Fan All About It: Reviews

Hi, I'm Lindsay. Sometimes I will see a movie and I will think thoughts. I will then proceed to write those thoughts down for others to read. If you want to hear more of my thoughts you can visit my Youtube Channel.

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Review: Finding Dory (2016)

“Just keep swimming,” is probably the moto at Pixar Animation studios these days. It seems as though Pixar has run out of original content and has opted to keep pushing out sequels of their popular films. Their newest 3D animated release is no exception. Finding Dory is the studio’s 17th feature film and is a sequel to their hugely successful 2003 release Finding Nemo.

There is nothing spectacular about the animation in this film. While it is a marked improvement over the animation quality of the first film, that can only be expected given 13 years of technological advances in 3D CGI. In terms of the visual aesthetic of the film, there really isn’t much to comment on. The style and movement of the film feels very generic, especially after Pixar’s last release The Good Dinosaur which, while lacking in the narrative department, had breathtaking photorealistic visuals.  

The narrative of Finding Dory revolves mostly around the comedic character from the original film, voiced by Ellen Degeneres, going on an adventure to find her parents whom she was separated from. This plot line at least has surprisingly emotional weight and is by far the strongest part of the film. Unfortunately because of this fact, the rest of the characters from the original film don’t really have much to do narratively and feel shoehorned in. The new side characters introduced in this sequel are likeable and sometimes funny but they aren’t really given much to do either, other than goofily assist Dory in her quest. Overall the narrative is entertaining enough, it not underwhelming.

While nothing stands out as being bad, per say, nothing stands out as great either. Perhaps the film feels this way because Pixar is just coming off last year’s release of Inside Out, which was highly original in concept and narrative. Frankly, this film feels very much like Pixar cashing in a check. For any other studio this film could be considered perfectly adequate, maybe even good. However, given what audiences have come to expect from Pixar this film simply doesn’t deliver. While certainly a decent movie and entertaining enough to keep the audience engaged, this film is not pushing any boundaries visually or narratively as we have come to expect from this studio.

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Review: Moana (2016)

Hot on the heels of their highly successful, Zootopia, a critical and box office hit, Disney Animation is back with what might be the next installment in a new “Disney Renaissance.” Moana is a musical adventure rooted in Polynesian myth and culture. Animated in a hybrid of 3D CGI animation and 2D animation, it marks the studio’s 56th feature film.

The most remarkable thing about Moana is how different it is from the kind of film Disney Animation usually makes. Disney’s films tend to be very American or Eurocentric in nature. Most of it’s princess films are based on European fairy tales, featuring a predominantly white cast. Moana on the other hand is unapologetically Polynesian. There is a clear and profound respect for the culture the story is based on, even down to the casting of the voice actors all of whom have Polynesian heritage. The heroine of the film is also unconventional for Disney as well. Moana’s body type was purposefully animated not with the intention of looking pretty in a dress to sell dolls, but with the knowledge that she would be navigating the rough ocean on a sailboat. Basically, Moana is ripped for a Disney princess. Moana is also notably the first Disney princess film to have no romantic subplot. All of these things make the film a refreshing change of pace for Disney.

The music, unsurprising, is one of the prominent features in this film. Some of the standout out numbers included “We Know the Way”, a bilingual song performed by Lin Manuel Miranda that explores the way finding history of Polynesian culture, “You’re Welcome” a bright, bouncy song performed by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as his character Maui, and “How Far I’ll Go”, the titular character’s recurring theme performed by newcomer Auli'i Cravalho. The soundtrack also does its part in incorporating Polynesian culture into the film using languages and instruments native to the pacific island region in which the film takes place.

As is all of Disney Animation’s work, Moana is clearly intended for all audiences, specifically families. Although this is the case, none of the dialogue or plot of the film is clearly aimed at children in particular. The film doesn’t “talk down” to it’s audience like so many studio animated films are prone to do. It is also surprising, but pleasing, to note that the film included some sequences and imagery that might be considered “scary” to younger audience members. Some of these more intense scenes gave the film a feeling of real stakes and potential consequences, that grips the audience and benefit the overall story. This film is just another example of how Disney continues to be the master of creating films that all audiences can enjoy.

Moana is a well crafted, and refreshing different, addition to Disney Animation’s recent slate of films. The obvious respect for the culture on which the film’s story is based makes the film that much more of a joy to watch. Hopefully the success of this film will prove to other Hollywood studios and executives that material from diverse sources can do well at the box office, and make wonderfully entertaining films, if they are given a chance to do so.

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Review: BoJack Horseman (Seasons 1-3)

The Netflix original series Bojack Horseman is an animated adult dramedy. With it’s first season originally released in 2014, the show has gone one to have two more with the latest released in 2016. The show is animated by Shadow Machine, which is best known for animating other adult comedy series such as Robot Chicken. This fact might lead one to believe that like the other shows animated by the company, Bojack Horseman is purely meant to be an adult comedy about a washed up 90s sitcom TV star with tons of sexual references and crude humor. On the contrary, there is so much more to Bojack Horseman then there appears to be on the surface.

Bojack Horseman is animated in Adobe Flash Animation giving it a simplistic but still unique and at times beautifully crafted style. The show is filled with bright, pastel colors that range from flat or textured, depending on the character or object being animated. The show also makes use of colorful, soft lighting, which particularly stands out in the episode “Fish Out of Water” (S3 E4). This along with it’s trademark anthropomorphic animal characters, make Bojack Horseman stand out visually when compared to other adult animated comedies that tend to focus less on the visual style and more on the content of their plots. The show is animated with an almost loving attention to detail. Little details that only those watching with a close eye would even notice are added, like the way Bojack’s house changes throughout the show are reflected in the show’s intro. For example in one episode Bojack’s ottoman catches fire, and in the next episode the ottoman in intro sequence is burned as well.

What makes Bojack Horseman particularly exceptional though, is its subject matter. Although the show certainly has it’s share of comedic moments and goofy characters, the core of the shower is much deeper. Much of the comedy is satire based. While Bojack Horseman is satirical of many social practices, the one that is most central to the show is that of celebrity and how society's obsession with it effects those who are placed in the spotlight. On the less comedic side, the show is very focused on ideas of philosophy and existentialism. Just some of the questions the series poses include, “What does it mean to be happy and can true happiness be achieved or is it only fleeting?” and, “Is there a real you on the inside or are we just made up of our actions?” and, “If we are all just specks in a vast universe does what we do even matter?” The plot also deals with issues of mental illness, child abuse, substance abuse and dependence, and the impact of all of these have on one’s close relationships.

All in all, Bojack Horseman is truly an exceptional series. What might appear to be a goofy comedy series on the surface is actually filled with deeper, and often difficult topics. At times some of the episodes are truly thought provoking and emotionally stirring. Bojack Horseman is truly unique and may just be one of the best animated series in recent years.

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Review: Storks (2016)

Storks is the second 3D CGI animated feature film released by Warner Animation Group, following their first film The Lego Movie which was both a critical and box office success. The Lego Movie was praised for it’s unique animation style, well written script, and genuinely funny humor. Unfortunately, unlike The Lego Movie, Storks was neither unique or well written, and it’s comedy certainly left something to be desired.

The film follows the story of a Stork named Junior (Andy Samberg), who works for a large retail delivery service, clearly a reference to Amazon, that delivers packages to customers instead of babies as storks used to be famous for delivering. Junior runs into trouble when he and human Tulip (Katie Crown) accidently turn on the baby factory and create a baby that they now must deliver to her parents.

Storks takes place in a world that is somewhat like our own, but yet entirely not. The film does not let us forget this. Even though it provides seeming realistic elements like humans with jobs and cities, it also features human babies with hair that is naturally pink, blue, and all sorts of strange colors and wolves who can transform their bodies into things like submarines and airplanes. Perhaps this is the filmmakers way of reminding the audience that this is a cartoon and that it does not take itself seriously, so they don’t wonder why while all the animals can talk, the humans are still the dominant intelligent species who have things like houses and cities.

While the concept is certainly original, the pacing and time of film are downright strange. “Fast paced” is not a term used lightly here when describing this film. There were times when the dialogue and movement of the animation is so fast it was hard to keep up with what was actually happening in the film. Yet the last twenty minutes of the film slow down so much that it is noticeable, and further emphasizes how ridiculously paced most of the film was.

This film was clearly intended for children, specifically young children. While a few of the jokes landed, most of them were clearly aimed at very young children. Yet, even in the theater most of the children in the audience were not laughing. One can almost picture a bunch of executives in suits sitting around a table and asking, “What do kids like? What do they think it funny?” and then going on to make Storks- a movie filled with goofily animated characters and purposely terrible voice acting. It is a film that isn’t actually what kids find funny, but what a bunch of out of touch executives probably think they do.

While not entirely unenjoyable, Storks is just “okay”, and a big let down after it’s wonderfully fun and unique predecessor: The Lego Movie.

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Review: Kubo and The Two Strings (2016)

“If you must blink, do it now.” Talk about a gripping opening to a film. Right from the start the film demands the audiences to give it their full attention, and to be honest it is hard to imagine why someone would want to blink during Kubo and the Two Strings- the animation is absolutely gorgeous to watch.

Kubo and the Two Strings, Laika Entertainment’s fourth feature length film, follows the epic adventure of a young boy on a quest to find his deceased father’s magical armor in order to protect himself from his vengeful grandfather.

Like all of Laika’s films, Kubo was created using stop motion model animation. While in some stop motion films the movement of the characters can seem jarring or even uncanny, the movement in this particular film is so fluid that it is almost impossible not to forget the film was not animated digitally. Additionally, the obvious amount of detail that went into each of the characters is not only impressive, but frankly almost unfathomable. Said details and designs of the character models are complemented by gentle lighting and soft pastel colors, making the only way to describe the look of the film as quite simply: stunning.

Although intended for audiences of all ages, like most of Laika’s work this film does not shy away from darker tones and subject matter. The narrative story of the film deals with themes of death and grief, and eventually even forgiveness towards those who caused such traumas. And while near perfect visually and technically, it is here with the narrative that the film stumbles.

While the script is somewhat cleverly structured through the stories that Kubo tells at the beginning of the film to the villagers of his town, it makes the plot of the film almost entirely predictable. Additionally, the written dialogue in the film, specifically of one of the major characters- a samurai turned into a beetle-like monster voiced by Matthew Mcconaughey, was awkward and clunky. The character was clearly created to be comedic relief, aimed at keeping children in the audience entertained and perhaps to provide some upbeat breaks from the dark nature of the premise, but ultimately ends up being both unfunny and at times unlikable as a character. This character later turns out to be one of major dramatic significance to the plot, but as he is so goofy and ridiculous throughout the majority of the film the revelation is somewhat unsatisfying and hard to believe as an audience member.

These story issues are not enough to take away from the enjoyment of watching the beautiful visuals of Kubo and the Two Strings completely. The voice work, is excellent and the film is still a pleasant adventure tale that will be enjoyable to both children and adults alike. Though perhaps in the future it would better serve Laika to spend more time on the script before they embark on the wildly exhausting endeavor of creating a feature length stop motion animation.