“Zootopia” is unlike any Disney animated movie I’ve ever seen. Going in I wondered, “what is it about this talking animal adventure that will make it stand out from all the others?” The answer: a seven-person story team that’s crafted an extremely human tale set in an incredible animated world. “Zootopia” is actually a big-budget, […]
“Kung Fu Panda 3” is DreamWorks Animation’s 32nd theatrical feature, but their first ever released in the month of January. A big-budget, high-quality animated film this early in the year is rare, and while this third chapter of Po the Panda, Master Shifu and the Furious Five doesn’t quite live-up to the original, it’s fast, […]
Less than an hour into Pixar’s “The Good Dinosaur”, I began thinking about the studio’s 15 other animated movies (never a good thing). Not all of them are outstanding (“WALL-E” being the most overrated), but given the choice, I would watch any of them again in favor of a second viewing of “The Good Dinosaur”, […]
The Goosebumps book series has been scaring kids (and making them laugh) for the past 23 years. Now R.L. Stine’s monsterful characters come to life in the big screen version of “Goosebumps”. Unlike traditional book to screen adaptations, this film doesn’t specifically focus on one installment of the series, but rather takes elements from practically […]
2008’s Oscar-winning documentary “Man on Wire” beautifully showcased the incredible French artist Philippe Petit, who, in 1974, defined cultural American history by walking on a wire hung between the World Trade Center Twin Towers in New York City. The story itself is remarkable, and as the Hollywood version of Petit’s feat, “The Walk”, once again […]
We’ve seen a Disney animated classic, a Cathy Rigby musical, an NBC live TV musical and a Johnny Depp drama that all involve the story of Peter Pan. What else can possibly be done with this character we know too well? “Pan” dares to answer that by going the prequel route with the tale of […]
Sony Pictures Animation welcomes you back to “Hotel Transylvania” with a sequel to their 2012 all-star “monster” comedy. Unfortunately, you may not want to check-in, as “HT2” suffers from a scattered script and uneven pacing (aka the Adam Sandler Syndrome). Sandler earned high marks for his voice performance of Dracula in the original “Hotel Transylvania”, […]
UK-based Aardman is one of the most reliable animation studios operating today. Practically every feature and short they’ve produced has been a winner, led, of course, by their iconic creations – “Wallace & Gromit”. Now, with its first film since 2012’s non-stop laugh fest “The Pirates! Band of Misfits”, Aardman brings British TV animation staple […]
After seeing 2010’s “Despicable Me” the first of several times, I knew that supervillain turned Superdad Gru’s little yellow assistants, the Minions, were destined to star in their own movie. Five years later, “Minions” puts the title characters front and center. Unfortunately, the film falls short on the fun meter. “Minions” is a prequel to […]
Six months after their release of “American Sniper”, Warner Bros. is out with a family-friendly war-themed (of sorts) film, as a Marine service dog returns from battle and has trouble adjusting to homelife in “Max”. As the opening credits reveal, K-9s have been used in the military since WWI. Max, a Malinois Shepherd, was the […]