Screen Squinty's "Finding Dory" Reivew.

Film: Finding Dory.
Directed by: Andrew Stanton.
Released: 2016.
Running Time: 103 minutes.

There is nothing like the sight of colorful sparkly fish with great voice overs to experience the majesty of the ocean and your local Signorney Weaver narrated Fish hospital/park.

Finding Dory is the much anticipated sequel to Finding Nemo (2003) that had been in the works for the past 13 years. Unsurprising as the first installment  was such a hit that it’s a surprise that Hollywood isn’t already on its fourth installment instead of its second.  In this installment, it concentrates on the popular character, Dory, in a collection of present moment and flash backs telling an origin story/present adventure story of Dory’s search for her family.

The film is that a lot of the old crew that made Finding Nemo such a success returned to the making of the film. Andrew Stanton, who directed the first film returned as director (paired up with relative feature film newcomer co-director Angus Macleane), and many of the voice actors returned, such as Albert Brooks the famous writer and comedian reprising his role as Marlen, and of course the queen of talk shows  herself Ellen DeGeneres as Dory.

Having Stanton manning the helm of its development has kept this film on an even keel where many films that have tread the choppy waters of long term development waters to break apart (The Good Dinosaur for Example), this film has made it into the dock with a solidly made film in which you can easily believe that it has earned the $287 million worldwide gross since it premiered June 8^th.

The animation had the same high quality as the first film, with some really beautiful breathtaking imagery that shows the animation teams love of the watery kingdom. Though there was less variety of colorful settings like the first film, it did utilize what was presented in the best possible way, making an ordinary public Aquarium comically (and sometimes dangerously)  fantastical .

Pixar “Dory” from Finding Dory, 2016. Promotional Image.

The character designs with child Dory being the precious little fish bit adorkable without quite falling into Pwecious territory fortunately, and the designs of the other inhabitants of the exhibits was enjoyably done. The strongest design testicles down though would have to be Hank, the cranky red octopus,  with the excellent voice talent of Ed O’Niell, whose design has the smart decision of using his eyes as the dominant feature of body language communication.

Some of the strongest animations recognize the importance of the expression of the eyes.
in computer animation, though there has certainly been improvements over the years, a big flaw was the phenomenon known as “dead eyes” (The Polar Express is an excellent example of this), which accents the artificiality of the world being portrayed and generally comes across as a little unsettling. This is in part because the eyes are a common body language facet of communication among humans almost to a subconscious level.

A creative team that recognizes this important facet of human relation and communication, make it the most prominent feature of a character (particularly in a computer animation) tend to be the most successful in character design, as it helps foster greater empathy with a character, as well as puts a stamp of a high quality animation for the production company, which Pixar has in spades and is not afraid to show.

It doesn’t hurt that Hank, out side of his design, was a likable character as well, and his dynamic with Dory was easily the strongest feature of the film with dialogue that felt natural, entertaining, and engaging all at once, and definitely is one of the strongest factors in carrying the film, and a character who i can see getting his own movie if there is a third installment.

Pixar, Hank and Dory from “finding Dory, 2016, promotional Image.

The story itself outside of the characters and animation, does holdup well. The present day and flash back transitions were clever in revealing not only Dory’s origins, but also in her psyche, as well as a plot of character development and resolution.

Granted it didn’t have the grand feel of the first film, but that’s as it should be. The first film was a heroic journey film, this one was a personal revelation story at a very internal and personal level on part of Dory, which the story does.It doesn’t need the grand oceanic delights and dangers to be what it is, with the first film about finding someone, and the second about finding one’s self.

If there were any weak points in the film, perhaps Nemo’s character didn’t feel particularly essential to the film. In fact his presence highlighted why you shouldn’t bring children into potentially dangerous or unknown situations. It weakens Marlen’s parental characterization, particularly after the first film going through the trouble of developing him in that quarter. Still, the focus was on Dory, so the draw backs are minor annoyances at best.

This film swims to the top and over he expectations going into this film, with its great animation, characters, and story it is a high recommendation for your summer viewing.

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Screen Squinty’s “Batman: Mask of the Phantasm” Review.

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Movie scenes and Promotional imagery. Property of Warner Bros.

Film: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.
Directed by: Eric Radomski and Bruce Timm.
Released: 1993.
Running Time: 76 min.

I am sure everyone and their monkey’s uncle has perhaps had their ear  bent over the years about the first DC Animated film based off of the Batman: The Animated Series (1992-1995) over the years. A story about a young Bruce Wayne on the crossroads and early days of becoming Batman told in flashbacks while his present self is on the run from a frame up and facing down a mysterious antagonist that takes that one step to far approach.

So what makes this worth chatter in certain fan communities?

First, for the 90’s, a film based off of an animated television series without being just a well edited amalgamation of episodes or one long episode was rare to find, especially within shows geared towards the younger set, let alone one that was destined to have a theatrical release, instead of just going straight to video.

While the film failed in the box office, mostly due in part to the short amount of time the team was given by Warner Bros. to both make and sell people to the release (and one of those prime examples of why we all still tolerate trailers and promos now a days despite the complaints), though it did receive high praise from many critics, and has since gained cult following status.

This is everything you could want in an animated neo-noir film, directed by Eric Radomski and Bruce Timm who carried the success and classy darker over tones of the series into the film, as well as reaching out to a variety of Batman comics, but also made it something more than its source material.

It treats itself like a serious feature film and not just an off shoot of a television show.
The amazing and clever cinematic score by Shirley Walker, one of the few female women score writers during the period in Hollywood and the original composer for the animated series and set the tone for the musical score for the DC Animated series universe franchise, greets viewers in the opening credits with a score that had an epic feel akin to listening to the scores of Superman (1978) and Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back (1980).

It wasn’t just epic in feel and tone, but also contained some of the playful edge of its roots by its construction of the lyrics in an amusing inside joke that very few people caught at the time involving the choir who were not singing Latin or some other grand language, but instead, with all seriousness, they were singing the names of orchestrates Lolita Ritmanis, Michael McCuistion and Peter Tomashek (and some others) backwards.

The voice acting meanwhile of of Kevin Conroy (Bruce Wayne/Batman), Mark Hamill (Joker), and Efrem Zimbalist, Jr (Alfred Pennyworth). already excellent actors from the series, went all out (reprising their roles from The Animated Series), in particular Mark Hamill working his pre-Joker and present Joker figure.

The next positive was the story.

Loosely based off of events from Batman Year One and Batman Year Two graphic novels as well as the television series, showed a good balance of its various source materials, while being mainly its own thing. As a cinematic article in and of itself, accentuating its neo-noir lines, it stands on its own without needing to lean on its inspiration and sources to hard, but respecting the classic Batman Detective character, as well as the genre conventions of neo-noir, fitting as there were some moments in the flashbacks that were inspired/reminiscent of famous noir classic Citizen Kane (1941).

So we can agree this film has many advantages going for it, but does it have any drawbacks?
Two criticisms have come to light over the years, so lets address them:

The first Criticism is that the plot is to slow, almost plodding, with not enough action to keep audiences engaged throughout the film.

It’s a valid criticism, the pacing of the plot is slower then many are likely accustomed to, particularly child audiences, and in comparison to later films, its pace is a little staid. The fact of the matter though is that noirs are often not normally fast paced predominantly.

Its all about setting the atmosphere, building the intrigue, or at least good noir films do this, and this is a noir film make no mistake about that, and this film does a good job in establishing its intrigue and mood with just the right amount of action scenes- and when they happened, they were really good, relevant to the story, and memorable- to satisfy. Though perhaps those who respond to higher action to story ratios might not be as in to this film.

The Second criticism would be the lead romantic role, Andrea Beaumont (Dana Delany), was not a very well developed character.

Andrea Beaumont, Played by Dana Delany. Screen shot, property of WB.

In this I would have to agree more with critics. For most of her appearance, Andrea didn’t receive much development as a character herself for a large part of the movie, but despite this she did fulfill her role for the story, and the resolution of her character in the climax of the film does somewhat save her character. You do believe the chemistry between her and Bruce as well, which was vital component as part of Bruce’s struggle in his early years as a vigilantly in making his ultimate choice for the path he takes as Batman.

Its worth noting that her character does appear in a cameo or two within the DC Franchise, particularly in the series finale of Batman Beyond (1999-2001).

Unfortunately, Andrea did reflect a trend with how women were treated rather stereotypically that was part and parcel in the Batman Animated series for the most part until more interesting characters like Harley Quinn came along. Andrea did break the mold to an extent as well, in a way that went beyond the love interest or the sexualized villianess. she is an interesting mix of breaking the mold and sustaining it at the same time.

This perhaps reflects the dated nature of the film perhaps, but when one takes into account the amazingly story, great acting, a brilliant antagonist, the noir atmosphere, and  the homage to source material with an original twist here and there, plus the spectacular climatic ending, it somewhat saves it from completely falling into the dated container, perhaps why it has retained its cult status and one of the top favorite DC Animated Film list for may fans of the franchise.

This is certainly one of my top favorites from the DC Animated Franchise, a highly recommended watch for not only Batman fans or DC Animations fans, but also for those who just want to watch a great feature film.

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Screen Squinty's Announcment: Apoligies, DC Animation Reviews, and DC Animation Trailers/Clips.

Hello all!

Back from the brink of another health induced hiatus.

I apologize to all my regular readers, and I know this seems to be recurring theme, I apologize, my health has its ups and downs sometimes.
 
Anyhoo, with the awesome r-rated ‪The Killing Joke‬ based off of  one of my favorite graphic novels from the DC-verse, coming out and with some of my favorite voice actors including Mark Hamill, I decided in homage to the DC Animated franchise by reviewing as many ‪‎DC‬ Animated movies, shorts, and fanmade animated content as possible until its current stated release date in July interspersed throughout my other content.

Just for the hell of it, here is a list of all the DC Animated films in chronological order by release date starting from the 1990's, and a trailer or clip for each one.

1. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993). 

2. Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero (1998).

3. Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000).

4. Batman: The Mystery of the Batwoman (2003).

5. The Batman vs. Dracula (2005).

6. Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo (2006).

7. Superman: Brainiac Attacks (2006).

 

8. Superman Doomsday (2007).

9. Justice League: The New Frontier (2008).

10. Batman: Gotham Knight (2008).

11. Wonder Woman (2009).

12. Green Lantern: First Flight (2009).

13. Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (2009).

14. Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (2010).

15. Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010).

16. Superman/Batman: Apocalypse (2010).

17. All Star Superman (2011).

18. Green Lantern: Emerald Knights (2011).

19. Batman: Year One (2011).

20. Justice League: Doom (2012).

21. Superman vs. The Elite (2012).

22. The Dark Knight Returns-Part 1 (2012).

23. The Dark Knight Returns-Part 2 (2013).

24. Superman: Unbound (2013).

25. Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013).

26. JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time (2014).

27. Justice League: War (2014).

28. Son of Batman (2014).

29. Batman: Assault on Arkham (2014).

30. Justice League: Throne of Atlantis (2015).

31. Batman vs. Robin (2015).

32. Batman Unlimited: Animal Instincts (2015).

33. Justice League: Gods and Monsters (2015).

34. Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem (2015).

35. Batman: Bad Blood (2016).

36. Justice League vs. Teen Titans (2016).

37. The Killing Joke (2016, coming out this July).

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Screen Squinty's "Mune: Guardian of the Moon" Review.

(Mune: Guardien of the Moon promotional image, Paramount Pictures, 2014.)

Film: Mune: Guardian of the Moon.
Directed by: Alexandre Heboyan and Benoît Philippon.
Released: 2014.
Running Time: 86 min.

This is a French computer animated fantasy film about a mythical world ruled by the delicate balance that exists between the Sun and Moon which are each watched over and manned by a Sun and Moon Guardian.

During the choice of a new guardian for both celestial bodies, a creature named Mune (Michaël Grégorio and Joshua J. Ballard) is unexpectedly chosen as guardian of the Moon. Untrained and highly naive, his mistakes lead to the theft of the Sun, which leaves both Mune and the guardian of the Sun, Sohone (Omar Sy and Trevor Devall), to get it back and are accompanied by the living candle wax girl Glim (Izïa Higelin and Nicole Provost).

One of the strongest features of the feature is the strong blend of inventive use of mythology archetypes combined with heroes journey poetics we are all familiar with in a very Terry Gilliam influenced construction in the overarching living myths of this place, which is appropriate considering that the writer for the film Benoît Philippon, was inspired by Gilliam's films which also utilizes a similar use of living mythological worlds with a unique fantastical production style, such as Monty Python’s Holy Grail (1975) and Time Bandits (1981).

Altogether it gives it a very unique yet classic structure, and works as a dominant theme within the film brilliantly well, almost like reading something from an ancient mythology storybook.

The creative use of animation is another point in its favor as the animators utilized the filmatic computer animated paint brush to bring this to life in a visually creative and stunning way, in particular the character designs, done by the renowned Nicolas Marlet (Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon), and the creation of the Sun and Moon temples were a particular favorite. 

 

(Mune: Guardien of the Moon "Moon Temple", Paramount Pictures, 2014.) 

Mune in particular was adorable, yet his character design didn’t completely overwhelm his identity, his motions were very much akin to his more wild nature, and a nice nod to some classical Greek mythology yet still remaining his own creature.  

  (Mune: Guardien of the Moon "Mune", Paramount Pictures, 2014.) 

The only real drawback lies in the character Glim, whose construction is visually pleasing and basic concept as a character who either freezes in complete darkness or melts in the sun provides some interesting possibilities. Unfortunately this is hindered by being rather uninteresting in personality at best, and insulting at worst with her constant dependence on the two protagonists throughout most of the film, and forced as a romantic lead that was completely unneeded at all. not exactly the best female protagonist to introduce to children, and beyond outdated for the adult viewers.

She wasn't completely horrible throughout the entirety of the film, certainly her actions with the sun in the climax of the film was her strongest moments, at least working with her basic concept to its fullest somewhat,; though it’s effectiveness as a memorably dramatic scene that could have saved her character somewhat is undercut by a floating bit of deux ex machina.

The story would have been stronger if it had just been purely Mune and Sohone, leaving more chance to develop their relationship as guardians and as friends, particularly with the added element of Sohone being groomed for the position from the beginning, and Mune a complete novice, chosen over Sohone's groomed counterpart. This would provide an excellent spring board to develop some prime character interaction, but it was not fully realized.

They are supposed to be a vital symbol of harmony and balance between the Night and the Day, according to the film's cannon, and was also not given enough emphasis or development to work within present plot. The fact that the two didn’t really do this adventure wholly together, and Sohone himself was just as useless for a prime chunk of the film, only really redeeming himself as a character in the end climax, all took away from what would have been a spectacular story instead of an attractive mythology format.

(Mune: Guardien of the Moon "Mune and Sohone", Paramount Pictures, 2014.) 

Overall, despite its flaws this is a creative bit of classical storytelling using a unique style and original world building within the medium of animation done in a professional and visually pleasing style that is easily accessible to a wide variety of ages and audiences (it does have its modest fanart out there), though the weak use of characters, and the lack of really good development between Mune and Sohone, and Glim’s step backwards for female characters undercuts the enjoy-ability.

This is definitely  a recommendation for the younger set perhaps who might not be as turned off by the weak character elements as anyone older than 10 might be, and worth a gander at least for the spectacular animation and mythology format.

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Screen Squinty's "Zootopia" Review.

Film: Zootopia.
Directed by: Byron Howard and Rich Moore.
Running time: 108 min.
Released: 2016.

Zootopia is a Disney computer animation feature that centers on the story of Judy Hopps in a classic underbunny story of a small town nobody with big dreams of making it in the big city as a cop, yet finds that she still has to deal with being a prey animal in a predator dominated field.

While the story at its core is something that has been done many times before, a discrimination story, though a Furry version, Zootopia does at least present it in an interesting, engaging, and fresh manner by combining it with the premise of an entire world of evolved anthropomorphic mammals with an actual somewhat explained back history, and combines it with a really great bit of intrigue, well balanced humor, and great characters.

The animation, particularly on Zootopia and all its various environments are cleverly designed and gorgeously rendered giving a very real, very present feel to the setting, particularly combined with the really great character designs have its own unique charm.

The plot flows really well, playing with events and expectations a little, and not afraid to really build up the reveals, while taking time out to focus on the little moments, which gives it a more relaitable engagement and feel for the spectators instead of smashing from one scene to the next with nary a breath in-between, which has been a common problem with many films nowadays and outside of animated shorts and Steven Universe, has a presentation so smartly and wisely utilized its flow of time so perfectly.

The Narrative meanwhile is really good! it is very much a serious series of events in which an overarching conspiracy/mystery is going on, and during the times when it is in focus, they treat it in a serious manner with surprising little humor, which they save for interactions between the various characters and background gags.

The film also utilizes its moral lesson smartly (though rather bluntly), but doesn't tread that fine line in to rehash preaching that often turns off the viewer from a rather important lesson. No one here has the moral high ground, everyone has both obvious and subtle faults and points of view that are both conscious and subtle, and is used as a device for character development, adding a layer to the dynamic between Judy and Nick.

Speaking of Judy, voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin (Snow White from Once Upon a Time), and Nick voiced by Jason Bateman (Michael Bluth in Arrested Development)- and did a stellar job with the voice acting- brought character dynamic that was just brilliant! Their growing relationship provided not only some of the best dialogue,and the way they worked off each other in action scenes, humorous scenes, and the final confrontation felt very natural and between them carried the overall tone of the movie all the way through (also unrelievedly this was a non-romantic pair for once, kudos for going against an overused trope, particularly for something from Disney).

Overall this was a feature that super-seceded expectations by presenting an all-around great film by taking a common sometimes overused concept and made it interesting with some creative and well thought out animation, narrative flow, and some great characters.

A definite recommend for viewers of all ages.

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Screen Squinty's "Felidae" Review.

 ("Felidae." Screen Shot, Property of Senator Film Distribution)

Film: Felidae.
Directed by: Michael Schaack.
Running time: 82 min.
Released: 1994.

Felidae is a fascinating 1994 German Adult animation based off of a 1989 novel and series of the same name by Akif Pirinçci. It is about a house cat named Francis who recently moves into a new neighborhood and gets caught up in investigating the murders of other felines.

This is not the kind of animated feature that you would stick the kiddies in front of unless they have a great deal of maturity to understand graphic (violent) imagery. This is a story that takes talking animals to a whole different, nitty-gritty level.

The first thing to note is the differences between the original German voice acting and the English dub later developed. You can tell right off when doing a comparison between the two, that the voice acting and the lines is definitely better in the German one, the voice actors matching their characters personalities quite well, with Ulrich Tukar as the voice of Francis and Mario Adorf as Blaubart. The English version cleaned up a lot of the language which actually felt part in setting the tone, particularly of Blaubart, and did have some noticeable differences to wording outside of that which was not to the film’s advantage.

So like with anything else that is done in a language different from your own, if your English, stick to the subtitled version if you want the full effect of the film.

The animation was a rather fascinating mix of the standard, though good, quality of animation during that period, but then you get these moments where it takes a step above itself, particularly in Francis' dream sequences, and one in particular whose contents won’t be given away, but its style works well with the disturbing and potent imagery you’re not likely to forget.

There is also a sense of environment with this, an idea of the sort of old run down once lofty urban district which is established through the movements of the cats, done particularly well through a really well animated and detailed chase scene between Francis and the cult followers.

The story itself is another highlight, appropriate given the popularity of the books, the narrative flows from one sequence to another well enough, though there are moments that do feel a little rushed, it does weave its mystery in a very engaging way with equally engaging characters, Blaubart being a nice humorously crass counterpoint when it gets a little too heavy at the right times. It actually reads almost like a film noir, with some of the tropes of the genre, but not dominantly so.

One of the things going against it is that there are certain things that do make it dated, and a product of its times, such as a scene or two of less than PC use of homosexuality in a negative connotation, particularly exemplified in the scene between Kong and his crew and Francis and Blaubart in the first half, but that is very brief thankfully, and doesn't impact with the rest of the film, so it can be skipped.

The other negative perhaps is that while the climatic ending was really well done, the "bad humans and there corruption" message did feel a little forced here, almost shoe horned in with those last words of the antagonist, and then Francis before he passes out. It felt already established and stated by the antagonist’s backstory already, but then again, it is a product of its time, and it didn't take away from the overall enjoyment of the film.

This was a great film that has a really compelling narrative and tone that sucks you in, a great set of characters in Francis and Blaubart, great animation, particularly in the dream sequences, and a gripping action-filled ending, if a little preachy here and there. Definitely a recommended watch for those who enjoy a good horror/mystery, are not squeamish, and like good quality adult animation.

Felidae Trailer (sound is not the best quality but its the best of the lot):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXytNduYSj0


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