Movie Review: Incredbiles 2

Movie Review: Incredibles 2                                                                                                               6-16-18

The Incredibles was Pixar's first movie to star humans instead of toys or animals, and while not as successful at the box-office as Finding Nemo the previous year, still got glowing reviews, and rightfully won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. After many years, a sequel popped up, simply called The Incredibles 2. Does The Incredibles 2 live up to its hype? Let's find out.

Immediately picking up at the end of the first film, during a fight with the Underminer, the Parr family gets evicted again for letting the Underminer sink some buildings and robbing a bank. However, an agent named Winston Deaver and his sister Evelyn see potential in them, and wants to make superheroes legal again. Winston elects Helen Parr to become Elastigirl again and fight crime, while Bob Parr has to take care of the kids. Meanwhile, a mysterious new villain named the Screen Slaver wants to brainwash the citizens of Metroville and ban supers forever.

I am glad to tell you that The Incredibles 2 lives up to its hype with eye-popping animation, a thick plot, fantastic action-packed fight scenes, and the return of almost all the characters that we loved from the original film.

In the original film, none of the Parr family members knew that Jack-Jack had secret powers. In this film, however, Bob learns the hard way that Jack-Jack can teleport, shoot lasers from his eyes, make clones of himself, light himself on fire, and turn into a red goblin.

As with recent Pixar sequels, there are also some new characters. Winston Deaver hires and recruits supers from all over the globe to help reintroduce supers, including Brick, Reflux, Voyd, Helectrix, and more.

If I were to complain about one thing, I feel sad that we never go to see Frozone/Lucius's wife Honey, who spoke in both films, but never appears on screen. They also never revealed Helen's maiden name, which bummed me out a little.

In conclusion, while not as good as the original, The Incredibles 2 is a must-watch film for the summer that will please every Incredibles 1 fan.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Top 10 Best Animated Sequels Part 2

Before we continue, I'd like to let you know that I picked two #1 picks. Also, all the movies in this section were released in theaters, so the Emojis will not be used.
5. Shrek 2 (2004)
 
In the sequel to the first Academy Award winner for Best Animated Feature, Shrek and Fiona are happily married. After hearing their daughter is free from her prison, the king (John Cleese) and queen (Julie Andrews) invite the two ogres and Donkey to a party at their kingdom, Far Far Away. When they arrive, however, the king and queen were very surprised. Feeling Fiona isn't happy with being ugly, Shrek, along with Donkey, go on a quest to find a potion that would turn him and Fiona human.
The first Shrek tackled elements that were, at the time, very difficult in computer animation, such as water, mud, hair, and fire. Shrek 2 took computer animation further by having more human characters, hyper-realistic (at the time) backgrounds and scenery, sparkles, transformations, and in some scenes, snow.

Shrek 2 also has a more threatening villain. While Lord Farquad was basically a copy of Prince Humperdink from The Princess Bride, the Fairy Godmother doesn't think ogres should live happily ever after. She will do whatever it takes for Fiona to fall in love with Prince Charming, who's closer to Gaston from Beauty and the Beast.

Like I said back in this post...
http://asateriale.blogspot.com/2016/11/top-30-greatest-cgi-movies-of-all-time_11.html
Shrek 2 may not be as good as the original, but it does has some memorable moments. Who could ever forget this moment with Puss in Boots?


There's also a scene, though it upset me as a child, in which a mermaid, who suspiciously looks like Ariel, ends up besides Shrek. Fiona then grabs the mermaid and throws her into the ocean, in which sharks feast on her.


No wonder Shrek 2 earned 900 million dollars at the box-office! Not only do it and Shrek 1 tweak Disney by the nose, they also told compelling stories and brought computer animation to new heights. Too bad the next two Shreks didn't meet critical expectations.
4. Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)

In the sequel to the 2008 hit animated film Kung Fu Panda, Po is now officially the Dragon Warrior and even has a few fans. However, an evil peacock named Lord Shen plans on destroying kung fu by replacing it with fireworks. Now it's up to Po and the Furious Five to save China from certain destruction.
Kung Fu Panda 2 has the honor of being the first American animated feature to be solely directed by a woman: Jennifer Yuh Nelson.

That's Jack Black by her side.

Prior to directing Kung Fu Panda 2, Jenny worked on the story department for Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (not to be confused with Spirited Away), Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, and Madagascar. She also supervised Po's dream sequence in Kung Fu Panda 1.

After Kung Fu Panda 1 was completed, the crew for Kung Fu Panda 2, including Jeffery Katzenburg and Jenny Nelson, went on a research trip to China and visited the city of Chengdu, which is considered the "panda hometown". In addition to seeing real pandas at the Giant Panda Research Center, the production design crew learned about the local culture. Katzenberg has stated that the sequel incorporates many elements of Chengdu in the film. The film's landscape and architecture also found inspiration from those found at Mount Qincheng, a renowned Taoist mountain.

Sorry. I couldn't find a picture of the Kung Fu Panda 2 crew visiting China.

Kung Fu Panda 2 is different from its predecessor, as well as other DreamWorks films, as it focuses more on story and action sequences than comedy.

Another notable difference is that Kung Fu Panda 2 switches back and forth from 3D to 2D animation.

Prior to Kung Fu Panda 2, many fans were curious as to why Po's father, Mr. Ping, is a goose and not a panda. In this film, we learn that Po is actually adopted. When he was a cub, his parents sacrificed themselves to save their son from Shen's army.

After their 'deaths', Mr. Ping finds Po in a radish cart and raises him as his own.

During a very rough year for movies, both animated and what not, Kung Fu Panda 2 grossed more money and better reviews than Pixar's feature that year, Cars 2. As for Kung Fu Panda 3, it's okay. However, I would nominate it over the KCA for Best Animated Movie instead of The Secret Life of Pets or Trolls.
3. How To Train Your Dragon 2 (2014)

In the sequel to the groundbreaking DreamWorks movie How To Train Your Dragon, everyone is now five years older than in the original film. Hiccup and Toothless discover someone named Drago Bludvist, who wants to capture all the dragons to build an army with them. Stoick, Hiccup's dad, is pressuring him to become chief, while Hiccup just wants to make peace with Drago. Hiccup then discovers an island covered with ice that holds a secret to his past: his long-lost mother, Valka (voiced by Cate Blanchett). Valka loves dragons, and the island she lives on has tons of them. Now Hiccup, Valka, and his friends have to stop Drago Bludvist from world domination.
While How To Train Your Dragon 1 had six prominent dragon species, Dragons 2 has 20, or even 30 new dragons! Some of which don't even have names!

Drago Bludvist is also a threatening, and kind of scary, villain. He used to be part of Berk, and suggested to free mankind from the dragons' tyranny, but only if the vikings bowed down and followed him. However, the other vikings laughed, but Drago felt insulted and said 'Then see how well you can do without me!'

'Dragons 2' also contains one of the most tragic death scenes in an animated film since The Lion King: the tragedy of Stoick the Vast, Hiccup's father.

When the 2015 Oscars came along, many fans were upset that Big Hero 6 won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature instead of 'Dragons 2'. However, it did win the Annie Award for Best Animated Feature. 
2. The Rescuers Down Under (1990)
 
The Rescuers Down Under continues the adventures of Bernard and Bianca, in which they have to rescue a boy in Australia named Cody, who was taken hostage by poacher Percival C McLeach (George C. Scott) and his pet goanna named Joanna (Frank Welker). McLeach kidnapped Cody because he had a feather that belonged to a golden eagle that is worth a fortune.
The Rescuers Down Under was the first Disney movie to use the CAPS system, which stands for Computer Animation Process System. That means the characters were colored digitally, but were still drawn and animated by hand. However, the backgrounds were still painted by hand.

Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor reprise their roles as Bernard and Bianca in this movie. All of the new characters are really enjoyable, including Frank the frilled lizard, Percival C McLeach, the threatening villain in the movie (and one of my personal favorite Disney Villains), and Jake, a kangaroo rat who's a bit like Indiana Jones.

There's also one of my favorite Disney sidekicks, Wilbur. He's the brother of Orville, the albatross in the original Rescuers. When the Disney filmmakers discovered that Jim Jordan, who voiced Orville, passed away, Roy Edward Disney (Walt's nephew) suggested that there should be a new character: Wilbur, named after Orville and Wilbur Wright.

While being a hilarious sidekick, Wilbur unfortunately couldn't join Bernard and Bianca on their adventure in Australia because he had a back pain.

While Orville was strict and serious, Wilbur is laid back, carefree, and downright hilarious. In fact, he gets more screen time then McLeach!
Unfortunately, The Rescuers Down Under was a box-office bomb: It was released the exact same day as Home Alone. However, many Disney fans, myself included, think The Rescuers Down Under is an amazing film that deserves more credit.
1A. Toy Story 2 (1999)
 
 In the sequel to the animation phenomenon known as Toy Story, Woody gets kidnapped by Al McWiggen (Wayne Knight), a greedy toy collector. When Woody finds himself in Al's apartment, he discovers that he was part of a popular TV series from the 50s called 'Woody's Roundup'. He also meets a perky cowgirl named Jessie (Joan Cussack), a loyal horse named Bullseye, and a boxed prospector named Pete (Kelsey Grammer). Little does Woody know that Al wants to sell him and his 'Roundup Gang' to a toy museum in Japan! Now it's up to Buzz Lightyear, along with Hamm, Rex, Slinky, and Mr. Potato Head to rescue Woody and remind him what a toy's true purpose in life is.
Toy Story 2 takes everything that made Toy Story 1 good and amplifies it by 100%. There are also some enjoyable new characters, like Buster, Andy's dog from the end of the first Toy Story, Mrs. Potato Head (voiced by Estelle Harris), Wheezy the squeaky penguin, who was originally going to be in the first Toy Story, the persuasive 'Stinky' Pete, and the hilarious Utility Belt Buzz, a doppelganger of Andy's Buzz.
 
We also get more of Rex, one of my personal favorite Pixar characters. In this movie, he gets stuck on a Buzz Lightyear video game, and at Al's Toy Barn, he finds a player's guide on how to beat Zurg in the game.

Toy Story 2 got really good reviews (and is called the rare sequel that lives up to its predecessor), earned nearly 500 million dollars worldwide, and won the Golden Globe for Best Picture. Toy Story 2 was also the first animated sequel to gross more than its predecessor.
1B. Toy Story 3 (2010)

 In the final chapter of the beloved Toy Story trilogy (or at least, until next year), problems mount as Andy grows up and goes to college while the toys end up at a daycare center for destructive toddlers, ruled by a sinister teddy bear who smells of strawberries. Meanwhile, Woody gets taken by a gentle and imaginative 4-year-old girl named Bonnie Anderson, and he meets a new group of toys including a unicorn plush named Buttercup, a plastic triceratops named Trixie, a hedgehog plush named Mr. Prickle Pants, and a plush of Totoro, mascot of famous Japanese animation studio Studio Ghibli.

One problem Pixar faced with Toy Story 3 was that the animators have been used to animating organic characters (humans and animals), and they needed to animate plastic toys. So the animators went into the old models on the computers, dating back to the 1990s, and examined them and saw notes from Pixar veterans like William Reeves, Eben Ostbey, and Ed Catmull. For recreating the returning characters for Toy Story 3, the Pixar staff didn't have to do much. They just had to be true to what was already there.

In the original Toy Story, Buzz Lightyear's eyebrows, on the computer, had three controls each. For films like The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille, and Up, each brow on a character has 20 to 25 controls, so they chopped out a lot of the controls and limited it to a much smaller subset that was closer to classic Buzz. Carlos Baena, one of the animators for Toy Story 3, animated most of the scenes when Buzz is in Spanish mode.

Baena admitted that he based Spanish Buzz off of Flamenco dancers and bullfighters.

For stuffed animal characters like Lotso, Lee Unkrich wanted him to be a believably plush figure, so the Pixar crew brought in a toy designer who works specifically with stuffed animals. That way, the animators would know how to animate Lotso properly.

When Toy Story 3 premiered on June 18th, 2010, it got overwhelmingly positive reviews, with some fans even shedding a tear, earned a billion dollars at the box-office, and won the Oscars for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song. Toy Story 3 even got the Oscar nomination for Best Picture, one of only three animated movies to do so.

So, which sequel is better? Toy Story 2 or Toy Story 3? Well, I'll leave that up to you. Tomorrow, I will post my review of The Incredibles 2!

Top 10 Worst Animated Sequels

To accommodate the release of The Incredibles 2, I decided to do Top 10 Best and Worst Animated Sequels lists! First, I will start with the worst.
For both of these lists, I used theatrical and direct-to-video sequels. For those that were released in theaters, I put a camera Emoji next to the title.
For the sequels that were direct-to-video, they will have a VHS Emoji next to the title.
Anyway, let's start the countdown!

10. Despicable Me 3 (2017)

In the third installment of the hugely successful Despicable Me franchise, Gru gets fired from the Anti-Villain League after failing to catch former 80s TV star Balthazar Bratt (Trey Parker). Gru also discovers he has a twin brother named Dru (Steve Carall, who also voices Gru), and he tells Gru that their father was one of the greatest villains of all time. Dru convinces Gru into going back into thieving again, but Gru is now a father and a husband. Meanwhile, Balthazar Bratt wants to get revenge on Hollywood for cancelling his show, and plans on destroying Hollywood with a giant robot.

I am so sorry, Despicable Me fans, but Despicable Me 3 is disappointing on so many levels. The film is abnormally shorter than its predecessors (90 minutes rather than 95 or 98), the animation, while it still looks good, doesn't seem to improve upon the original, the storytelling is uneven and confusing, and there's a disturbing scene that belongs in a Shrek film.

I also find it disappointing that Margo, Edith, and Agnes remain the same ages as they were last time. You would expect that after two films, they would start entering their teens (or at least, for Margo), right? Wrong. The girls remain the same age as they were in Despicable Me 2. The voice actresses behind the girls are growing up, too, you know.

9. Mulan 2 (2004)

In the sequel to the critically-acclaimed Disney movie Mulan, Fa Mulan is engaged to Li Shang. However, Mushu discovers that if she marries Shang, Mushu will no longer be a guardian, so he decides to break them up. Meanwhile, the Emperor asks Mulan and Shang to escort his three daughters to Qui Gong, another Chinese kingdom, and save China from Mongols. Many fans hate this direct-to-video film because Mushu acts like such a jerk. He spends half the movie trying to break up Mulan and Shang for his own personal gain.

That's Shang's coat Mushu is trying to snag the hook on.

Mulan 2 is a dishonorable and painful sequel with once likable characters now out-of-character shells of their former selves, a story that butchers one of the greatest Disney sidekicks in the last 20 years, stale new characters, and a misplaced amount of cartoon physics and anachronisms that are more suited for something like The Emperor's New Groove or Shrek.

8. Ice Age 5: Collision Course (2016)

When you thought the Ice Age sequels couldn't get worse, they did. Remember how in the first Ice Age, Sid noticed a spaceship frozen in ice?

Well, in this film, Scrat uncovers the spaceship, sends it to outer space, and accidentally knocks into an asteroid that hurtles towards Earth. Now, Manny, Sid, Diego, Ellie, and the rest of the gang have to join Buck, the Mesozoic weasel from underground, on an adventure to save their planet. To quote Rotten Tomatoes: "Unoriginal and unfunny, Ice Age: Collision Course offers further proof that not even the healthiest box office receipts can keep a franchise from slouching toward creative extinction."

7. The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea (2000)

In this film, Ariel, who is now human, gives birth to her daughter, Melody. However, Morgana, Ursula's sister, is mad that her sister has been killed by Eric, and she vows vengeance. When Melody turns 12, she wishes she could become a mermaid. However, Ariel never told Melody about the mer-people because Morgana wants to use her to get Triton's trident. After Melody goes missing, Triton turns Ariel back into a mermaid to find Melody. The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea is basically a rehash of the original film with the exact same story, downgraded animation, forgettable songs, and three characters that are in the wrong habitat: Tip and Dash, a penguin and a walrus who are copies of Timon and Pumbaa, and Undertow, a piranha with a huge dorsal fin. Last time I checked, piranhas were freshwater.

I am aware that he's supposed to be a tiger shark, but Undertow looks like a piranha to me.

6. The Jungle Book 2 (2003)

During the 1990s, Michael Eisner, who was running Disney at the time, knew that the recent animated Disney movies were successful, but he wanted more. At the end of the 90s, he demanded DisneyToon Studios, a separate branch from Walt Disney Feature Animation that relies heavily on outsourcing, to make countless direct-to-video sequels to numerous Disney movies. This would forever harm their reputation from 1997 to 2008. Two of these sequels were released in theaters: Return to Never-Land and The Jungle Book 2. The Jungle Book 2 made it onto the worst list.

Set five days after the original film, Mowgli (Haley Joel Osment) has settled in the man village with Shanti (Mae Whitman), the girl he fell in love with at the end of the first film, and her brother Ranjan (Connor Funk). However, he misses the jungle, and Baloo (John Goodman) misses Mowgli. One night, Baloo kidnaps Mowgli from the man village and brings him back into the jungle, and Shanti follows in pursuit. Meanwhile, Shere Kahn (Tony Jay) has returned to the jungle, and vows revenge on Mowgli. The Jungle Book 2 is a sequel that borrows too much story material from the original film, animation that pales in comparison to the Disney Renaissance films, forgettable new characters, and a new musical number that feels like a cross between 'Under the Sea' and 'Everybody Wants To Be a Cat'. Also, last time I checked, there an no hippos in India. They are indigenous to Africa.

5. All Dogs Go To Heaven 2 (1996)

In the sequel to 1989's All Dogs Go To Heaven, Gabriel's Horn has been stolen from Heaven. Now Charlie Barkin and his pal Itchy have to go back to Earth to return it. Meanwhile, Carface Caruthers, the antagonist from the original film, teams up with Red, a devil cat disguised as a dog fortune teller, so he can steal Gabriel's Horn and take over Heaven. All Dogs Go To Heaven 2 is notorious for turning Charlie B Barkin, a gambling dog with a secret soft side, into an incompetent cheeseburger-loving doofus.

I'm sorry the picture is in black and white. This was the best picture I could find.

It also hurts that Burt Reynolds, who voiced Charlie in the first film, was replaced by Charlie Sheen, even though Reynolds was still alive during this time.

As well as featuring Saturday morning cartoon quality animation, All Dogs Go To Heaven 2 also replaced Anne Marie, an orphan girl with a heart of gold, with a bland replacement: A boy named David, who wishes to join the circus.

I am aware that Judith Barsey, who voiced Anne Marie in the original film, had a tragic death by this point, but if they were able to replace Carface's voice actor (Vic Tayback with Ernest Borgnine), then how come Anne Marie didn't return? One of my friends (I won't say who) even suggested that Mara Wilson, who was nine when 'Dogs 2' premiered, would be a good replacement for Anne Marie!

Another character missing is King Gator, the alligator witch doctor voiced by Ken Page. He was one of the redeeming things about the original film!

4. The Hunchback of Notre Dame 2 (2002)

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is notable for being the only Disney movie in which the guy does not get the girl. In this case, Quasimodo does not end up with the lovely Esmeralda. Instead, she ends up with Phoebus, Kevin Kline's character in the original film. The whole purpose of The Hunchback of Notre Dame 2 was to give Quasimodo a love interest. Anyway, in The Hunchback of Notre Dame 2, a circus comes to town. The magician Sarousch hatches a plan to steal a bell in the Notre Dame tower that is coated with diamonds. He sends his assistant Madeline to know the whereabouts of the bell. Quasimodo falls in love with Madeline, and soon, she can't decide whether to continue thieving or live among the French. 'Hunchback 2' has a predictable plot, bland new characters, and embarrassingly poor television quality animation.

This makes TV shows from it's time, like SpongeBob, Samurai Jack, and As Told By Ginger, look suitable for theaters!

3. Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil (2011)

Hoodwinked was originally an animated film released in 2005. It took the story of Little Red Riding Hood and turned it into a detective story. The animation was hideous, but was backed up by some clever writing and likable characters.

Hoodwinked 1 was released the same year as high-quality CGI films like Robots and Chicken Little.

A sequel popped up in 2011, called Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil. In this film, Red, Granny, and Wolf join the Happily Ever After Agency. After trying to rescue Hansel and Gretel from a witch, Granny gets kidnapped, and now it's up to Red, Wolf, and Twitchy (the squirrel) to save Granny and retrieve a secret recipe.

While the animation has improved, the film suffers from random pop-culture references and a Shrek-like story that ruins the original characters that we've grown to love from the original film.

For those that think Cars 2 was the worst animated sequel of 2011, I believe Hoodwinked Too is even worse.

2. The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue (1998)

The Secret of NIMH is one of the greatest animated movies of the 1980s: It had Disney-quality animation, a dark and compelling story, and likable characters. And it wasn't a musical. However, you'll have none of that in The Secret of NIMH 2. In this film, Timothy Brisby, who is now 17, goes to Thorn Valley wanting to become a hero like his father Jonathan Brisby. His brother Martin is missing and it is up to Timmy and his new partner Jenny to confront him and get the rats back. The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue is a severely watered down sequel that should've never existed with lazy animation, unbearable songs, bland characters, too much pacing, choppy writing, and one of the worst quotes I have ever heard in a movie: 'If we die, I'm going to kill you'.

And the #1 worst animated sequel of all time is...

1. Space Chimps 2: Zartog Strikes Back (2010)

This is honestly the only movie I have not seen for this countdown, but I have seen enough reviews to know what I'm in for. Anyway, in Space Chimps 2, Comet, the computer savvy chimp who we barely even saw in the first film, wants to be taken as a full-fledged space chimp. However, Ham, Luna, and other crew members don't take him seriously. While Ham and Luna goof off, Comet rebelliously interferes with the rocket, launches himself into outer space, and lands on the Planet Malgor, the ridiculous alien planet from the first film. Comet meets up with Kilowatt, whom he actually didn't meet in the first film, yet he knows her from the video phone, even though they don't have technology on Malgor. Now the chimps must save Comet and get him back to Earth and back to his senses.

Space Chimps 2: Zartog Strikes back is an animated sequel that deserved to be direct-to-video with a plot that has little to do with its title, glob-awful animation, messed up continuity, offensive stereotypes, and a device that can dematerialize anything. And it's shaped like a Wii Remote!

Well, I finally got the Worst Animated Sequels over with. Next week, I will post the Top 10 Best Animated Sequels! Because I have so much to talk about, it will be split into two parts.