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.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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Reel FX Creative Studios, Relativity Media,

Owen Wilson, Woody Harrelson, Amy Poehler, George Takei, Colm Meaney, Keith David, Dan Fogler, Jimmy Hayward, Kaitlyn Maher, Carlos Alazraqui

For years and years Reggie (Owen Wilson) has warned his fellow turkeys of the doom and destruction that comes every Thanksgiving, but this year he is chosen, but then pardoned. But Jake (Woody Harrelson) keeps tempting Reggie with the crazy idea of traveling back in time and changing history and getting the Turkey’s off the Thanksgiving menu forever. Jack and Reggie and some friends travel back to 1621 to the original Thanksgiving just in time to fall into a troubling struggle for survival for the entire Turkey clan.

This is a relatively solid family animated film. No, this isn’t Pixar. No, it’s not even close to a spectacular script. But it is a fun story that the younger folks will enjoy. There’s not a lot of Thanksgiving movies out there, and this is certainly a great family movie night, now that it’s on DVD. It’s bound to be a crowd pleaser for the kids, and one the adults won’t mind sitting though. The voices are a bit distracting, in a way, and certainly Owen Wilson, Woody Harrelson, Amy Poehler, and George Takei (as S.T.E.V.E., the time machine) are highly recognizable voices, so you’ll be sure that you recognize them. I find this distracting and off putting. But at the same time, having excellent actors portraying the roles means that they give a great reading, and the kids aren’t going to recognize them anyway, even if they know who they are. So they take the mediocre script and put their full experience and talent into doing it as good as possible, so it’s not a bad experience watching this turkey film that isn’t a turkey. Enjoy this one with the younger folks.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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Reel FX Creative Studios, Smokewood Entertainment Group

Jordana Beatty, Heather Graham, Parris Mosteller, Preston Bailey, Kristoffer Ryan Winters, Garrett Ryan, Jaleel White, Ashley Boettcher, Taylar Hender, Cameron Boyce, Jenica Bergere, Janet Varney

Based on the Judy Moody books by Megan McDonald, Judy (Jordana Beatty) is making plans for an awesome summer. She’s setup a Summer Adventure chart that add points for awesome things like riding the awesome Scream Monster (bonus points for no hands) and such. But her friends have their own things to do, leaving Judy with her brother Stink who’s spending his summer searching for Bigfoot. So Judy does her best to have an awesome summer, but everything she tries turns out bad for her, and zero points. But when Aunt Opal (Heather Graham) comes to babysit them, she is a no holds bar, free spirit, and always up for fun! With Aunt Opal’s help, the summer may not turn out so awful after all.

This is definitely a kids film. Unlike some others, there’s not a lot for adults here. Generally though, the pre-teen crowd ought to just love this film. I found it mildly entertaining, but rate it highly because I think it is great fun for the intended audience. They really did a good job bringing these characters to life, and like Ramona and Beezus, this film will resonate with the younger kids. IT’s well done, and does have a sense of fun and adventure (and disappointment) that is fun to watch. I highly recommend this for your kids, especially girls, and I know they’ll love it if they haven’t already seen it.

If you don’t have kids to watch this with, then it might not be much fun to try to watch it as a grown up, as I doubt we’ll catch the humor that the kids do. But for the younger viewers, this is a must see.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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