Was anyone really clamoring for an anime iteration of James Cameron's iconic Terminator franchise? After the box office misfires of its most recent series entries, there's no telling what fans truly want. Terminator: Dark Fate was the best since T2: Judgement Day, yet barely anyone showed up to watch it in theatres. Why not let … Continue reading TV Review: Terminator Zero
Fantasia 2024: Sunburnt Unicorn
★★★★ A surprisingly effective coming-of-age desert fable, Sunburnt Unicorn depicts a harsh landscape of cartoonish creatures... and endless sand. Animation continues to be a fascinating medium in which creators can house important lessons without feeling too preachy. In this case, writer/director Nick Johnson hones in on messages of compassion and kindness, fueled by a son's … Continue reading Fantasia 2024: Sunburnt Unicorn
Film Review: Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie
★ Since 1999, SpongeBob SquarePants has been delighting audiences around the world with the show’s signature humor and quirky animation. Eventually, Nickelodeon even awarded its golden goose with an iconic feature film, aptly titled The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. More than a decade later, the super fun, surprisingly excellent The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie: Sponge Out of … Continue reading Film Review: Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie
TV Review: Sausage Party: Foodtopia
Nearly a decade ago, one movie about horny foodstuffs left its mark, to the tune of over $143 million on a budget of just $19 million. For an R-rated, animated comedy, this was virtually unheard of, and still remains something of a small miracle. The raunchy flick became an event, and the talk of the … Continue reading TV Review: Sausage Party: Foodtopia
Annecy 2024: Diplodocus
★★★★ At first glance, Diplodocus could easily be confused with Pixar's adorably underrated gem, The Good Dinosaur. Both movies are about two little dinos that do not fit in with their families, desperate to explore life outside their own bubbles. Digging deeper, the two are, in fact, quite different. This dinosaur does not just lose … Continue reading Annecy 2024: Diplodocus
Annecy 2024: Spermageddon
★★★★ In case a reminder was needed that animation can be just as much for adults as for children, look no further than raunchy, ridiculously fun musical comedy, Spermageddon. This 3D-animated outrageous Norwegian import charts the path of the innumerable sperm cells living inside the ballsack of teenage nerd-gamer, Jens (Christian Mikkelsen), on their way … Continue reading Annecy 2024: Spermageddon
Tribeca 2024: Boys Go to Jupiter
★★★★ Creative animator Julian Glander brings his unique sensibilities into the film world with a bizarre, collaborative kaleidoscope of his vibrant imagination. Boys Go to Jupiter is unlike any other animated film before it. Inspired by his Floridian roots, Glander has crafted a movie voiced by several of his close friends, having brought most of … Continue reading Tribeca 2024: Boys Go to Jupiter
NYICFF: Sirocco and the Kingdom of the Winds
★★★★ French animation is uniquely its own brand of fantastic, and distribution branch GKIDS commits itself to spreading the joy of these features far and wide. Bizarre titling aside, Sirocco and the Kingdom of the Winds has to be one of the most creative films I have seen in quite some time. Sirocco feels like … Continue reading NYICFF: Sirocco and the Kingdom of the Winds
Film Review: Orion and the Dark
★★★★★ The second Dreamworks animated feature film made exclusively for Netflix after 2021's Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans, Orion and the Dark is so exceptionally beautiful in both scripting and visuals that it would fit right in with the catalogue of Pixar. Adapting material from a picture book by Emma Yarlett, director Sean Charmatz makes … Continue reading Film Review: Orion and the Dark
Film Review: The Tiger’s Apprentice
★★★ Asian representation in animated film gets a major push in Paramount+ title, The Tiger’s Apprentice. The first thing that caught my eye here was the obviously excellent voice cast, including Brandon Soo Hoo (Incredible Crew, Tropic Thunder), Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians, A Simple Favor), Sandra Oh (Grey’s Anatomy, Killing Eve), and Michelle Yeoh … Continue reading Film Review: The Tiger’s Apprentice