★★ When it comes to the filmmaking medium of animation, I am the first to jump to its defense when people try to claim they are all strictly for kids. Animation does not always thematically mean we are dealing with a children’s film. Look at nearly any of Pixar’s output, gritty anime, or even hilariously … Continue reading Film Review: Birds Like Us
Film Review: Belle
★★★ Stunning animation couples with a story that clearly rips off Disney’s vision of Beauty and the Beast in GKIDS new feature, Belle. The movie seems strictly made for gamers, annoying inaccessible to those without at least a basic knowledge of the Internet’s endless functionality. Written and directed by Mamoru Hosoda (the acclaimed creator of … Continue reading Film Review: Belle
Film Review: Hotel Transylvania: Transformania
★★★ The Hotel Transylvania films have been a staple of Sony Pictures Animation since the surprise box office breakout success of the 2012 original. Somehow, here we are almost exactly ten years later. Instead of a properly fitting October debut, the pandemic has essentially force-shuffled many movies around. Foregoing a traditional theatrical release, Hotel Transylvania: … Continue reading Film Review: Hotel Transylvania: Transformania
Our Favorite Films of 2021
As another year comes to a close, we shut the book on a year of surprising and often excellent movies. We reveal our choices for our favorite movies of year, along with some yearbook-style superlatives! Be sure to let us know which movies in 2021 connected with you! Movie Yearbook Superlatives! Best musical sequence JOSH: … Continue reading Our Favorite Films of 2021
Most Anticipated Films of 2022
2022 is only days away, so what better way to get excited than to chart the films I am most looking forward to discovering in the new year? Check out an exclusive list, just a taste of what 2022 will hold as we enter a brand new year of movies! Here are my top 20 … Continue reading Most Anticipated Films of 2022
Film Review: Rumble
★★★ 2021 has been an exceptionally good year for animation. Come the Academy Award Nominations for best animated film, I greatly look forward to seeing what is competing for the top prize. Late-in-the-year animated entry Rumble is one that is sure to be missing from the coveted nominees list. A film’s legacy is of course … Continue reading Film Review: Rumble
Film Review: Back to the Outback
★★★ Netflix plus animation is turning out to be quite the colorful combination. Against all odds, Back to the Outback is another addition to the charming ouvre of Netflix originals, a cute-as-a-button flick that lovingly wears its heart on its sleeve. A kooky cast of characters trying to escape and essentially go back to nature … Continue reading Film Review: Back to the Outback
TV Review: Trolls Holiday in Harmony
Fan of the Trolls movies? Boy, have I got a treat for you… the series, which birthed one of the catchiest songs of the last decade, “Can’t Stop the Feeling,” comes back with a vengeance! An adorable holiday special the whole family can enjoy, Trolls Holiday in Harmony is brimming with the trademark humor and … Continue reading TV Review: Trolls Holiday in Harmony
Film Review: Clifford the Big Red Dog
★★★ Covering Toronto International Film Festival, I was shocked earlier this year to see Clifford the Big Red Dog among the lineup. Before being unceremoniously pulled from release (then subsequently rescheduled to November 10th), I was looking forward to Clifford thanks in large part to a bonkers first trailer. Based on the Scholastic Book Series … Continue reading Film Review: Clifford the Big Red Dog
Animation is Film 2021: Poupelle of Chimney Town
★★★★ Poupelle of Chimney Town is an absolutely delightful story of a young introverted chimney sweep named Lubicchi and the magical pile of garbage that becomes his new best friend. Set in Chimney Town—“a world of day and night wrapped in smoke”—where the sky is completely covered, the prospect of ‘stars’ is simply a fairytale. … Continue reading Animation is Film 2021: Poupelle of Chimney Town