an animation movie without princes and princesses, fairytale love stories, or young
characters can be so appealing to people of all
ages. In fact, the characters are a group of old women, an overweight dog, and some nasty Mafiosi. If this was not enough, the characters rarely speak, just mumble a few words, make guttural noses, and sing some songs. The story is entertaining, quirky and original enough to keep the viewer interested and entertained, and the characters are very expressive, like the old silent movies, despite their lack of language. That is a lot to say.
The movie has an awesome soundtrack by Benoît Charest inspired by golden-era Jazz and Motown classics, plus some classic music pieces that perfectly convey the atmosphere of New York in the 1920s-1950s. In fact, the recreation of New York as Belleville has a lot of art-deco with a twist of European Disney (the skyline of Belleville resembles a European castle), plus a contemporary projection of the image of Americans in European mentality (the inhabitants of Belleville are morbidly obese) creating something that is oddly beautiful and original.
Especially brilliant are the scenes of the crossing of the Atlantic, the watching of human programs in TV by the cartoons, the diet of the triplets, and, above all, the surreal black and white dreams of Bruno the dog.
The only thing I did not like was the car persecution at the end, which I found childish and hurriedly resolved, and the end of the movie.
This is a brilliant movie with a delightful script for people of all ages with lots of winks to adult viewers.
A mix of animation films by the master of animation Tezuka, (Astroboy's creator). The DVD contains thirteen shorts with different animation styles and techniques made between 1962-1986. "Tales of the Street Corner" could also be called the secret life of a back street's wall posters. We see how the characters in them communicate through music, and how they reflect their time and the events happening in the outside world. I thought the idea was original an the music good, but the short is a bit too long and monotonous, while the kid-teddy bear relationship is underdeveloped.
"Male" is a very short piece, very schematic, with an indirect narrative, as the face of a man and of his cats looking at him, tell the story of the drama -not seen by the viewer- of the killing of his wife. An experiment in visual narrative.
"Memory" is a philosophical short, which uses collage techniques, that reflects on the nature of memory and what is left behind what memory is not there. What would happen if our planet and humans disappeared and there was no memory left about their existence?
"Mermaid" uses traditional storytelling and simple animation techniques, to show how our perception and feelings of reality construct our emotional reality. A boy rescues a fish from the seashore, but when left in a pool, the fish transforms into a mermaid and the boy falls in love with her. However, his family just see his strange behaviour and try to force him to leave his fantasy and return the fish into the sea. Is all a dream?
"The Drop" is a funny absurd story with very schematic draft animation. A sea-cast tries to quench his thirst with the only three drops of drinkable water in the boat, which are located on the raft's mast. One of those stories that might have inspired all the big animation producers in the world, Pixar's short included.
"Pictures at an Exhibition" uses the eponymous musical composition piece by Mussorgsky. The camera scrolls in front of a series of paintings on a wall, in a museum, and stops in some of them to give life and put a story to some of the images, with different styles of animation. Although I thought the idea was excellent, the piece was not engaging.
"The Genesis", it is a parody of the Biblical story of Adam and Eve in which Eve has something to say to the world! The short is very funny and shot in very schematic animation.
"Jumping" is truly an experimental film both in concept and realisation. The camera's positioning and angling serve as the eyes of something or somebody that/who starts jumping along a suburbian street. The script tells us that it is a girl, but I see it more like an insect or a bird that jumps wider and higher each time, so much so that we see the city, other cities, the forest, the sea, a volcano, a country in war... the whole world, as small, varied and complicated as it is. It is very meditative in a way, as goes from the perception of the self to the wholeness and perspective of the self within the Universe. The film was shot in one cut with 4,000 motion pictures.
"Broken Down Film" is a masterpiece of a short. It is shot in B&W and looks like an old scratched stained film reel. We see a cowboy and his horse trying to rescue a girl in the American West. At first sight, really looks like one of those prehistoric Disney's Micky Mouse silent shorts, but then, the fun starts, and the characters keep going out of the frame and struggling with the damages of the film. The hero has to fight the villain but also the broken down film. An amazing concept and realisation, and so charming!
"Push" is an environmental friendly short that reflects Tezuka's worries about the state of the planet. I would say is the more Japanese short in the lot, as vending machines are everywhere and sell everything - one of the things that defines Japanese way of life. It is a depopulated world where our hero gets everything he wants and needs from a machine. He is on a trip to see God and rescue the planet by replacing the existing one with a new one, but there is no machine that does so.
"Muramasa" is an anti-violent cryptic message presented in traditional Japanese folk fight animation. Muramasa is a magic sword that is stuck in a straw man, but when a Samurai tries to get it and use it to cut the straw man, the piece of straw becomes a human who bleeds from the cut.
"Legend of the Forest" is an impressive piece of animation that could remind you of Fantasia, with Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony (1st and 4th movements) used as inspiration for the story and as musical background. It shows the life of animals and fairies in the forest and the negative influence of human settlement and exploitation of the same. Although the message or the script are not new, the animation is remarkable, as we see the characters evolve from drawing sketches, pass through different stages of drawing and animation - from Disney's to the animation in vogue in the 1980s.
"Self Portrait" it is tiny piece - an animated portrait of Tezuka, in which his drawn face turns, as in a slot machine, into another face.
This collection of shorts shows the versatility in visual style and narrative of master Tezuka, as well as his very personal approach to animation, which not always can be categorised as Manga or even as Japanese. The collection also shows his philosophical worries and views on the world, and offers pieces that, despite being very personal, are very open to interpretation. This is not a film for everybody, but for lovers of experimental animated films.
Web of the Movie A wonderful Australian independent plasticine movie that tells the story of a life-long mail relationship between Max Jerry Horowitz, an old autistic atheist Jew from New York, and Mary Daisy Dinkle, a weird 8y.o. girl from Melbourne. Mary and Max is, above all, a story about social maladjustment and the ups and downs of life, but a happy story about real friendship and personal identity. Mary and Max are unglamorous suburban people, with mental and social problems who are
wonderful because are imperfect and human. They are not presented as weirdos or as marginal people, but in an accepting humorous way. The intrinsic point of departure of the film is that life itself is dysfunctional; therefore, the dysfunctions of the characters are just normal, part of who they are and a result of what life brings to their lives. It is this approach, and the emotion that the characters convey, what makes the viewer connect to Mary & Max instantaneously, so the viewer feels their failures, successes and worries as if they
were those of real people. This is, however, both a drama and a comedy, and there are many humorous winks to the viewer; the animal characters (both pets and urban animals) are
hilarious. The aesthetics and
atmosphere of the film are wonderful, with at terrific use of Black and White with red plashes and ochre details, which perfectly encapsulate the mood and personality of the different characters and the different stages of their life and relationships. They are, in a way, the outer projection of Mary and Max's personality, or even a reflection of how they see reality, not the way reality is seen by others. After all reality is about or perception of it. The music is terrific, too.
This is not a movie for
children. It touches subjects that are complex and could be
disturbing or difficult to explain to a child: alcoholism, social
failure, mental disorder, bullying, death, homosexuality, suicide, etc.
This is, however, what will attract adults, and what makes the movie so special. Three things would have improved the film enormously. Firstly, a little bit of more of lightness (less clumsiness) in the movement of the puppets, and also more definition in the facial expressions of the characters would have improved the look and feeling of the film immensely. Secondly, most of the characters' speech is limited, so we see them moving but not talking that much. Finally, and directly related, the third-person narration is overwhelming - too much of it and in the wrong tone. I consider a mistake the selection of Barry Humphries as off narrator, as his dubbing is emotionally misleading; he narrates the story as if this was a fable before bed told to a kid, but this is not a children movie by any means. It would have been great converting part of the narration into dialogues of the characters, which would have given more fluidity and a better pace to the story and the movie in general.
This is a great animation film, with a terrific story, which moved me immensely. The story, is what will captivate you.
Mary and Max was a hit at "Sundance", and has won an accolade of awards since then.
Tangled is a free adaptation of the traditional fairy-tale of Rapunzel. A fairy-tale romance and adventure movie, but also a coming of age story in which Rapunzel leaves the too-oppressive maternal womb to discover the world and herself. Follow your dream and leave your child discover the world for herself are the two main messages of the film.
The animation is terrific, very beautiful and colourful, but more eye-catching than artistic I would say. However, the scene of the flying lanterns is just magical, extremely beautiful and inspiring, as well as the drawing of some of the forest backgrounds. The main human characters are great, very witty and lovable/hate-able. I found horse Maximus truly hilarious, and the chameleon very sweet, wise and naughty. I loved the fact that the animals don't talk, still they have their own personality and communicate with their owners in their own way.
The cast really shines in this movie, and I loved the fact that they were not the usual superstar actors doing the dubbing. Mandy Moore is great as the very sweet, forward and naive Rapunzel. Zachary Levi is cheeky and sweet in his impersonation of the rascal outlaw Flynn Rider. However, the Oscar goes to Donna Murphy, who is brilliant in her role of villain, and she is immediately hate-able as Mother Gothel; she is the epitome of a witch, and one of the best witches ever created by Disney.
Alan Menken's score and Glenn Slater's lyric have to be praised, as they really give the movie its soul and mood. Unforgettable is the song "I have a dream", sung by a bunch of ugly looking outlaws, which has great lyrics and melody. This is one of the loveliest scenes in the film, too. Also brilliant is Gothel's song Mother knows Best, that sums up very well her selfish approach to motherhood. The singing by Moore, Levi and Murphy is great.
I found some important flaws and miss-messages in the film, that are clearly noticeable, even for a child, and that were unnecessary. The first one is the physical appearance of Rapunzel's queen mother. She looks much younger than her husband, almost his daughter, and also looks like Rapunzel's older sister, not her mother. It reflects and shameless portrays the obsession for youth of modern society regarding women. An old man does not have any problem in showing his age, his wrinkles and white hair, actually that makes it more respectable. On the contrary, an old woman has to look young, unwrinkled and have her hair coloured to be likeable as an old woman. That was very disappointing.
The second flaw in the story is the fact that, despite Rapunzel living alone, isolated, incarcerated, never putting her feet out of her tower until rescued by Flynn, she's not only able to swim but also to dive! Are we all fools?!
The third flaw is the marriage thing. The princess is rescued by the prince; she has just turned 18y.o.a, the only human she knows is her fake witchy-bitchy mother, and she is so civilised and she is getting married at 18! I wondered why the script changed many of the quintessential elements of Rapunzel's primitive story and did not dare to do the same with this part. They could have simply omitted Rapunzel's age, or draw her in a more womanly way (she looks like a 13 year old in the movie not a 18y.o.!) and nothing else would have mattered, as the final marriage would have made sense.
Despite the flaws, Tangled is a very entertaining, fun and sweet movie for the whole family, full of action, adventure and sense of humour.
