Month: March 2020

Finding Nemo 9/10

Nick SheedyLeave a comment

G, 100m, 2003

With the Voice Talents of Albert Brooks (Marlin), Ellen DeGeneres (Dory), Alexander Gould (Nemo), William Dafoe (Gill), Brad Garrett (Bloat), Allison Janney (Peach), Stephen Root (Bubbles), Austin Pendleton (Gurgle), Vicki Lewis (Deb), Joe Ranft (Jacques), Geoffrey Rush (Nigel), Andrew Stanton (Crush), Nicholas Bird (Squirt), Elizabeth Perkins (Coral), Bob Peterson (Mr. Ray), Barry Humphries (Bruce), Eric Bana (Anchor), Bruce Spence (Chum), Bill Hunter (The Dentist) and John Ratzenberger (The School of Moonfish). Directed by Andrew Stanton. Produced by Graham Walters. Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Bob Peterson and David Reynolds. Music by Thomas Newman.

            Finding Nemo marks the solo directorial debut of Andrew Stanton, who had previously co-directed A Bug’s Life. Along with Pete Doctor, Andrew Stanton was one of the first animators hired on at Pixar. Pete made his directorial debut first in 2001, with the smash hit Monsters, Inc., now it’s Andrew’s turn in the director’s seat with Finding Nemo.

            The film opens in a typical Disney fashion, one of the parents of the protagonist getting killed off. Marlin (Albert Brooks) and Coral (Elizabeth Perkins) are expecting parents waiting for their eggs to hatch. On one fateful day a barracuda arrives, and Merlin begs Coral to come to the anemone, but Coral swims off to protect the eggs and the barracuda attacks. Marlin tries to fight the beast off, but he’s knocked out in the ensuing fight. Marlin awakens to discover not only has his wife died, but all but one of the eggs was destroyed. Per his wife’s desire, Marlin names the egg Nemo (Alexander Gould). Given the circumstances, Marlin turns into a paranoid parent whose only desire is to keep Nemo safe. On the first day Marlin fearfully takes Nemo to school. Upon learning that the school is going to the drop-off on a field trip Marlin rushes off to find Nemo, as Nemo is a poor swimmer due to his damaged fin, resulting from the barracuda attack. Embarrassed by his father’s overprotectiveness, Nemo disobeys Marlin by swimming in open water and touching the bottom of a boat. As he’s swimming back a diver suddenly appears and captures Nemo. Horrified Marlin gives chase, but he quickly loses sight of the divers as they speed away in a boat. Marlin meets a blue tang named Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), who claims to know which way the boat went. Unfortunately for Marlin Dory suffers from short term memory loss and quickly forgets why Marlin is following her. The rest of the film centers around Marlin and Dory’s quest to find Nemo (as the title suggests) and bring him back home.

            The relationship between Marlin and Nemo is one of the most poignantly powerful father-son relationships in animation history. At the start of the film Nemo is annoyed by Marlin’s overprotectiveness and his paranoia, and Marlin often dismisses Nemo’s feelings and desires because Marlin feels that Nemo is not ready or unable to perform certain tasks. This all comes to the climactic moment when Nemo tells his father that he hates him. The look of pure shock and regret on Marlin’s face is soul crushing, especially when one remembers that one of Marlin’s biggest concerns about being a parent prior to the barracuda attack was what would happen if they disliked him? When Marlin and Dory are trapped inside a whale, Marlin tries desperately to escape by slamming against the whale’s closed mouth. When Dory tries to comfort him, Marlin replies he was to find Nemo and tell him how old sea turtles are. This is a reference to a seemingly throwaway line when Nemo asks Marlin how long do sea turtles live? How long sea turtles live, may seem like a trivial matter, but to Marlin it symbolizes his need to  be with his son again, and have meaningless conversations that may seem unimportant at the time, but its little moments like this that parents miss the most when their kid grows up, and no longer has time for such trivial matters.

This film has an important message of overcoming disabilities. Nemo has a shriveled fin, resulting from a barracuda attack when he was an egg. This results in Nemo being a poor swimmer and bobbling when he swims. Marlin is highly aware of his son’s disability and does everything in his power to help him. When he’s separated from his dad Nemo performs some impressive feats on his own that prove that just because one has a disability, it doesn’t mean said person can’t do amazing things. Another message the film has is one that parents can take away from. Most parents care about their kids and would do anything to prevent them from being hurt. Marlin tried to fight off the barracuda that would go on to kill his wife and most of his kids, but the barracuda was able to naturally knock Marlin out. Waking up to only one surviving kid, Marlin vows to never let any harm to befall Nemo. This incident naturally turns Marlin into a nervous wreck and he constantly fusses over Nemo, much to Nemo’s annoyance. After Nemo is taken away, Marlin learns through the advice of many bright and colorful characters, that even though you may not think they’re ready, sometimes you have to let your kid go and let them do their own thing. It may be scary and a little sad to let your kid go, but at the end of the day you have to give your kid their moment to try.

            One of the most difficult things to properly animate is water. Finding Nemo did to CGI what The Little Mermaid did to traditional animation, create a realistic world set almost entirely underwater. What’s truly astounding is the color of the water doesn’t stay consistent throughout the film. This is due to Pixar’s brilliant tradition to bring a sense of realism to their features. The ocean scenery is beautifully vibrant. Scenes set in the reef look so colorful and beautiful. This is one of those moments when I could just look at the screen and bask in the film’s radiant beauty. Another beautiful scene is the jellyfish forest. The jellyfish are realistically translucent and are beautifully frightening. The animation of the fish characters is excellent. Their facial features are based more on a dog’s than on an actual fish’s. This is because a fish’s eyes are located on the sides of the face and this would have proven problematic for the animators to properly emote what the characters are feeling. The animation of the human characters is an improvement on the design from Monsters, Inc. however, the human characters do still have a plastic look to them, and this can take away from some people’s enjoyment of the film. I personally can look over this little flaw as the gorgeous animation of the on the aquatic life and the ocean scenery more than makes up for the flawed animation of the human characters.

            Finding Nemo proved once again that Pixar was a force to be reckoned with. Despite the CEO of Disney at the time, Michael Eisner believing that the film was going to be a flop and “knock Pixar down a peg”. The result was quite the opposite as Finding Nemo became the highest grossing film at the time, outgrossing The Lion King, which was the previous record holder. The characters of this film have become so iconic, that even after almost twenty years since the film’s release, if an establishment has a fish tank, a kid is inevitable going to point at a clownfish and exclaim Nemo! This is a testament to how wonderful this film is and how it still manages to entertain audiences to this day.

Monsters, Inc. 8.5/10

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G, 92m, 2001

With the Voice Talents of John Goodman (James P. Sullivan), Billy Crystal (Mike Wazowski), Steve Buscemi (Randall Boggs), Mary Gibbs (Boo), Jennifer Tilly (Celia), James Coburn (Henry J. Waternoose III), Bob Peterson (Roz), Frank Oz (Jeff Fungus), Dan Gerson (Needleman and Smitty) and John Ratzenberger (Yeti). Directed by Pete Doctor. Produced by Darla K. Anderson. Screenplay by Andrew Stanton and David Gerson. Music by Randy Newman.

            Monsters, Inc. marks a first in Pixar’s history. This film marks the first time that John Lassiter did not direct have a hand in directing one of the feature films at Pixar. Instead, this film was directed by Pete Doctor, who was one of the first animators to be hired at Pixar, along with Andrew Stanton who would go on to direct Finding Nemo and WALL-E. This is often a huge risk for a studio, especially for a young studio, to give the reins to somebody with no experience in directing a feature, but in the case of Monsters, Inc., the risk was well worth it.

            Many children have a phobia of monsters lurking in their closets or under their beds waiting to scare them, This film takes that idea and runs with it. Sully (John Goodman) is the top Scarer at Monsters, Inc., a company that converts children’s screams into energy. He’s assisted by a one-eyed monster called Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal). Sully’s archrival at Monsters Inc. is the scheming Randal Boggs (Steve Buscemi), who desperately wants to be the top Scarer and to beat the all-time scare record. One day Sully is working late, picking up Mike’s paperwork when he spots a lone door on the Scare Floor. Sully enters the door to see if anybody is scaring inside. Sully finds the room to be supposedly empty. Just as he’s about to depart Sully hears a thumping sound behind him. The sound turned out to be a human girl named Boo (Mary Gibbs) picking his tail and dropping. This freaks Sully out as it’s believed in the Monster World that a human’s touch is toxic and can kill a monster. Sully stores Boo in a bag and rushes to put Boo back into her room. Just as he’s about to drop Boo off at her room, the door opens, and Randall emerges. It turns out that Randall had been secretly scaring Boo, for nefarious reasons. Sully, who ad managed to hide before Randall opened the door, rushes off to find Mike and to inform him of the situation. At the restraint Mike is out Boo gets of the bag and reveals herself to the other monsters and panic ensues. The CDA, which is the organization that is in charge of taking care of human related problems, quarantines the area after Mike, Sully and Boo escape. Now its up to Mike and Sully to get Boo back to her rightful place.

            The animation of this film is phenomenal, and Pixar once again set the standard for animation when this film was released, and it stills holds up relatively well to this day. One of the hardest things to animate on a computer is hair and Sully is covered in it. The reason hair is especially hard to animate, is because hair moves independently from the body. There’s one scene where Sully is travelling down a snowy hill during a blizzard. This is unbelievably hard to animate and the team at Pixar pulled it off masterfully. The character designs of this film are wonderfully imaginative. None of the monsters look alike and each has their own distinct feature that makes them stand out in a crowd. For example, Celia (Jennifer Tilly), Mike’s girlfriend in addition to having one eye, she also has a medusian hairstyle. This film also has several nice little touches that makes the world these characters live in believable. Since there are monsters of all shape and sizes, the architecture of this film reflects this. The door to Sully’s apartment features a small door for smaller monsters such as Mike to enter and a larger door for big characters such as Sully to use. Sully’s chair even has a hole in the back for his tail to fit through. All the kids’ rooms as well as their doors look unique, it would have been much simpler and cheaper to copy paste one room and switch things up enough for people not to notice too much. The design of the human characters are an improvement from the Toy Story films, but the designs of the humans do look a bit dated when compare to latter Pixar films. However, this doesn’t take away from the enjoyability of the film and Boo still looks vulnerable and cute.

            The strength of the film lies in the relationship between the characters. This is mainly shown through the relationship between Sully and Boo, and the relationship between Mike and Sully. Sully and Boo’s relationship is akin to that of a father and daughter, as Boo looks up to Sully for protection and Sully first looks at Boo with fear as he believes the notion that kids are toxic. However, as the film progresses Sully develops genuine caring feelings for Boo. This actually leads to a humorous scene where Sully misunderstands a situation that is a clear reference to the Looney Tune short Feed the Kitty. The relationship between Mike and Sully starts off as two close friends working together, with Mike being jealous of all the credit Sully is getting. Tensions rise when Sully crashes Mike’s date with Celia, causing her to become furious with Mike. Boo causes further tension between the duo as Mike wants to get rid of Boo with no regard to what happens to Boo. This is in stark contrast to Sully’s growing paternal feelings for Boo. When Mike and Boo get banished Mike is ticked at Sully leading to the climactic moment Mike literally turns his back on Sully. When Sully leaves, this causes Mike to evaluate himself and what is truly important.

            The film does feature a message of kids being far too desensitized today, however this fact is rather glossed over. This could have led to some brilliant concepts such as the content of the news can be scarier than many R- rated horror films. This film coincidentally came out a few months after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and I feel this is the type of message would have greatly helped many kids, who saw the terror on the news and the resulting fear that lingered for months after 9/11. Granted there was no way the filmmakers could have predicted the terrible tragedy, but I do feel it would have been a good idea to explore the notion of the desensitization of younger children.

            I do have one nitpick with the film. When the monsters scare the kids, they often roar or growl. Theoretically speaking wouldn’t the parents or guardians of these kids hear the roar and wonder what’s going on? Also, if the practice of scaring kids has been going on for years, wouldn’t the adults remember this and take measures to protect their kids? But I digress, this film is so sweet and fun. Little nitpicks such as these, won’t really take away from one’s enjoyment of the film.

            While not as emotionally powerful as Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc. delivers a fun and engaging story with memorable and likable characters. This is the type of film that can be enjoyed by kids and adults and serves as a reminder, how an animated film doesn’t have to rely on cheap jokes and gimakes to make money. What audiences really want to see is a film with a good premise and memorable characters, on this note Monsters, Inc. succeeds as a truly good movie.

Kiki’s Delivery Service 9/10

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G, 103m, 1989

With the Voice Talents of: Kirsten Dunst (Kiki), Jiji (Phil Hartman), Matthew Lawrence (Tombo), Osono (Tress MacNeille), Janeane Garofalo (Ursula), Brad Garrett (Fukuo), Kath Soucie (Kokiri), Jeff Bennett (Okino), Julia Fletcher (Maki and Ket’s Mother), Debbie Reynolds (Madame), Edie McClurg (Barsa), Pamela Segall (Ket), Matt K. Miller (Police Officer and Hotel Receptionist) and Corey Burton (Radio Announcer). Directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Produced by Hayao Miyazaki. Screenplay by Hayao Miyazaki. Music by Joe Hisaishi. Based on Kiki’s Delivery Service by Eiko Kadono.

            As a fan of anime I’m well aware of the American social stigma surrounding anime. Some see it as animation and animation is just for kids. (Tell that to Elfen Lied, School Days and Fritz the Cat) Others think that anime is pornographic (that’s called hentai) or overally violent. A few even believe that anime exists purely to sell toys and merchandise. On some accounts these people are right. While I love anime such as Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood, Princess Mononoke, Code Geass and Ah! My Goddess, I would not show these anime to a young child or anyone who’s hypersensitive to violence or a little risqué humor. Kiki’s Delivery Service is the perfect anime to show someone with misguided views of anime.

            The film opens with Kiki (Kirsten Dunst) lying in the grass listening to her father’s (Jeff Bennett) portable radio. Upon hearing that the skies are going to be clear that night Kiki quickly prepares to depart from her parents’ house and try to strike it out on her own as a witch in training. In this world, when a witch turns thirteen, she’s supposed to leave her parents’ house for about a year and try to survive using her skills as a witch. Unfortunately for Kiki, the only skill she has as a witch is flying, and even then she’s not particularly good at flying. Kiki heads out on her mother’s (Kath Soucie) old broom, along with the talking cat Jiji (Phil Hartman). They eventually come across a town and inhabitants are mystified to see an actual witch flying about. Kiki accidentally almost causes a traffic accident and a police officer (Matt Miller) berates her for her carelessness. Just as he’s about to bring her in to the station to call her parents, a call for help in stopping a thief sounds and the officer rushes off. It’s soon revealed that the call for help was meant to be a distraction so Kiki could escape. The person who called for help is a boy named Tombo (Mathew Lawrence), who has an interest in aviation and flying. He tries to talk to Kiki, but Kiki wants nothing to do with him and flies off in a huff. While contemplating whether or not to find a different city, Kiki helps a bakery owner named Osono (Tress MacNeille) deliver a pacifier to a mother who accidentally left it at her store. Osono gives Kiki a job as a delivery girl as well as room and board. At first Kiki does very well at her job, but eventually she loses her ability to fly as well as the ability to understand Jiji. The rest of the film is about Kiki overcoming these obstacles and believing in herself again.

            Kiki’s Delivery Service actually marks two firsts for me. The first is the trailer for this film on The Spirit of Mickey VHS tape was my first introduction to the wonderous world of Japanese animation. At the time I had no idea, that the film was for a film animated in Japan, all I knew was the trailer looked interesting and the accompanying song was performed beautifully. I’d later learn that said song was “I’m Gonna Fly” by Sydney Frost. The song was put over the end credit sequence on the VHS and early DVD releases. The song has since been replaced by the original Japanese ending song “Yasashisa ni Tsutsumareta nara” (Wrapped in Kindness) by Matsutoya Yumi, which is equally entertaining. The second first is this was my first “real” anime movie. Sure, I’d seen a number of the Pokémon films prior to watching this film, but this is the first anime film I watched knowing what anime is. I borrowed a copy of the film from the friend who introduced me to anime and I instantly recognized the cover art from that trailer I watched years ago. I popped the movie in at my house and I was instantly put under the magical spell of Hayao Miyazaki’s brilliance in visual storytelling. Hayao Miyazaki is sometimes referred to as the Walt Disney of Japan, a name also given to Osamu Tezuka. I prefer to think of him as the Kurosawa of animation. I say this because I feel this notion discredits years of Japanese filmmaking.

            The animation of this film is astounding. The character animation features visually interesting characters that is typical of Studio Ghibli. The scenes where Kiki is soaring on her broom are visually astounding and serve as some of the visual highlights of the film. The city that Kiki settles in has a strong European feeling to it. The city resembles a city in our world, but at the same time it doesn’t feel like a particular time or place. This is because the film is set in the 1950s where WW2 never happened. This results in airships from the 1930s, cars from the 1940s and machinery and fashion from the 1950s all coexisting at the same time. This gives the film an alternative, but familiar feeling.

            As a (currently) who was moved out of his parents’ house, I found the trials and tribulation that Kiki went through to be highly relatable. While buying groceries, Kiki discovers how expensive food truly is and is forced to eat cheap food such as pancakes. Many people who are striking it out on their own will find this sequence to be highly relatable. The segment of the film that I found the most relatable was the section of the film where Kiki was having some serious doubts about her abilities as a witch and finding her passion for something she once loved again. I have felt the same way about being a film critic. Often times I’ll have doubts about my writing ability and at times I wonder if my content comes across as sophomoric. When these thoughts crop up, sometimes I’ll revisit a sequence where Kiki is visiting her artist friend Ursula (Janeane Garofalo). In the sequence Kiki confides her insecurities and fears to Ursula and Ursula relies that stuff like that happens and she tells Kiki what she does when she’s in a rut and lacking motivation. I feel this is an excellent message for aspiring artists and writers to heed. If I’m still having doubts about myself, I recall the sage like wisdom of Jake the Dog from Adventure Time, “Dude, sucking at something is the first step to be sorta good at something.”.

            Many animated films feel the insatiable desire to insert a stupid pop song that the characters all do a choreographed dance to, or have an annoying as hell side character that only serves as the comedic relief serving no real purpose to the story and getting little to no character development outside of being an annoyance. Kiki’s Delivery Service suffers from none of these tropes that plague so many modern animated features. This film can easily be enjoyed by children and adults. When I saw this film in theaters the theater was jammed pack with people of all ages and they seemed to revel in the film’s brilliance and its beauty. Even my aunt who had never seen any variation of anime and who considers animation a children’s medium thought that the film was good, and she was a bit disappointed that the film produced no sequels. The only people I can see having a problem with this film are the super religious people who would scorn the film for featuring witchcraft. This is ridiculous as the film teaches important life lessons that can be beneficial to not only children, but for adults as well.

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn 9/10

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PG, 107m, 2011

With the Voice Talents of Jamie Bell (Tintin), Andy Serkis (Captain Archibald Haddock and Sir Francis Haddock), Daniel Craig (Ivan Ivanovitch Sakharine), Nick Frost (Thomson), Simon Pegg (Thompson), Toby Jones (Aristides Silk), Enn Reitel (Nestor and Mr. Crabtree) and Joe Starr (Barnaby Dawes). Directed by Steven Spielberg. Produced by Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson and Kathleen Kennedy. Screenplay by Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish. Music by John Williams. Based on The Adventures of Tintin by Hergé.

            Steven Spielberg, who was a massive fan of the Tintin comics since 1981, has stated that he wanted to create a Tintin movie that feels like an Indiana Jones film for kids. On that front I feel he succeed as the film feels like a fun action-adventure treasure hunting movie. Hergé, the author of the Tintin comics, reportedly felt that Spielberg was the only person that could do Tintin justice, as he was disappointed in the previous film versions of Titin. I feel Hergé made the right call with entrusting Spielberg with his creation and it’s a shame Hergé never lived to see his creation properly brought to life.

            The film opens with an homage to the classic Tintin comics, before cutting to the motion capture animation that dominates the rest of the film. Tintin (Jamie Bell) is getting his portrait drawn by a man who shares an uncanny resemblance to Hergé. Snowy, Tintin’s dog spies a pickpocket (Toby Jones) and follows him around. Catching up to Snowy, Tintin spots a magnificent model boat of the Unicorn that was triple masted, double decked and had fifty guns. Tintin quickly buys the model Unicorn when another man by the name of Barnaby Dawes (Joe Starr), who is an Interpol officer tries to buy the boat off Tintin, warning him that “he’s about to walk into a whole mess of trouble”, before running off. Why Dawes didn’t just quietly tell Tintin that he was an undercover officer and discreetly show Tintin his badge as prove, is beyond me. Another man by the name of Ivan Ivanovitch Sakharine (Daniel Craig) then offers to buy the boat as well before Tintin walks off and puts the model ship on his mantle. While searching for his magnifying glass, a cat gets in and Snowy gives chase. In the ensuing chaos the boat gets knocked over and a small round cylinder falls out unbeknownst to Tintin. Tintin then rushes to a library and learns that the Unicorn had been lost at sea due to a pirate attack, and it was rumored that the ship was carrying valuable cargo. Tintin returns home to discover that his model ship and been stolen. Tintin rushes to the estate of Sakharine, whom he suspects of stealing the ship as he was one of the people interested in acquiring it. Tintin finds an exact copy of the Unicorn, but he quickly learns that the model wasn’t his. Tintin returns home to find his room in shambles, when there’s a knock at his door. Barnaby Dawes once again tries to warn Tintin, before he’s gunned down by a group that escapes via a car. The next day Tintin is talking to the Bumbling police officers Thompson (Simon Pegg) and Thomson (Nick Frost) who are looking for an elusive pickpocket. While the pair are distracted Tintin is captured and is placed on a boat. It’s then revealed that Sakharine had orchestrated the whole thing and was determined to find the other scroll that was concealed inside the mast of the Unicorn. As the scroll was in his wallet, that was stolen by the pickpocket, Tintin admits to not having the scroll. Tintin manages to escape captivity due to the help of Snowy, where he meets the ship’s drunkard captain Haddock, who has become a prisoner by his mutinous crew. Now it’s up to Tintin to uncover Sakharine’s plot as well as the secret of the Unicorn.

            The film combines the story of The Crab with the Golden Claws, The Secret of the Unicorn and the final part of Red Rackham’s Treasure to create a exhilarating thrill ride. Ordinarily when a film stitches together story elements from three different novels the plot feels rather discombobulating and things seem to happen to speed the story along without properly explaining the motives of the characters and the stakes at play. This film was somehow able to cut up and stitch together a fantastic treasure hunting story that feels fresh and is enjoyable.

            The characters are a thrill to watch and make the movie vastly more entertaining. Tintin is a journalist who has helped solve several cases with the help of his unusually bright canine companion Snowy. Haddock is a drunken sea captain, whose family has fallen on hard times following the sinking of the Unicorn. Haddock serves as one of the film’s sources of comedic relief. This is mainly through his drunken bumbling antics and slapstick humor. Thompson and Thomson serve as the film’s comedic duo where they constantly bungle everything up despite their well-meaning attempts to help.

            Ordinarily I dislike the look of motion capture animated films as I often find it hard to believe that the characters are real, and the facial expressions of the characters look unnatural. However, with this film I experienced none of my grievances with this film. The animation of the film holds up to scrutiny of today and serves as a reminder that motion capture animated films don’t have to look soul-suckingly terrifying. The design of the characters combines the design of the original characters from the comics and a bit of the likeness of the actors portraying the characters. Many of the action scenes are as phenomenal and thrilling as many of the action sequences in the Indiana Jones films.

            The Adventures of Tintin is a spectacular animated film that can be enjoyed by audiences of all ages. Both producer Peter Jackson and director Steven Spielberg have made hints and speculations about possible sequels and I’m fully open to the idea. I had a blast watching these characters and would love to see them in further adventures.  

Mulan 9/10

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G, 98 m, 1998

With the Voices Talents of Ming-Na Wen (Mulan), Lea Salonga (Mulan singing), Eddie Murphey (Mushu), BD Wong (Captain Li Shang), Donny Osmond (Shang singing), Miguel Ferrer (Shan Yu), Harvey Fierstein (Yao), Gedde Watanabe (Ling), Jerry Tondo (Chien-Po), James Hong (Chi-Fu), Pat Morita (Emperor of China), Soon-Tek Oh (Fa Zhou), June Foray (Grandmother Fa), Miriam Margolyes (The Matchmaker) George Takei (First Ancestor) and Frank Wheeler (Cri-Kee and Khan). Directed by Barry Cook and Tony Bancroft. Produced by Pam Coats. Screenplay by Rita Hsiao, Philip LaZebnik, Chris Sanders, Eugenia Bostwick-Singer and Raymond Singer. Music by Jerry Goldsmith. Based on The Ballad of Mulan by Guo Maoqian.

            Out of all the Disney Princess films, I find Mulan to be the most progressively feminist. In lesser hands this would have spelled disaster, however the people who worked on this film knew what they were doing and made an excellent film. During Walt Disney’s lifetime Disney Princess films such as Cinderella, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Sleeping Beauty the main heroine never truly takes any real action in life. It’s up to other characters to either safe them or give them something that will get the prince to notice them. As a result, the Disney Princesses during this era come across as bland and generic. This all changed in 1989 when Disney released The Little Mermaid. In the film Ariel takes a more active role than previous Disney Princesses and as time went on, Disney Princesses became more independent. In my opinion this reached its peak with this film.

            The film opens during the Han dynasty (306 BCE-220 CE) atop the Great Wall of China where the Huns lead by the villainous Shan Yu (Miguel Ferrer), who I’m guessing suffers from jaundice (a disease that causes the white in one’s eyes to change yellow). Shan Yu wants to invade China because he believes the Emperor (Pat Morita) was challenging his strength by building the wall. The film then cuts to our main character Mulan (Ming-Na Wen), who is suffering from the same problem as many teenage characters from movies made during the 1990s. She’s running late for something important In Mulan’s case, it’s a meeting with the Matchmaker (Miriam Margolyes). After things comedically go awry, Mulan is told “You may look like a bride, but you will never bring your family honor!” by the Matchmaker and Mulan is so upset she sings the best version of the “I Want” in any Disney film during the Disney Renaissance. After a heart to heart talk with her father, her father along with one man from every family is ordered to serve in the Chinese Army. Mulan is concerned because her father is older and was wounded sometime before the events of the film take place. After a beautifully chorographer montage sequence, Mulan rushes off disguised as a boy to take her father’s place in the Chinese Army. Mulan is joined by Mushu (Eddie Murphey), a wise cracking dragon, sent by Mulan’s ancestors to keep Mulan from harm.

            Mulan is by far one of my favorite Disney Princesses. While many Disney Princesses weep and do nothing on their own, when they don’t get their way, Mulan weeps for a bit once during the film, but then she bucks up and goes off determined to help her father. Mulan is also one of the most unselfish out of all the characters in Disney films. She never once complains that army life is to hard nor does she complain that nobody really likes her among the trainees. In lesser hands this would have been a side plot, with Mulan trying various things to get people to like her. She’s also a very complex character who actually has insecurities and wonders what’s her purpose in this world. The other human characters are a lot of fun, but they’re rather stereotypical. Shang is the young army leader who while enjoyable did come across as the rather bland awkward Disney Prince. Yao, Ling and Chin-Po serve as the pseudo three stooges comic relief. Mulan’s parents while caring are your typical parents. Chi-Fu, the Emperor’s advisor is just your bland whiny stick in the mud character. I did find Shan Yu to be a very effective villain. He provoked an aura of strength and menace that one can’t help but want to see more of this character. While I did enjoy Eddie Murphey as Mushu, at times I found his character to be a little grating, although I’d be lying if I said that the character didn’t make me laugh. I understand why the character is in the movie, Disney is trying to recapture what Robbin Williams did with the Genie in Aladdin but overall, I’d say I enjoyed the character and I think Eddie Murphey did a good job of voicing the character.

            Whenever the Walt Disney Animation Studio makes a new animated film, they always start with research on the area that the film will take place in. This usually means that a group of people from the studio goes on a research trip to learn more about the culture of the area and to take reference photos. This research trip helped improve the overall tone of the film. I really liked how the film opened with simple watercolor strokes on rice paper eventually giving way to the Great Wall of China. Although I did feel that the characters used the word honor too much.

            This film arguably has the highest death count of any Disney animated movie. Two massive armies are destroyed (off screen of course), but we do get to see some of the bodies of the main Chinese Army in a very beautifully drawn somber scene. It’s also implied several times in the film that the Huns kill entire villages for little to no reason (“Besides, a little girl will be missing her doll. We should return it to her.”) Unlike many Disney films, this does not cause a tone problem. As the army Mulan is in marches to serve as back up to the main Chinese Army, the troops optimistically sing about how great things will be when they get home and how women love soldiers, when they stop mid song when they see the destruction of a village, where they come across the bodies of the decimated Chinese Army. Some might view this as a tone problem, but I do not. The reason why is because when young people go off to war to stop a demonized foe, they’re often filled with jubilation and can’t wait until they can get a piece of the action. That is until they see how horrifying war is and I feel this scene illustrated that moment perfectly, because after they come across the destroyed village, the soldiers act a lot more somber and determined to save China from the evil invading force.

            I honestly find it misleading to call Mulan a princess movie. While Mulan may share some similar traits to other Disney Princess films, Mulan herself is not a true Disney Princess. Neither of her parents are of royal or noble birth (yes, her parents are alive throughout the entire film), she doesn’t marry into royalty and she never obtains a position of power. Despite these facts, Mulan is still featured in the official Disney Princess lineup. The only reason I can think of for her being in the official lineup is to promote diversity by adding a character of Asian descent and to give young girls a positive role model to whom they can look up to.

            Mulan came out at a time where the Disney Renaissance was winding down and the latter films like Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame weren’t on par with the films of the early Disney Renaissance like Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King. I by far consider this the best film of the latter Disney Renaissance and I think the film has a good message of staying true to one’s heart as well as women can do anything men can do if they put their mind to it.

My Hero Academia: Two Heroes 6.5/10

Nick SheedyLeave a comment

PG-13, 96m, 2018

With the Voice Talents of Justin Briner (Izuku Midoriya), Christopher R. Sabat (All Might), Clifford Chapin (Katsuki Bakugō), David Matranga (Shōto Todoroki), Luci Christian (Ochaco Uraraka), J. Michael Tatum (Tenya Iida), Colleen Clinkenbeard (Momo Yaoyorozu), Justin Cook (Eijiro Kirishima), Monica Rial (Tsuyu Asui),  Brina Palencia (Minoru Mineta), Kyle Phillips (Denki Kaminari), Trina Nishimura (Kyōka Jirō), Caitlin Glass (Mina Ashido), Ray Chase (David Shield), Erica Mendez (Melissa Shield) and Keith Silverstein (Wolfram). Directed by Kenji Nagasaki. Produced by Wakana Okamura, Yoshihiro Oyabu, Koji Nagai and Kazumasa Sanjōba. Screenplay by Yōsuke Kuroda. Music by Yuki Hayashi. Based on My Hero Academia by Kōhei Horikoshi.

            Typically speaking, movies based on an anime series aren’t particularly good. While there certainly are exceptions such as Dragon Ball Super: Broly, One Piece: Stampede and The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, more often than not a movie based on an anime series is typically viewed as a much lesser story when compared to the series the movie is based on and unfortunately My Hero Academia: Two Heroes falls in the same sub-par category.

The movie opens with a beautiful sweeping shot of Bald Eagles soaring in the sky, so you know this scene takes place in the United States. A young All Might (Christopher R. Sabat) and David Shield (Ray Chase) are seen stopping a vilian from getting away after robbing a casino. They successfully nab the perps and fly off in David’s car to stop another crime. We then learn this was all a dream as All might wakes up to Midoriya’s voice (Justin Briner). All Might and Midoriya are traveling to I-Island, which is man-made island where the scientists of the world reside and perform research on Quirks. A Quirk is this world’s name for a superpower, which 80% of the population possess. All Might is visiting the island to visit his friend and former sidekick David and to attend an upcoming expo on the island. David introduces All Might and Midoriya to his daughter Melissa (Erica Mendez), who wishes to become a scientist just like her father. As they travel around the island, Midoriya and All Might meet the rest of Midoriya’s classmates from U.A. Hero Course Class 1-A. They all arrived at the island for various reasons that serve no real purpose to the plot, but instead their reasons for being on the island serves as plot armor to get all of Class 1-A at the same place. At the expo, a dastardly group of villains led by Wolfram (Keith Silverstein) crashes the expo in order to obtain a headset that maximizes the power of a person’s Quirk. All of the Pro Heroes at the expo are blocked from using their Quirks to stop the villains, because if the do the villains will trigger the overridden security system to target normal people. Unbeknownst to the villains, Midoriya and a handful of students from Class 1-A are aware of the plot and are determined to stop the villains.

This film runs into some of the same problems a lot of movies based on shonen anime run into. The movie was released between the second and third season of the anime. This means that not a lot of lasting character development can occur, nor can any of the pre-established characters go through any real change. This takes away from any of the intense moments, because we know all of the characters we care about are going to turn out okay, since they’re in the next season of the anime. All of this makes the movie feel like an extended filler episode. It’s a rather entertaining filler episode, but the film does come across as unneeded.

            While the story may be lacking, the characters are anything but. A major reason for the popularity of the My Hero Academia franchise is its characters. We’ve seen plenty of movies and tv shows featuring magic schools for gifted youngsters such as Harry Potter and the X-Men films, but the My Hero Academia franchise feels fresh and that is mainly due to its wide variety of characters. Unfortunately given the length of the film, not all of the characters get as much screen time as I would have liked, and some are relegated to little more than a cameo role. The relationship between All Might and David feels guanine as the connection between the two feels like two pals that have been extremely close for many years and have developed a brotherly relationship over the years. It’s also really cool to see All Might during his youth as that aspect of the character is rarely shown in the series. The villains led by Wolfram feel generic and uninspired. This is extremely disappointing as one of the greatest aspects of the My Hero Academia franchise are the compelling and threatening villains. With its bland story, the movie could have at least provided interesting villains, instead all we get is a vilian that we’ve seen a hundred times and has no lasting impact. However, the fight between Wolfram and the combined efforts of All Might and Midoriya is a visual spectacle. The My Hero Academia series is well known for giving its viewers engaging and visually interesting fight sequences. This movie is no exception and the final battle sequence almost makes up for the generic villains with their boring motivations.

            One major issue I have with this film is its inconsistency of All Might’s power. While it is entertaining to see All Might fight, I can’t overlook the fact that he stayed in his empowered form all night. Some may find this to be nitpicking, but when the film constantly addresses the fact that All Might can’t stay in his empowered form for over a few hours, I’m unable to look past this little plot hole. This film is considered canon taking place after the twentieth episode of the third season entitled Save the World with Love. This further cements my issue with the film, as the movie glosses over an important element that cause major consequences later on in the series.

 Hero Academia: Two Heroes pales in comparison to the original series. The plot borrows many elements from films like Die Hard, only with less entertaining characters and lesser stakes. The movie is certainly entertaining to watch if only as an entrée to the next season. At best it feels like a standard shonen movie, there’s nothing insultingly wrong with the film, it’s just subpar compared to other shonen movies that are far better.

My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising 7.5/10

Nick SheedyLeave a comment

PG-13, 104m, 2019

With the Voice Talents of Justin Briner (Izuku Midoriya), Clifford Chapin (Katsuki Bakugō), Dani Chambers (Mahoro Shimano), Maxey Whitehead (Katsuma Shimano), David Matranga (Shōto Todoroki), Luci Christian (Ochaco Uraraka), J. Michael Tatum (Tenya Iida), Colleen Clinkenbeard (Momo Yaoyorozu), Justin Cook (Eijiro Kirishima), Monica Rial (Tsuyu Asui),  Brina Palencia (Minoru Mineta), Kyle Phillips (Denki Kaminari), Fumikage Tokoyami (Josh Grelle), Trina Nishimura (Kyōka Jirō), Yuga Aoyama (Joel McDonald), Caitlin Glass (Mina Ashido), Mike McFarland (Mashirao Ojiro), Johnny Yong Bosch (Nine), Greg Dulcie (Chimera), Lydia Mackay (Slice), Brendan Blaber (Mummy) Christopher R. Sabat (All Might), Christopher Wehkamp (Shōta Aizawa) and Patrick Seitz (Endeavor). Directed by Kenji Nagasaki. Produced by Wakana Okamura, Yoshihiro Oyabu, Koji Nagai and Kazumasa Sanjōba. Screenplay by Yōsuke Kuroda. Music by Yuki Hayashi. Based on My Hero Academia by Kōhei Horikoshi.

I went into this movie extremely skeptical. I didn’t care for the first film very much and I was concerned that this movie was going to commit some of the same sins. Halfway through the movie I leaned over and whispered to me friend “this movie is fantastic; it’s going to have to really crap the bed for me not to like it”. Towards the end of the movie I noticed a foul smell and I realized the film had potentially crapped the bed.

The movie opens with an intensely entertaining car chase between the League of Villains, who is transferring Nine (Johnny Yong Bosch) in a life support vat, and a group of heroes lead by Endeavor (Patrick Seitz). Endeavor manages to stop the van, however the League of Vilian escapes and Nine regroups with his followers Chimera (Greg Dulcie), Mummy (Brendan Blaber) and Slice (Lydia Mackay). We then cut to the hero class 1-A of UA High School on Nabu Island, who are performing temporary hero duties for the residents. The hero duties prove to be minor problems such as helping an elderly lady with her errands, jumpstarting a tractor and minor security as there hasn’t been an actual violent crime in quite some time. One day Midoriya (Justin Briner) receives a call from Mahoro (Dani Chambers) whose younger brother Katsuma (Maxey Whitehead) is missing. Midoriya finds Katsuma only to learn that Mahoro had only been testing the heroes in order to see how good they are. They come up short in her eyes, so she sends Katsuma to get a hero to fight a vilian, Bakugō (Clifford Chapin) rushes off to fight the villain, where he quickly discovers the vilian is an illusion created by Mahoro. Bakugō gets rightfully angry but he gets calmed down by Midoriya and he storms off. Meanwhile Nine is desperately searching for somebody who possess a cell regeneration quirk, so he can steal it and heal himself. Nine finds somebody who has this ability and this person just happens to be Mahoro and Katsuma’s father. Unfortunately for Nine, the father’s quirk only helps people with a Type-A blood type. Knowing that quirks can be inherited genetically, Nine goes after Mahoro and Katsuma. Now it’s up to Class 1-A to stop the dastardly villains or at the very least keep Mahoro and Katsuma out of harm’s way.

The movie is very forgiving to newcomers of the series who haven’t seen a single episode. This is all done masterfully without hitting audiences who are already in the know over the head with plot points we already know and without dropping so much exposition that newcomers would be lost. However, I will say that fans of the series should be familiar with events up to at least season four as several things are done or said that might be considered as minor spoilers for earlier seasons.

The final battle sequence is a hit or miss. On one hand it’s an amalgamation of everything one could love about a shonen anime. On the other hand, it could be potentially problematic and the way it ends is a deus ex machina. I say it’s problematic because a certain power has never been fully explored so therefore the ending could potentially work, but at the same time it could be a major cop out. Had the movie actually went through with a certain thing, it would have worked if the movie served as the series finally. Had this been the case I would have been satisfied with the series finally and I would have been left with a bittersweet feeling. The ending is going to make or break the film for a lot of people. The theater I saw the film at had people applauding the ending and the gaggle of girls seated next to me were crying towards the end.

The film gives most of the Hero class of 1-A a moment in the spotlight as most of the characters either contribute something to the plot or serve a vital role in an action scene. The only exception is Toru Hagakure, whose quirk is invisibility. The two characters that get the most attention are Bakugō and Midoriya. Their dynamic fighting styles look super interesting when paired up and both characters add emotional depth to the film that was powerful enough to bring some of the audience to tears. The villains while serviceable as well as interesting, were underdeveloped. I understand that the focus is meant to be on the heroes, but I wanted to know more about the villains and their motivation. Chimera and Nine were the most developed but even then, we got the most bareboned explanation about why they are evil. Nine wants to take over the world and instate a system ruled by the strong and Chimera follows Nine because he was viewed as a monster and villain all his life and Nine was one of the only people to treat him with kindness. Mummy and Slice are given absolutely no character development, so they sometimes come across as underdeveloped, despite this they do showcase some interesting abilities that do prove very threatening to the film’s protagonists.  All the audience is told about them is their powers and they follow Nine, for whatever reason. While the vilians’ motivation is generic, they’re still entertaining to watch. I particularly enjoyed Chimera who served as a fantastic secondary vilian. I would have preferred to learn a little more about him and to see him in action more as all his battle scenes were some of the film’s highlights.

The My Hero Academia series is beautifully animated. As it was given a larger budget, the animation of this movie is improved, and it looks absolutely stunning. The fight scenes are the visual high point of the movie. Although I will admit during the final battle there is a scene where the imagery looked way to similar to the Dragon Ball franchise for my taste. I like originality and while I understand paying homage to another property, there comes a point where it becomes almost a form of plagiarism. The only issue I have with the animation is the CGI, which is mostly thankfully used sparingly. Despite these little knit picks, I was completely satisfied with the visuals and the fight sequences are some of the best in the franchise.

            While I had problems with the films ending, I get why people are enjoying this film. The action sequences are great, the animation is beautiful, the music is epic and the story as well as the characters are a lot of fun. I know some will see this review as me not getting it or being too harsh, which I get because at the end of the day, this is a My Hero Academia movie and with that comes the faults of a shonen movie. Maybe I am being to harsh with this film, but I will visit this film again when the series is over and if the glaring plot hole I saw is resolved, then I’ll give the film a higher rating. Until then I’ll continue to enjoy the series and if the issue is not resolved, then I’ll just view this film as a fun shonen film.