Yes, there were animated movies before Pixar...in fact there were some pretty good ones. Here are my top 5. These are all Disney movies...guess that says that Disney has the animated movie genre figured out better than most.
5 - "Brother Bear" - Ok, this is a bit of a hippy movie. A young Inuit boy needlessly kills a bear out of vengeance, and thus is turned into a bear by the nature spirits or something like that. He then meets a younger bear, and forms a bond and learns that bears aren't all that bad. This is really a pretty good movie, with a message of selflessness. Plus, it has music by Phil Collins, which brings it up the coolness scale.
4 - "Treasure Planet" - This one is a retelling of "Treasure Island" but in space. Jim Hawkins is a troubled youth who gets taken along on a grand adventure to find Treasure Planet. He develops a bond with the ship's cook, John Silver, but that bond is tested when Silver leads a mutiny. In the end, will Silver do the right thing, or give into his life long obsession with Treasure Planet. You'll have to watch this fun, family friendly movie, to find out.
3 - "Mulan" - For me, the top 3 movies on this list were no contest. They are so far ahead of the rest that it wasn't even close. It was simply figuring out where to put each of the top 3. "Mulan" is a wonderfully entertaining movie that has a message of love for family and breaking stereotypes that will choke up even the most cold hearted person. In Ancient China, the title character joins the army, secretly, in place of her aging father, to protect him. To make a long story short, she saves all of China, falls in love, and breaks the stereotypes of the day that say only Men are worthwhile. Just a terrific movie.
2 - "Aladdin" - A raucous adventure with lots of laughs, "Aladdin" was almost #1 on this list...almost. Robin Williams is the Genie in the lamp, and he is outstanding...just goofing off and being Robin Williams. The Genie really steals the show, but to just focus on the genie means you miss the rest of the goodness of this film. Aladdin is a "street rat" who through a set of circumstances, meets Princess Jasmine, finds the magic lamp, falls in love with Jasmine, saves the entire kingdom, and uses his last wish to free the Genie, seemingly giving up all his dreams in the process. But in true Disney fashion, Aladdin's selfless act is rewarded, and we're all left feeling warm and fuzzy inside.
1 - "Lion King" - Ok, you have possibly the greatest soundtrack in the history of animated movies, from Elton John and Tim Rice. You have an all-star vocal cast, with James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane, Robert Guillame, Whoopi Goldberg and Cheech Marin, to name several. Then, you end up with a great movie that has a tear jerker ending. You've all seen it, you all love it. Enough said!
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
The Unstoppable Megamind Movie Review from Switzerland
I bet you love that title. I love it...but I'm weird. I have 3 movies to review today.
"Megamind": This movie is essentially "Despicable Me" but a little better. Megamind is an evil genius, voiced by Wil Ferrell, who just can't seem to defeat his nemesis, Metro Man (Brad Pitt). When Megamind finally succeeds and takes over Metro City, he just isn't happy, and nothing, not even his secret budding relationship with a Metro City reporter (Tina Fey) can cheer him up. So, he sets about creating his a new super hero, Titan (Jonah Hill), to have a nemesis again. But, when Titan turns out to be evil, who will save Metro City?
"Unstoppable": Well, since you all know my opinion of Denzel movies, you know I liked "Unstoppable", but, do you know how much I liked it? Well, I thought it was a 4 star film, though it wasn't the 100 minutes of constant action that I expected.
"Swiss Family Robinson": Anybody who knows me knows that I usually don't watch movies that were made before I was born. Given that "Swiss Family Robinson" was made in 1960, you would expect this one to qualify. But, my wife wanted to watch it on Easter, so we made a family event of it. I didn't hate this movie, in fact, I'd give it 3 stars. For its day, it was probably a really good movie, but today it does seem a bit campy. However, I did like it's wholesome nature...it was a good family movie, and I'm glad we took the time to watch it.
"Megamind": This movie is essentially "Despicable Me" but a little better. Megamind is an evil genius, voiced by Wil Ferrell, who just can't seem to defeat his nemesis, Metro Man (Brad Pitt). When Megamind finally succeeds and takes over Metro City, he just isn't happy, and nothing, not even his secret budding relationship with a Metro City reporter (Tina Fey) can cheer him up. So, he sets about creating his a new super hero, Titan (Jonah Hill), to have a nemesis again. But, when Titan turns out to be evil, who will save Metro City? I found "Megamind" surprisingly good. It's heartwarming, funny and something you can watch with your family. This 4 star flick is definitely worth 100 minutes of your evening.
"Unstoppable": Well, since you all know my opinion of Denzel movies, you know I liked "Unstoppable", but, do you know how much I liked it? Well, I thought it was a 4 star film, though it wasn't the 100 minutes of constant action that I expected. "Unstoppable" is based on true events of an unmanned freight train, running wide open over the countryside. In real life, the train never got much above 40 mph, and they were able to chase it down with another engine, couple to it, and slow it to the point where an engineer could jump on and stop the train. That's not exciting enough for Hollywood, so in "Unstoppable", the train gets to 70+ mph and there are many failures before our heroes finally succeed in stopping the runaway train. As the movie progresses, and the attempts to stop the train are made, we get a mini character study of our heroes, the young kid played by Chris Pine (a.k.a. Captain Kirk) and the old railroad veteran played by Denzel.
Like I said, "Unstoppable" is a very good movie. However, it's got a ton of swearing in it...I was actually surprised with the PG-13 rating given all the language. I definitely wouldn't let a kid under 13 watch this one.
"Swiss Family Robinson": Anybody who knows me knows that I usually don't watch movies that were made before I was born. Given that "Swiss Family Robinson" was made in 1960, you would expect this one to qualify. But, my wife wanted to watch it on Easter, so we made a family event of it. I didn't hate this movie, in fact, I'd give it 3 stars. For its day, it was probably a really good movie, but today it does seem a bit campy. However, I did like it's wholesome nature...it was a good family movie, and I'm glad we took the time to watch it. Monday, April 25, 2011
Top 5 Post Pixar Style Animated Movies
In 1995, Pixar Studios revolutionized the animated movie genre by releasing "Toy Story." The brainchild of John Lasseter forever changed the way we looked at animated movies by using Computer Animation instead of artist's drawings. Because of this, I felt like I needed to split off and do a top 5 list of Pixar style animated movies. One of these days, I'll do a top 5 non-Pixar style animated movies.
Coming up with a top 5 here was really difficult, since there are so many great animated movies out there. But, I'm happy with the five I came up with. We'll see if my esteemed readers agree.
5 - "Hoodwinked": This is going to be the most obscure movie on this list. "Hoodwinked" is the true story behind the traditional Red Riding Hood children's story. Starring the vocal talents of Anne Hathaway, Patrick Wharburton, Glenn Close and Jim Belushi, we hear the Red Riding Hood story from the perspective of Red, the wolf, granny and the woodsman. Along the way, our characters solve the mystery of who is stealing all the goodie recipes in the forest. Such an entertaining movie...definitely one of our family's favorites.
4 - "Monster's Inc.": Billy Crystal and John Goodman provide the voices of Mike and Sully, 2 monsters who's job is to scare human children and collect their screams to power the monster world. When a little girl makes her way into the monster world, Mike and Sully have to find a way to get her home...and possibly change the way monsters view humans in the process. This is one of the first movies I saw in HD...what a spectacular picture. Add in a lot of laughs, and a couple of good songs, and you have one terrific movie.
3 - "Toy Story": The original is still one of my favorites. I just love this movie. You've all seen it and you all love it. Don't try to deny it. "Toy Story" was not only revolutionary for what it accomplished in animation, it was a really good movie. You can't really go wrong with the vocal talents, including Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Wallace Shawn (of "Princess Bride" fame) and John Ratzenberger. Just a really great movie.
2 - "Kung Fu Panda": Given the avatar that I've chosen for my blog personality, you had to know this one was on the list. Po's Kung Fu dream is one of the funniest openings to any movie..."Legend Tells, of a Legendary Warrior, who's Kung Fu skills were the stuff of legends!". There are so many quotable lines in this movie. Jack Black is Po, the Panda, and Dustin Hoffman is his Kung Fu master, Sheefu. The back and forth between these 2 actors is great. And, this movie has a great message, as Po learns that "there is no secret ingredient". Watch it and you'll know what I mean. But, before you go watch "Kung Fu Panda" please read the final movie on my list. Skadoosh!
1 - "Cars": Another Pixar film, though by this point, Pixar had been bought out by Disney. "Cars" tells the story of Lightning McQueen, a Race Car in a world where cars are alive and Race Cars are the top sports stars. Lightning is close to winning the Piston Cup and realizing all his dreams of fame and a better sponsor, until circumstances maroon him in Radiator Springs on old Route 66. In Radiator Springs, Lightning (Owen Wilson) meets Mater (Larry the Cable Guy), Sally (Bonnie Hunt) and Doc Hudson (Paul Newman). These new friends help Lightning learn what friendship is all about, and how to care about something other than himself. At nearly 2 hours, "Cars" is a commitment, but it's a commitment worth making.
Coming up with a top 5 here was really difficult, since there are so many great animated movies out there. But, I'm happy with the five I came up with. We'll see if my esteemed readers agree.
5 - "Hoodwinked": This is going to be the most obscure movie on this list. "Hoodwinked" is the true story behind the traditional Red Riding Hood children's story. Starring the vocal talents of Anne Hathaway, Patrick Wharburton, Glenn Close and Jim Belushi, we hear the Red Riding Hood story from the perspective of Red, the wolf, granny and the woodsman. Along the way, our characters solve the mystery of who is stealing all the goodie recipes in the forest. Such an entertaining movie...definitely one of our family's favorites.
4 - "Monster's Inc.": Billy Crystal and John Goodman provide the voices of Mike and Sully, 2 monsters who's job is to scare human children and collect their screams to power the monster world. When a little girl makes her way into the monster world, Mike and Sully have to find a way to get her home...and possibly change the way monsters view humans in the process. This is one of the first movies I saw in HD...what a spectacular picture. Add in a lot of laughs, and a couple of good songs, and you have one terrific movie.
3 - "Toy Story": The original is still one of my favorites. I just love this movie. You've all seen it and you all love it. Don't try to deny it. "Toy Story" was not only revolutionary for what it accomplished in animation, it was a really good movie. You can't really go wrong with the vocal talents, including Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Wallace Shawn (of "Princess Bride" fame) and John Ratzenberger. Just a really great movie.
2 - "Kung Fu Panda": Given the avatar that I've chosen for my blog personality, you had to know this one was on the list. Po's Kung Fu dream is one of the funniest openings to any movie..."Legend Tells, of a Legendary Warrior, who's Kung Fu skills were the stuff of legends!". There are so many quotable lines in this movie. Jack Black is Po, the Panda, and Dustin Hoffman is his Kung Fu master, Sheefu. The back and forth between these 2 actors is great. And, this movie has a great message, as Po learns that "there is no secret ingredient". Watch it and you'll know what I mean. But, before you go watch "Kung Fu Panda" please read the final movie on my list. Skadoosh!
1 - "Cars": Another Pixar film, though by this point, Pixar had been bought out by Disney. "Cars" tells the story of Lightning McQueen, a Race Car in a world where cars are alive and Race Cars are the top sports stars. Lightning is close to winning the Piston Cup and realizing all his dreams of fame and a better sponsor, until circumstances maroon him in Radiator Springs on old Route 66. In Radiator Springs, Lightning (Owen Wilson) meets Mater (Larry the Cable Guy), Sally (Bonnie Hunt) and Doc Hudson (Paul Newman). These new friends help Lightning learn what friendship is all about, and how to care about something other than himself. At nearly 2 hours, "Cars" is a commitment, but it's a commitment worth making.
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