Search

Search only in certain items:

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
1993 | Animation, Family, Sci-Fi
A timeless classic
I can safely say that there is truly nothing I dislike about The Nightmare Before Christmas.
It's straight to the point, fantastically animated, full of unique characters, and still holds up all these years later.
Director Henry Selick obviously has a keen eye for stop-animation (he would go on to direct James & The Giant Peach, and Coraline, both great animated films in their own right), and his work with the combined animation, visual effects, and art departments create a visually striking adventure that quickly and understandably became iconic.

Tim Burton's story is easy to grasp (great for children as well as adults), and the characters he has created for this story are equal parts creepy and fun.
Jack Skellington and Sally are both tragic and sympathetic characters that are easy to care about. Oogie Boogie is suitably evil (scared the sh*t out of me when I was little), and the rest of the town of Halloween are filled but bizarre and quirky characters that create a weird but warm back drop to the leads.

Danny Elfman is at his very best here. All of the songs contained within are memorable, and pretty epic at points. The lyrics are quick and clever, and do a lot to advance our understanding of the characters.

I can't praise The Nightmare Before Christmas enough. It's simply wonderful and a film I will happily watch time and time again.
  
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
2018 | Action, Animation, Sci-Fi
I honestly think this is one of the best films ever made. Not only is the animation super cool but the story, the characters, the actors in the film, all of it. Magnificent. My favorite thing about this film is the clashing of the worlds, you could say. What I love so much about Marvel is not only the movies but the shows too. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Agent Carter, they're all great - but in reality, they live in their own bubbles. Obviously the Netflix shows interact, and S.H.I.E.L.D is somewhat important when talking about the MCU. Into the Spider-Verse merges bits that you see in the comic books, not only in the animation but the characters. We have seen Green Goblin over and over again in the live-action films - both Toby McGuire's and Andrew Garfield's. But we don't see Kingpin. Plus, if you've watched Daredevil, you get a good idea of who Kingpin is and what his backstory is so you know why he's doing what he does in Into the Spider-Verse.

There are just layers to this film that are missing from some of the other films that have been done. The only ones to compare it to are those in the MCU, but even still, those are planned and minute if you don't pay attention. I just really love this film and I'm super pumped for the second one.
  
The Princess and the Frog (2009)
The Princess and the Frog (2009)
2009 | Animation, Comedy, Family
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘭𝘰𝘨. Offers wonderful animation and some really good voice work - but predictably so. As in... every chuckle or vividly crafted frame fits precisely in line with such a monotonous, hackneyed formula so not only are none of this film's assets particularly inspired or interesting, but they're all mostly forgotten as soon as that exhausting Ne-Yo song plays during the end credits. Not to mention knowing the exact beats this is going to take before it takes them makes it sadly *so* laborious to get through. Not that convention in these things is bad on its own, I mean these same directors made Moana which I enjoyed a ton despite its familiarity - but I found that one to be better than this one in every conceivable way: charm, storytelling, animation, etc. even if neither of them feel particularly well paced (the *only* thing this does better is that the lead is [[[slightly]]] more developed here). Doesn't help that the songs - I realize I'm in the minority to report - are only alright at best. Though admittedly that one's probably a me thing, since I've never really been a huge jazz guy. The cute little frogs are funny, and I loved the silly Jim Cummings firefly + wide-eyed Charlotte + lanky Keith David villain - but I'm sorry, at a certain point early on I just started waiting for this to be over.
  
Aladdin (1992)
Aladdin (1992)
1992 | Action, Animation, Comedy
Robin Williams is fantastic in Aladdin during the 1990's Disney Renaissance
This film just makes me melancholic now watching the sheer genius Robin Williams as the Genie. To improvise the character to such an extent just goes to show Williams' incredible talent.

The animation itself is the first time to feature a non-white Disney princess, hence it is important to show the significance of characters from BAME backgrounds. It's disappointing to hear that the movie version is going to be whitewashed.

It is funny, clever, and is part of the 'Disney Renaissance' - a hip new sensibility to animated features and which still stands up in the age of Pixar and DreamWorks thanks largely to RW.
  
The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019)
The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019)
2019 | Adventure, Animation, Comedy
Good animation, storyline easy to follow, some good humour (0 more)
Good for a kids film
After seeing the secret Life of pets, I felt I needed to then see the second one. We opted for the new odeon luxe that has opened. I feel that this may have contributed to an increased score. The storyline was good, no prolonged intro which was great for the kids. Some scary moments which my daughter wasn't too impressed with but every movie needs its ups and downs! Some excellent humour and some excellent correlation to real life (fox in the farm, cone of shame). Overall, something just didn't hit the spot to say it was fantastic, however overall a good film
  
TMNT (2007)
TMNT (2007)
2007 | Action, Animation, Sci-Fi
8
6.9 (20 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Cowabunga
In this animated 4th instalment of the original franchise, the Turltles are semi retired, with Leonardo training in the deep Jungles, Michelangelo ironically dressing as a turtle for kids party's, donatello working as I.T support, Raphael having a secret Night life and April o'neil now working for a mysteriously rich relic collector, the four brothers aren't as close as they once were. until one night OG badass Casey Jones teams up with the mysterious vigilante nightwatcher, they discover ancient monsters terrorizing the city and the return of the foot clan.

This movie has a great coming of age story, wonderful cgi animation and a well balanced tone. This is one for all old school Half Shell fans.
  
Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015)
Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015)
2015 | Animation, Comedy
10
7.4 (10 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Fifty Shades of Grazing
Profoundly beautiful and thoughtful film that seeks to address a number of deep philosophical issues in a comparatively brief running time - the boundary between person and animal, the importance of being in harmony with nature, and the dehumanising effect of living in modern western society.

Or, if you prefer, just another technically brilliant and very, very clever animation from Aardman, managing to tell a witty and satisfying story with virtually no dialogue required. Very funny and utterly charming at the same time (and it really does touch on the stuff I mentioned at the top of the page, too). I tell you, films like this are wasted on kids.
  
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
2018 | Action, Animation, Sci-Fi
I loved Into the Spider-verse! I must honestly say that it's one of the best Spiderman movies that I've seen since some older cartoon movies. I've never been a major Spiderman fan, and some of the more recent movies ruined it even more (thanks, Andrew Garfield). However, I really enjoyed watching this one! I do like Miles Morales and Spiderham a lot, so I'm sure that helps. Lol I loved how they did some parts of the animation so it looked like you were in a comic book. It made for a fun, nostalgic feeling. It's definitely worth seeing! There's an after-credit scene, too, so don't get up to leave right away.