Ed's Review Dot Com

DreamWorks Animation, Pacific Data Images (PDI),

Benedict Cumberbatch, John Malkovich, Peter Stormare, Tom McGrath, Chris Miller, Christopher Knights

The penguins from the Madagascar series of films are back in their own adventure. Rescuing a baby penguin and being chased by seals, the penguins run into an evil genius named Dr. Octavius Brine but who is really old friend octopus Dave who is out to destroy the world as we know it, starting by capturing all the penguins in all the zoos of the world to turn them into monsters. The penguins have to team up with an elite fighting force, The North Wind, to try to fight the evil genius.

I have not been wildly amazed at Dreamworks films lately. I was not a huge fan of the whole Madagascar series. So when this film came out, I did not expect too much. I didn’t take my Grandkids (all 10 of them) to see this in the theater as I didn’t expect much. Now, I’m sorely disappointed that I did not. Just released this week, the Penguins of Madagascar really impressed me very much. The humor was great. Though it’s a very Despicable Me type film (and many, many others with the evil genius setting out for revenge), it was really well done. The characters were very well developed which is difficult when you must take a couple lovable sidekick characters and turn them into leads, and these kind of spin offs usually don’t turn out well. But I feel like this one really did. The smooth and efficient North Wind were hysterical and a great addition to the film. My grandkids would have loved seeing this on the big screen. The characters are fun, the humor is real, and the adventure is exciting. Several chases are outstanding and very exciting. All in all this animated adventure knocks it out of the park. If you have kids, watch it with them. If you love animation, make sure you see this movie. And don’t forget the Cheezy Dibbles.

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Reel FX Creative Studios, Twentieth Century Fox, Chatrone,

Diego Luna, Zoe Saldana, Channing Tatum, Danny Trejo, Ron Perlman, Christina Applegate, Ice Cube, Cheech Marin

Producer Guillermo del Toro and director Jorge Gutierrez come together to bring a very unusual and unique animated film to life. The film is based on Latin American culture and images in a very colorful and fanciful way. Manalo is faced with the choice of what to do with his life. He has dreams, but the family insists that their tradition insists that he become a bullfighter which is the family’s chosen profession. Manalo has two childhood friends who are off on their own adventures. But when two supernatural beings that head the afterlife locations of Land of the Remembered and Land of the Forgotten decide to make a wager on where the trio will end up after death. But they can’t play fair and start the trio on a journey through both lands of the dead and back again to the land of the living in this very interesting and well done animated adventure that is unlike any other.

The animation style of this is very different. The colors are bright and extremely colorful, but the shapes and designs of the world and the people are very out of the ordinary. The story follows traditions common in Latin America but not so well known in other parts of the world, so for many viewers, this will be a new and unexpected experience. Try not to be put off with this as it’s not your typical angels and devils type of afterlife, but it’s very well done. The soundtrack which is done by Argentinian composer Gustavo Santaolalla (who also did classic film scores like Brokeback Mountain) adds a great deal of value to the production, as do the mix of eclectic old and not so old pop tunes mixed in to the fun. All in all this is a very well done little animated film, and something that is unusual, so it’s quite original in the style and storyline. (I am told it is based on characters on the Nickelodeon show that director Jorge Gutierrez also did called “El Tigre:The Adventures of Manny Rivera”. Since I don’t have kids of Nickelodeon age these days I have never seen it, so I can’t comment on similarities or differences, but as a stand alone film, I was really surprised at how interested I was in the outcome. Almost a morality play, it does have a great many good values, but they are shown in such an unoppressive way that it does not preach and is not in your face. I feel like the uniqueness of the characters and all the colors will keep the younger folk entranced (along with the great music) and certainly the older among us who have more life experience will appreciate the culture and superstitions that abound in the Latin American realm. A good movie for everyone, I highly recommend this film as one you ought to see, especially if you love animation as I do. One last comment. The voice actors in this film are a wonderful collection of great actors who do an excellent job of bringing to life the characters. This was one case where I was not put off by famous voices doing the soundtrack as it was just so well done.

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Gulfstream Pictures, Red Rover International, ToonBox Entertainment,

Will Arnett, Brendan Fraser, Gabriel Iglesias, Jeff Dunham, Liam Neeson, Katherine Heigl, Stephen Lang, Maya Rudolph, Sarah Gadon, James Rankin

Surly the Squirrel (Will Arnett) has a bad attitude and can’t seem to get along with the other animals in the park. But he’s planning a big heist of peanuts from the processing plant, so he figures to con the others into helping him with the heist. But the humans are also planning a heist, as the processing plant is next to the bank. This creates a whole bunch of problems interfering with both jobs.

This animated adventure story covers the wild animals in the park trying to survive in the world filled with humans. With plenty of well known voices, lots of action, and some pretty darn good artwork, there’s a lot going for this story. It kind of felt like the old Don Bluth films from the Land Before Time series, and An American Tale. The feeling is similar. There are some drawbacks. There’s a lot going on here on many different levels. The film is pretty short. It doesn’t make it to 90 minutes, and so it seems really rushed. Animated films are usually pretty short, but if they’re going to take on all this material they need to give us a little bit more background on the characters. As it is, things happen so fast that it’s hard to keep it all straight. I would think the kids will really like this film. The look and feel is very good, and the artwork surrounding the characters is very good making it very realistic looking. I think there’s enough material to keep the grown-ups entertained as well. Since it’s rather unique in a lot of ways, its not a bad story, and I can recommend this as a family friendly animated film that is something a bit different.

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Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Pictures,

Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, Daniel Henney, T.J. Miller, Jamie Chung, Damon Wayans Jr., Genesis Rodriguez, James Cromwell, Alan Tudyk, Maya Rudolph, Stan Lee

Japanese American boy Hiro (Ryan Potter) is hooked on battling robots. His older brother Tadashi (Daniel Henney) takes him to the school where he does technology experiments and Hiro is enthralled. He finds out that there is a contest to get in, and he sets out to develop “microbots” for the science fair to win him tuition to the school. But evil villain Alistair Krei (Alan Tudyk) steals his invention, so Hiro and his friends from the school set out to make things straight with the help of blowup “soft” robot Baymax (Scott Adsit) as sort of “nurse” robot that was built by his brother.

This film by the Walt Disney Animation Studios is technically a Marvel film. Things have gotten a little blurry at the different Disney Animation groups with the purchase of Pixar and Marvel. It is based on a comic book, but the characters and stories were widely changed, mainly due to the fact that several of the major characters in the comic are owned by 20th Century Fox due to their connection to X-Men which Fox owns. The story is still very absorbing and the theater was filled with people of all ages who seemed to be enjoying it very much. I found a couple things rather strange, but not being familiar with the comic book, maybe that is why. The city where this takes place is obviously San Francisco, but the common sights of the city are drawn using Japanese architecture. Seeing a Japanese style Golden Gate Bridge is rather strange. The town is referred to as San Fransokyo. Still I found the film quite interesting. It’s very new style animation, but the story is well done, and it’s all about the story. It’s a very unique story, and that adds a lot. A great mix of Eastern and Western culture.

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Summertime Entertainment (II), Prana Animation Studios, Prana Studios,

Patrick Stewart, Lea Michele, Martin Short, Hugh Dancy, Dan Aykroyd, James Belushi, Kelsey Grammer, Tom Kenny, Oliver Platt, Tacey Adams, Michael Krawic, Ayana Haviv

Dorothy (Lea Michele) returned to Kansas to find the place very much destroyed from the tornado that took her away. But before she could return to her home she was whisked back to Oz. Oz is in trouble. She looks for her friends, the Lion (James Belushi), the Scarecrow (Dan Akroyd) , and the Tin Man (Kelsey Grammer), but Oz is in danger from a new villain, the Jester (Martin Short) who has taken control. With some brand new friends and the help of Glinda the Good Witch (Bernadette Peters) she is ready to fight to save the Land of Oz and save her friends.

This animated version of Dorothy’s Return was a good attempt to bring back the magic of Oz with a new story. L Frank Baum wrote a number of novels about Oz, but I feel like this one came from a whole different imagination. This wasn’t a great film, nor will it stand the test of time. There are some really good things about this this movie. The music itself isn’t spectacular, but the voices are very good. We have some great talent playing the roles in this film. The story is a little too “Jack Frost” with Martin Short playing his evil character in exactly the same way. A jester, after all, is not the most fear inspiring character on the planet. He’s mostly childish and annoying and a lot like the typical Martin Short bad guy. The script is not too hot. That’s the biggest problem. It’s rather silly. I expected this to be a film that parents and kids could enjoy together, but rather I think most adults will find it a bit silly. That being said, I believe the younger folks will probably enjoy it. I guess this movie missed the sweet spot of people who remember and love the original that was replayed on TV every year, but would find this version too silly, and those that could enjoy the story, but don’t care much about the characters from the original. In any case, it is what it is, and certainly the younger folks will enjoy this film. If you have an interest in seeing it for curiosity’s sake, enjoy the music and the new characters. It’s not all that bad. But just don’t go in expecting a terrific story, because it isn’t. It’s certainly worth watching if you’re interested.

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