Movie Review: Robots

Movie Review: Robots                                                                                                                   3-31-16

Boy, 2005 was a rough year for animated features. That year, we had 5 CGI animated features, none of them from Pixar, and none of them got nominated for the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. There was DreamWorks' Madagascar, Robots, Blue Sky's followup to Ice Age, Valiant, which was about pigeons during World War 2, Chicken Little, which was Disney's first attempt at making a CGI feature WITHOUT Pixar, with disastrous results, and Hoodwinked!, a Glob-awful looking Shrek knockoff that takes the tale of Little Red Riding Hood and turns it into a detective story. Today, we will review Robots.

Robots takes place in a world where everything is a machine. Even objects like toilets, watches, and telephones can talk, and there's no organic life anywhere. The movie tells the story of a young robot named Rodney Copperbottom (Ewan McGregor), who dreams of becoming an inventor. His hero is Bigweld (Mel Brooks), whose TV show Rodney would watch each night as a kid. Rodney journeys to Robot City to work at Bigweld Industries, but finds out that it's been taken over by the dastardly Ratchet, who wants to discontinue spare parts and replace them with upgrades. Now it's up to Rodney, along with a ragtag team of 'outmodes', including a red robot named Fender (Robin Williams), to prove 'you can shine no matter what you're made of.'

Now, what do I think of Robots? I actually liked it more than Cars! The animation is lovely, the characters are funny and rememberable, and the pop-culture references, while sometimes overwhelming, some of them work in their own right. I am aware that the story could've used an 'upgrade', but believe it or not, it's actually an allegory! During the time Robots was being made, Michael Eisner wanted Walt Disney Animation Studios to abandon hand-drawn animation in favor of the more profitable computer animation, leaving the 2D animators jobless. Ratchet serves as Michael Eisner, Bigweld serves as Roy Edward Disney, Walt's nephew, and the 'scrap metal', robots that can't afford new parts, represent the 2D veterans at Disney. Does that mean Rodney serves as John Lasseter, who would rejoin Walt Disney Animation Studios in 2006? Probably. Anyway, Robots is a film the entire family can enjoy.

Rating: 3 1/2 stars out of 5.

Story Announcement

Remember when I said I would post two stories within two months? Well, my first story I will post is a Pokemon version of the first How To Train Your Dragon movie, How To Train Your Dragonite!

20 years ago, the first two Pokemon games were released in Japan. That's right. Pokemon is officially 20 years old. In honor of this event, my next story will reflect on why humans shouldn't use Pokemon to fight other Pokemon for their own amusement: a Pokemon version of the DreamWorks film How To Train Your Dragon. I am not a Pokemon fan anymore, but I feel like I should write the story in honor of the celebration.
This story will take place in the Kalos region, the main location in Pokemon X and Y, because there are a lot of Dragon-type Pokemon in Kalos. For Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, I used Brendan, the male protagonist of Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire. For the feisty blonde Astrid Hofferson, I used Sarena, the rival/protagonist of Pokemon X and Y, depending on the player's gender. For the nerdy Fishlegs, I used Tierno, an NPC (non-playable character) in Pokemon X and Y who wants to teach Pokemon how to dance. For Snotlout Jorgenson, I used Gary Oak, the grandson of Professor Oak and rival in Pokemon Red and Blue, as well as the remakes Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen. For the twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, I used Ryan and Bryan, who are exclusive to the Pokemon anime. Their Pokemon were Croconaw, a Water-type crocodilian, and Quilava, a Fire-type mustelid. However, in this story, like Ruffnut and Tuffnut, they will share a multi-headed dragon: Hydreigon. And finally, for the adults, I used Norman, the father of Brenden/May in Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire, depending on the player's gender, for Stoick, and Dexio, an assistant of Professor Sycamore in Pokemon X and Y, as Gobber.

In case you forgot, this is what Brendan looked like in Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, as well as the remakes, Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.

Now let's move on to the dragons. For Toothless, the last known Night Fury, I used Dragonite, one of the very first Dragon-type Pokemon, and probably one of the best. I know others would have chosen Flygon or Noivern, but I chose Dragonite because it lives near water, and for most of the film, Toothless lives near a lake.
 
For the dinosaur-like Deadly Nadder, I used Salamence, a Dragon/Flying Pokemon, just like Dragonite.
 
For the bee-like Gronckle, I used the pure Dragon-type Pokemon Druddigon, though may not be able to fly, despite having wings. This is probably because they lived in caves for so many years.
 
For the Hideous two-headed Zippleback, I used Hydreigon, a Dark/Dragon-type Pokemon with three heads, two of which where its front feet should be.
 
For the Monstrous Nightmare, a dragon that can light itself on fire, I used Charizard, despite not being part Dragon.
 
For the small but feisty Terrible Terror, I used Heliolisk, a Normal/Electric reptile found in rocky areas. I am aware that it's based on a frilled lizard, a unique species of reptile found in Australia, and not a dragon, but it's the smallest reptilian Pokemon I could think of in its final stage.
 
And finally, for the Red Death, the mother of all dragons, I used Zygrade, because that Pokemon is said to be feared in all of Kalos. And like Mewtwo in Pokemon Red and Blue, you can only find it in a hidden cave after you've beaten the Elite Four.
 
For the dragons that are mentioned, but not seen, I used Dragalge, Garchomp, Onix, Sceptile, Marowak, Gyarados, and Eelektross.
PS. If you're wondering how I am going to make Heliolisk fly, they will strap themselves to balloons. In Pokemon X and Y, there's a special balloon item that can make a Pokemon float in midair. It can be obtained after beating the game.
I will start posting my story April 8th.

Disney Refences in Enchanted

Remember how I said I would talk about some of the many hidden Disney references in Enchanted? Well, here they are!
WARNING! This following article contains spoilers for Disney's Enchanted.
•The restaurant Giselle, Robert, and Morgan visit is called Bella Notte, named after the song of the same name in Lady and the Tramp.
 
•When Giselle eats the poison apple, her arm is exposed to the camera and the apple rolls out of her hand, a homage to the same fate of Snow White in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.
 
•The actress who plays Sam, the lady at the counter, is Jodi Benson, who was also the original voice of Ariel in The Little Mermaid.
 
The lady on the left is Sam.
•When Giselle is looking at the fish tank, instrumentals for 'Part Of Your World' can be heard in the background.
•The characters in the soap opera Nathaniel watches are named Angela and Jerry, named after the legendary actors Angela Lansbury and Jerry Orbach. Lansbury and Orbach voiced Mrs. Potts and Lumiere respectively in Beauty and the Beast. Angela (the soap opera character) is played by Paige O'Hara, who was the original voice of Belle in Beauty and the Beast.
 
•During that same scene, the Pink Elephants theme from Dumbo can be heard, and a clip of the package film Fun and Fancy Free can be seen.
•When Giselle is washing the floor in Robert's apartment, bubbles float around with reflections of her inside them, just like that scene in Cinderella.
 
•Before going off to rescue Robert, Giselle leaves one of her glass slippers in the ballroom, an obvious nod to Cinderella.
 
•During the 'Happy Working Song', flies squeeze water out of a cloth by twisting it, just like how the bluebirds did it with a sponge in Cinderella.
•The name of the news reporter is Mary Eileen Caselotti, named after the original voice actors of the first three Disney Princesses. Adrianna Caselotti was the original voice of Snow White, Eileen Woods was the original voice of Cinderella, and Mary Costa was the original voice of Aurora.
 
•When Narissa dies, ashes are left in her place, just like Maleficent's death in Sleeping Beauty.
•Giselle holds a pair of diamonds up to her eyes in the same way Dopey did in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.
 
•When a frog jumps into the kitchen sink, he dons a bubble crown, a reference to The Princess and the Frog, which was in development at the time.
 
•Nancy's last name is Tremaine, which was the name of Cinderella's stepmother.
•During the 'That's How You Know' number, Giselle jumps onstage into a play of Rapunzel, a nod to Tangled (which was in development when Enchanted premiered, but the working title was Rapunzel).

If you want to discover more references in Enchanted, here's a helpful link.
 https://ohmy.disney.com/movies/2015/01/11/every-single-disney-reference-in-enchanted/

Movie Review: Fantastic Mr. Fox

Movie Review: Fantastic Mr. Fox                                                                                         3-18-16

Based on the children's book by Roald Dahl, Fantastic Mr. Fox tells the story of a fox (George Clooney) who steals chickens for a living. When his wife (Meryl Streep) gets pregnant with a cub, she tells Mr. Fox to get a new job. Twelve fox years later, the cub grew up to be a stubborn boy fox named Ash (Jason Schwartzman), and gets jealous when his talented cousin Kristofferson (Eric Chase Anderson, director Wes Anderson's brother) comes over. After convincing his lawyer Clive Badger (Bill Murray) to buy a tree his family can live in, Mr. Fox plans on doing one more heist between three farmers: Walt Boggis, Nate Bunce, and Franklin Bean. However, the heist puts all the animals in danger, and it's now up to Mr. Fox to make things right.
Now what do I think of Fantastic Mr. Fox? Well, it's one of my favorite movies of all time! The stop-motion animation is top-notch, the writing is superb, the music from Alexandre Desplat is memorable, and the voice cast is excellent. I also happen to notice some influences from Pixar, namely The Incredibles and Ratatouille. The relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Fox is very similar to that of Bob and Helen Parr in The Incredibles. Think about it: Bob Parr wants to relive the 'Glory Days' of being a super, while Mr. Fox wants to steal from farmers again, but both of them end up in big trouble when their dreams are achieved. Also, Kylie the possum, voiced by Wally Wolodarsky, is very familiar to Emile, Remy's brother, in Ratatouille. Fantastic Mr. Fox is a delightful film the whole family can enjoy again and again.
Rating: The perfect rating of 5 stars.

Movie Review: Teacher's Pet

Movie Review: Teacher's Pet                                                                                                3-17-1
 
Today we review another guilty pleasure of mine, Teacher's Pet. The movie tells the story of a blue dog named Spot (Nathan Lane), who dresses up as a boy each day so he can go to school and meet up with his owner Leonard (Shaun Fleming). When Leonard's teacher, who also happens to be his mom, gets nominated for a special contest in Florida, Spot hitches along for the ride. Apparently, there's a 'wacko' named Ivan Krank (Kelsey Grammar), who may have the ability of helping Spot become a real boy.
Teacher's Pet was originally a TV series created by surreal artist Gary Baseman. When he was a child, Gary had a dog named Hubcaps. Hubcaps was always so happy to see him when Gary got home, and he thought that Hubcaps would be lonely all day, so Gary created a dog character that dressed up as a boy and went to school. Gary was also a fan of Superman, and thought that it was so absurd that no one could tell the difference between Clark Kent and Superman, so Gary took the absurdity one step further by giving the character glasses and a beanie cab. Teacher's Pet ran for two seasons on ABC from 2000 to 2002. The animation house behind Teacher's Pet (both the movie and the TV series) was Walt Disney Television Animation, the studio that previously did shows like Duck Tales, Recess, and Kim Possible, and eventually, Phineas and Ferb, Gravity Falls, and Star vs. the Forces of Evil. Teacher's Pet got really good reviews when it premiered, but was a box-office failure.
Now what do I think of Teacher's Pet? Well, I absolutely adore it! The story is well-written, the jokes are witty, and Nathan Lane is perfect as the voice of Spot. The only complaint I have is the songs. While some of them are catchy, most of them are less than two minutes long. Nevertheless, Teacher's Pet is an enjoyable movie for the entire family, and, in my opinion, deserved to get nominated for the Oscar for Best Animated Feature instead of Shark Tale.
Rating: 3 1/2 stars out of 5.

Movie Review: Short Circuit

Movie Review: Short Circuit                                                                                                     3-16-15

In this blast from the past, animal lover Stephanie Speck (Alley Sheedy) discovers a robot in her truck. She thinks it's an alien, befriends it, and teaches it a lot about Earth culture. But when Stephanie finds out that the 'alien' is just a short-circuited prototype from Nova Robotics, she tries her best to protect him, because #5 (the robot) is afraid that if Nova 'disassembles' him, he would die.
Now what do I think of Short Circuit? Well, it's definitely cheesy and sometimes predictable, but the music from David Shire is catchy, and Tim Blaney's vocal performance as #5 is hilarious. I always crack up when #5 breaks Stephanie's dishes and spills her food. I also like Alley Sheedy's character of Stephanie Speck, and Steve Guttenburg, who plays lazy technician Newton Crosby, does a good job, too.
Now tell me if you heard this before. A robot winds up with a human being, befriends the human, and learns a bit about their culture. The robot also happens to be armed with dangerous weapons, so the military searches for him as well. The robot character also discovers and learns that killing is wrong, despite being designed to destroy. What animated movie from the late 90s has a similar plot? That's right! Brad Bird's The Iron Giant has a very similar plot to Short Circuit, but it's definitely not a rip-off. It's more of a coincidence.
In conclusion, Short Circuit is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me, and I personally find it a bit underrated.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.

Movie Review: Ratatouille

Movie Review: Ratatouille                                                                                                          3-11-16

Ratatouille tells the story of a French rat named Remy (Patton Oswalt), who has a good sense of smell and a passion for food. He follows in the footsteps of the deceased, but legendary Chef Gusteu, the greatest chef in Paris. When he finds himself in the restaurant of Gusteu's itself, Remy befriends a nincompoop named Linguini. He has no idea how to cook, but Remy does. Remy teaches Linguini how to cook by hiding under his hat and pulling his hairs. However, the devious Chef Skinner is aware of Linguini's secret, and will do anything to expose Linguini's secret.

Now, what do I think of Ratatouille? Well, it's definitely not as good as previous Pixar movies like Toy Story, Monsters Inc, or Finding Nemo, but is definitely better than Cars. For nearly two years, I had a grudge against Ratatouille simply because one of my friends at school dislikes it. But after watching it a second time, I was more open to it. The story is very organic and compelling, the animation is top-notch as usual, the female character Collette is tough as nails, and the followup short film, Your Friend The Rat, is hilarious and ingenious. Also, Ratatouille taught me to like different kinds of foods. I used to be a bit of a picky eater, but now I am willing to try almost anything, and I am glad Ratatouille won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.
PS. I am so sorry that I didn't include Ratatouille in my Top 30 Greatest CGI Movies of All Time countdown. I promise when Toy Story turns 25, in my Top 35 Greatest CGI Movies of All Time countdown, I will replace James Cameron's Avatar with Ratatouille. I will also add Surf's Up, Inside Out, The Peanuts Movie, Zootopia, and if it qualifies, Moana. If you are wondering about what I think of Surf's Up, I will post my review of it in June.
Update! 6-8-16: I changed my mind. I will not do a Top 35 Greatest CGI Movies of All Time countdown when Toy Story turns 25. Instead, I will update the Top 30 Greatest CGI Movies of All Time countdown at the end of the year, and have five honorable mentions.

Movie Review: The LEGO Movie

Movie Review: The LEGO Movie                                                                                                  3-10-16

WARNING! This review contains spoilers for The LEGO Movie.

In this fast-paced CG adventure, Emmet (Chris Pratt), a normal everyday construction worker, must save the LEGO universe from President Business (Will Ferrell), who wants to freeze everyone and everything with a secret weapon called the 'Kragle' so they won't built anything they desire.

I am aware that there are some people that either like or hate this movie, but please here me out. Think of this movie like a cross between Toy Story and The Emperor's New Groove. 'LEGO' has the comedy and wacky humor of The Emperor' New Groove and the heart and creativity of Toy Story. The animation was all CGI, though near the end of the feature, it is revealed that the LEGO world is actually a model in a live-action basement. It belongs to a businessman (also played by Will Ferrell), but his son, a young boy named Finn (Jadon Sand), plays with it. The father uses Krazy Glue to keep the pieces in place, but the letters Z, Y, and U are smudged with gunk, so Finn misinterprets it as 'Kragle'. I find that moment with Finn and his father endearing because when I was younger, I would act out episodes of my favorite shows using my old toys. Like Finn, I would get into all kinds of trouble, from sticking pencils into apples and bananas to breaking an expensive lamp.

Another thing to appreciate about The Lego Movie is the amount of work put into making the worlds, made entirely of plastic bricks, and all animated seamlessly. Even effects, like water, fire, and smoke, were made of bricks. Before Inside Out premiered, I even declared Animal Logic, the animation house behind The Lego Movie, the next Pixar. Also, like Toy Story, there are cameos of other licensed toys, like Ninjago, Milhouse from The Simpsons, Michelangelo (the Ninja Turtle), various DC superheroes, and many more. All I ask of you to see this movie with an open mind and heart.

Rating: 3 3/4 stars out of 5

My Thoughts On The Latest Finding Dory Trailer

My Thoughts On The Latest Finding Dory Trailer

Before Zootopia, there was a trailer for the highly anticipated sequel to the Pixar classic, Finding Nemo, called Finding Dory. Now what are my thoughts? Well, first let's go back to the year 2013, back when Monsters University was new.

Monsters University was Pixar's first prequel, and their 5th longest movie to date. It told the story of how Mike and Sulley first met in college, but that's the problem. In the original Monsters Inc, Mike explicitly stated "You have been jealous of my good looks since 4th grade." Also, MU (Monsters University) demoted Mike Wazowski from the hilarious sidekick to a nerd with big dreams, and James P Sullivan from a big blue teddy bear to a big blue jerk. Another problem I have is the plot. Monsters Inc had quite an organic plot, despite some similarities to Little Monsters and Aaahhh!! Real Monsters, while Monsters University has a plot familiar to Revenge of the Nerds and Cool Runnings. To top it all off, Pete Doctor was demoted to an executive producer, probably because he was busy with Inside Out at the time.

Back to Finding Dory, I just don't want the characters to be downgraded or have their personalities changed drastically. However, unlike MU, Finding Dory looks promising. Finding Dory will tell the story of Dory trying to find her family and getting lost in an aquarium. I find that intriguing because I love going to the New England Aquarium, and I wonder how sea creatures feel about getting picked up in the touch tank, thanks to the new trailer. I know Pixar already did something similar in Toy Story 3, but this is with living breathing animals, even if some of them don't have bones.
Finding Dory is coming to theaters June 17th.

Movie Review: Zootopia

Movie Review: Zootopia                                                                                                  3-5-15

Disney's 55th animated feature, Zootopia, takes place in a world inhabited by mammals. Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin), a rabbit, wants to be a police officer, despite all the other officers being elephants, rhinos, hippos, wildcats, and wolves. When an otter goes missing, Hopps has no choice but to team up with a sly fox named Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) to find the missing otter within 48 hours.
Now what did I think of Zootopia? Well, I think it's so far the best animated feature of the year! The world of Zootopia is imaginatively built, the plot has quite a few twists, the animal characters are beautifully designed and animated, and there are even a few points where the movie parodies Disney itself. The only complaint I have with the movie is that there were no monotremes (egg-laying mammals), primates, whales and dolphins, seals, or bats. Also, Gazelle, voiced by Shakira, deserves a little more screen time. I was hoping Judy and Nick would meet her in person. Regardless, Zootopia is an enjoyable film that kids and adults can appreciate. Kids will love the colorful characters and backgrounds, while adults will find the cleverly-placed pop-culture references entertaining.
Rating: The perfect rating of 5 stars.

Movie Review: The Ant Bully

Movie Review: The Ant Bully                                                                                                     2-27-16

In 2006, eight years after the Antz/A Bug's Life debate, another CGI movie about ants would be released. Directed by Jimmy Neutron creator John A Davis, The Ant Bully tells the story of a young boy named Lucas (Zach Tyler Eisen), who gets bullied every day by a bigger kid. Because of this, Lucas torments the ants in his front yard, who nickname Lucas "The Destroyer." The ant wizard Zoc (Nicholas Cage) shrinks Lucas down to the size of an ant and brings him to the ant colony. The queen (Meryl Streep) sentences Lucas to "become an ant" and work and live with the colony.
I know what you're going to say. "That movie was horrible and looks like a knockoff of Antz!" John A Davis admittedly stated that there have previous computer animated movies about ants and bugs. How will this one be any different? John wanted to explore what ants were like, which lead to teamwork being an occurring theme in the movie. Antz was about an ant falling in love with a princess ant and trying to discover the legendary "Insectopia", while The Ant Bully was a movie about a young boy's journey into a bug world.
"So what is there to appreciate about The Ant Bully?" You ask yourself. Well, the animation is quite nice, even if it does look a lot like Antz and A Bug's Life. I actually think the humans in this movie look better than in Jimmy Neutron, which came from the same studio. The sub-plot in which Lucas destroys the ant hill because he's being bullied by someone else I can totally relate to, because there's been times when I was younger that I got bullied by a bigger kid. I also like Julia Roberts' vocal performance as the female ant Hova.
There's a fair amount of potty humor in the movie, but most of them are tolerable. In fact, there are two in the movie I find quite funny, and here they are:
(After feeling Lucas' skeleton) Ant 1: He's so fleshy. I think I felt his skeleton.
Ant 2: You mean he's inside-out?
Ants: Ew!
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(Lucas, along with a beetle voiced by Rob Paulsen, a glow worm that sounds like Ben Stein, and a fly, are inside a frog's stomach)
Fly: Why can't you be more optimistic like my friend Lenny? See that smile on his face?
(Fly touches Lenny's head, but it's disconnected to his body)
Fly: Aah!!! Let me out! Let me out! I don't wanna be a toad stool!
Beetle: Hey, a 'toad stool.' That was a good one.
Fly: There's plenty more where that came from!
Beetle: Hi, what's your name?
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Also, I find Stan the exterminator to be a much more interesting and threatening villain than Chick from Cars, which was released two months before 'Ant Bully'. Also, remember that there were even worse CGI movies released that year, like Doogal, Barnyard: The Original Party Animals, and The Wild.
Rating: 3 stars out of 5

Movie Review: Enchanted

Movie Review: Enchanted                                                                                                          2-18-16

Directed by Kevin Lima, Disney's Enchanted tells the story of a stereotypical Disney Princess named Giselle (Amy Adams), who gets transported from the animated fairytale world of Andalasia to the miserable live-action world of New York City. She gets found by a hard-working single father named Robert (Patrick Dempsey), who doesn't want his daughter to believe in happy endings. Now it's up to Prince Edward (James Marsden) to head to the Big Apple to rescue Giselle and bring her back to Andalasia.

What do I think of Enchanted? I love it! It's one of my favorite live-action movies of all time! I totally relate to Giselle because I happen to never get upset. I also find it really sad when people get divorced, because some of my friends have parents who got divorced. Besides relating to the character Giselle, there are other things to appreciate about Enchanted. There are tons of cleverly placed references and homages to previous animated Disney movies, which I will talk about another day. The songs and score from the legendary Alan Menken are catchy and sometimes relaxing to listen to. Susan Sarandon plays a wonderful role as the antagonist Queen Narissa, who is an obvious homage to the Wicked Queen from Snow White and Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty, though I personally think she looks like a much younger version of Yzma from The Emperor's New Groove. Also, it's very rare that Disney parodies their own cliches, and it's done nicely in this movie. Enchanted is an enjoyable unappreciated gem for every Disney fan to own, and is, in my opinion, what caused the second Disney Renaissance.

Rating: The perfect rating of 5 stars

Movie Review: The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride

Movie Review: The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride                                                                       2-13-16
 
Remember how I said in my review of Pooh's Grand Adventure that I would only review two direct-to-video movies? Well, here is the second one!
The sequel to the worldwide phenomenon known as The Lion King tells the story of Simba's daughter, Kiara, who falls in love with Scar's lost son, Kovu. Simba does not like this because Scar killed Mufasa, so he sends Timon and Pumbaa to spy on Kiara wherever she goes. Many years later, Zira, Scar's widow, raises Kovu to kill Simba. However, Kiara and Kovu fall in love, making the movie a 'Romeo and Juliet' kind of story. The Lion King 2 is different from previous and later movies from DisneyToons because it stays very true to the original 'Lion King' without getting too ridiculous or having too many new characters or songs. Aside from most of the original voice actors, nobody from the original Lion King returned for the project, but is still an enjoyable treat for single-digit kids. In conclusion, The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride may not be no where near as good as the original, but is a great diversion from other movies from DisneyToon Studios.