The Art of Zootopia Review

July 7, 2016June 24, 2016 | Rachel's Reviews

I think someone that doesn’t like Zootopia may actually like the Art of Zootopia. It is so great. It gives you such a clear image of the attention to detail that went into the film that it is so fascinating. Details like vending machines and buildings that are briefly seen are incredible in addition to all the major set pieces getting fleshed out. It’s my favorite movie of the year and one of my favorite art books.

It starts with an introduction from John Lasseter where he shares his excitement for the all-animal world “I challenged the filmmakers to imagine Zootopia as a world that is truly and uniquely animal, where there are no people and mammals have evolved to human levels of intelligence. For inspiration I encouraged them to dive deeply into research on animals and their habitats”. His happiness with the finished product is evident “I believe the cleverness and fun add up to make Zootopia one of the most entertaining films we’ve ever made. At its heart, it’s pure Disney. But it’s also unlike anything we’ve ever seen before in animation”

Next you have a foreward from Byron Howard and Rich Moore. They talk about how they changed their vision from a futuristic tone to more natural in feeling. “But through our research we came to understand that cities are a reflection of their inhabitants’ history and lifestyles, and that Zootopia had to evolve as a human city does. It had to haave layers built up over time to make it feel like a place that truly exists”

Then we take a world building approach to the rest of the book. We get to see the thought that went into each of the burrows and learn about little details we might have missed. What I loved is seeing details like this page on Koslov’s Palace a place I don’t think even made it in the movie, or if did it’s brief. They even have the borscht served designed!

You also get layouts on the lead characters and see their evolution.

And I loved learning more about side characters like all the planning behind the 2 polar bear guards of the shrew.

There are great design details that didn’t make it into the film like an amusement park of sorts.

It’s details like these that make The Art of Zootopia a great find and one you should put in your collection. It’s got enough reading to be informative and the artwork to dazzle.

If any of you pick up the Art of Zootopia let me know what you think.

The Art of Rise of the Guardians Review

July 5, 2016August 6, 2017 | Rachel's Reviews

One of the most underrated films of recent memory is Dreamworks 2012 offering, Rise of the Guardians. Therefore, it should come as no shock the artbook is also underrated and equally excellent. It is similar in some ways to the Art of Zootopia in that it focuses on the world-building.

The most special part of this art book is the clear affection for the film all involved have. It even has a forward by voice star Alec Baldwin- something you usually don’t see in art books. He talks about being presented with the role and opportunity to play Santa Claus. He says “from the beginning, the movie was pitched to me as a heart-warming yet clever tale about the importance of belief and the banishment of fear. The result has truly exceeded expectations. Not only is the movie funny, thrilling and gorgeously rendered, it also tells a poignant story with intense dramatic stakes”. I agree with Mr Baldwin on this one!

P1500058 — William Joyce’s introduction and illustrations

Then next the introduction is done by William Joyce, writer of the Guardians books, which says something about his feelings towards the film. “Dreamworks animation took everything that I wanted these characters to be and took it so much further than I was ever able to illustrate. The whole work is now grander than I could imagine”. Again, high praise coming from an author of a book who are normally prone to be critical of adaptations.

This art book does a great job mixing informative text, mostly about the creative process, with visuals and concept art. We start by going over the broad concept of a superhero team for children with some dark tones mixed in. Then they go over each superhero and their accompanying lands.

It’s just amazing to see the level of detail in that drawing of Santa’s home and the evolution of what came to be North himself. I don’t know how you can be an animation fan and not be in awe of this art work.

But I also really loved the sense of teamwork shown in the book. We even get a fold out poster which shows you all the various hands that make an animated film work and how they are all intertwined. This is fascinating stuff for an animation fan.

We also get plenty of storyboards and a detailed description of how a sequence gets put together.

It’s kind of cool as well that they end with a photo of the entire Dreamworks team. It’s nice they acknowledge everyone involved!

So the Art of Rise of the Guardians is a great art book and one I highly recommend adding to your collection

The Art of the Peanuts Movie Review

July 4, 2016July 4, 2016 | Rachel's Reviews

I unabashedly loved The Peanuts Movie last year. And it wasn’t just nostalgia for Peanuts, which I do have but I genuinely thought it was a sweet, charming little film. And I’ve always said that the artistry didn’t get enough credit. Just because it was a familiar property I think people missed the hybrid animation trailblazing the film did. So naturally when I saw they had a Peanuts art book I had to jump right on that!

The Art of the Peanuts Movie starts with a forward from director Steve Martino where he talks about how he related to the entire Peanuts gang growing up. “Growing up in the Midwest, Charlie Brown’s neighborhood felt like my own…the gang were like friends that I visited on a daily baiss through the ‘funny pages'” He then talks about the specials and even a Charlie Brown sign on his coffee table growing up that read “Happiness is a Warm Puppy”. He is then honest about the huge pressure he felt in adapting this work that is beloved to many including himself. “It felt like I was carrying Schroeder’s piano, only it had grown to a grand piano”

Finally he was able to overcome his fears by a quote from Charles Schulz himself”One of the solutions is, as Charlie Brown does, just to keep on trying. He never gives up. And if anybody should give up, he should”. I’m not going to lie I teared up a bit reading his essay. I love when artists admit their fear of the art.

Next is another forward by Vanessa Morrison president of 20th Century Fox Animation. This is a little more corporate although she does express her love growing up on the series and reading it with her mother.

Then we get 2 articles about the legacy and new direction of Peanuts as well as early concept ideas. With all that done, we get into the main meat of the book where they dive into the process of making CG characters. It’s really cool. You see the mold making process and how the characters are designed.

They also have this neat graphic showing the comic to 3D transitioning for the entire gang.

Next we get several pages on each character describing the design and attributes.

Next is a cool article about how you keep characters on model and moving in a natural way. This is something they achieved in spades especially in the skating scenes.

It’s really cool as well to learn about the animation and how the computer uses pin points to bring them alive.

We get an entire section on backgrounds and how they created the pop friendly feel of the Peanuts neighborhood.

The last section is mostly about the story and goes into incredible detail about how every facet was created and designed down to the posters and flags on Charlie Brown’s wall. That is so cool to learn about!

And we get storyboards and anything else you could want to know about the process of bringing this movie to screen.

The Art of the Peanuts Movie is a great book because it is so rich. It covers the incredibly difficult task of adapting the strip to a movie, the design process of characters, and the story development and boarding process. You can learn about all sides of animation through this book and it will warm your heart to see such love going into a work of art. I think it might even give some people more respect for what they accomplished than the film is given. At least it does for me but I already loved it.

But definitely if you love the Peanuts and thought The Peanuts Movie was great you should pick up this art book. It’s fantastic!

The Art Book of Song of the Sea Review

July 3, 2016July 4, 2016 | Rachel's Reviews

It’s rare in the world of animated art book that you have one written by the director himself! But that is just what you get with the Song of the Sea Art Book. Anyone who reads this blog knows I consider Song of the Sea to be a modern animated masterpiece so when I saw this for sale I shelled out the big bucks for it. It’s expensive but I had to have it!!

This art book is so rich I could read it for weeks and get new things out of it. It starts out with a brief introduction from art director Adrien Mericeau, head of story Nora Twomey and then director Tomm Moore. What I love is how close the team felt to these characters. Twomey says “Bit by bit, it came together, layer upon layer bound together by story, song and beauty. Once we remained true to Ben and Saoirse and thought of them as real people, everything else came into place”. You feel that closeness to the characters when you watch the film.

Tomm Moore shares how he came up with the idea for Song of the Sea when visiting a beach in Dingle with his 10 year old son Ben. “While there we came across a sea cull and I started thinking about the connection between our attitude to wildlife and our environment and the stories that once reminded us our place in the natural world”. This idea kept “percolating away in my sketchbooks and in the back of my mind”. Isn’t it great that this kind of animation is still possible? That someone can get an idea and make a movie in this day of franchises, marketing gimmicks and big budgets it’s really refreshing.

We then next get a forward by Charles Solomon. This is more like an interview with Tomm Moore sharing his approach to filmmaknig and creating Song of the Sea. It’s really cool that they have a quote from Pixar’s Pete Docter who says “Many films are noisy and manic, full of pop culture jokes; frenetically paced with wacky, manic characters that never hold still. In contrast, Song of the Sea has a quiet beauty. It is graphically gorgeous, yet simple. Best of all, the characters are well-observed and truthful. It’s a joy to watch for so many reasons.” Amen to that!

Next Moore gives tons of information about the mythological and folkloric references. It even explains the meaning behind things I just accepted as his own invention like the spirtuality of the family dog Cu. “As it is the children’s dog Cu’s moment of glory the wind takes the form of 2 Cu Sidhe, fairy dog hounds, from Scottish and Irish folklore.” I don’t know about you but I find that fascinating.

Then Moore has a QandA he did that has incredible details. This is followed by our first chapter of the book which is all about the locations they used and how they sketched what they saw. This includes both sea and cityscapes and we get beautiful color photos along with descriptions.

Next up we have a large section on the characters. This includes the concept art and inspiration for their stories. We get our main characters of course but also smaller characters like the trick-or-treaters and the owls.

What’s really neat about these sketches is the finished product is so similar to them so you really feel like you are seeing into the mind of the artists!

Then we move on to development and production. This details the storyboarding and layouts and what had to be cut that Tomm Moore loved.

The artwork in this segment is just amazing. I wish I could frame every page and put it on my wall!

The final segment is quotes and acknowledgements and has memories and thoughts from producers, cast and crew and then ‘quotes from friends’. They have Don Hall director of Big Hero 6 who says “steeped in his country’s mythology, as well as classic animation from all over the world Tomm Moore is telling that incredibly difficult and all too rare, type of story: the personal film that is accessible to all. And he does it with style, but never at the expense of substance. In fact, the style…actually enhances the substance”. I couldn’t agree more.

The Art Book of Song of the Sea is pricey. I think it cost me $60 because I had to buy it from England but to me it is worth it. I love my book and it has made the movie even better, if that was even possible. If you can afford it I highly recommend picking it up!

Best and Worst of Disneytoons I’ve Seen

July 1, 2016July 2, 2016 | Rachel's Reviews

Clearly I love animation given this blog but that doesn’t mean I love all animation. And for the most part I don’t care for Disneytoons animation. My poor blogger friend Animatedkid just finished his Disneytoons Canon review and it almost ruined him. Like he almost gave up blogging at one point. I can promise you one thing I will never review the Disneytoons Canon!

But there are a few good to decent films out of Disneytoons. I thought it would be fun to share with you my list of the best and worst of Disneytoons (Worst is much easier to come up with in this case!)

Best-

10. Planes: Fire and Rescue- it’s not a great movie but for its target demographic I didn’t think it was that bad. The animation is actually quite good and the story I thought was ok.

9. Cinderella 3- got problems especially with Anastasia’s character but I feel like they actually tried to tell a new story. It’s creative and there’s some decent animation with the final carriage chase.

8. Tigger Movie- I admit been a while since I’ve seen any of the Winnie the Pooh sequels but this is the one I remember liking the most. Tigger searches for his family and I remember that being a sweet story.

7. Lion King 2- decent follow up to the Lion King. It is similar and misses Jeremy Irons but it’s an ok watch. I like some of the songs like He Lives in You and My Lullaby

6. Great Fairy Rescue- a good story where Vidia tricks Tink into getting caught by a little girl who’s father won’t believe her about fairies. Good animation and good voice talent. Get to see the entire team which I like and Tink, Lizzie and Vidia learn nice lessons

5. Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas- who doesn’t like Mickey? And the 3 stories are cute for Christmas.

4. The Three Musketeers- an enjoyable take on the Dumas story with Donald, Goofy and Mickey. Got to like that!

3. The Pirate Fairy- my favorite of the Tinker Bell movies. I like the addition of Zarina who becomes the pirate fairy and all the Easter eggs to Peter Pan. And come on it has Tom Hiddleston as Captain Hook! Loki in a Disney movie! But the animation is good and it’s a decent story

2. Ducktales Movie- think of it as Indiana Jones for kids. It’s a fun treasure hunt with our favorite characters from Ducktales. The animation is pretty good and I like all the voice work. It’s unpredictable with all the wishing and the lamp and all.

1.A Goofy Movie- a movie with a ton of heart, some good songs and a nice story about Goofy and Max going on a road trip (unwillingly by Max). I think most teens can relate to Max but it isn’t too heavy handed with the messaging.

Worst-

10.Planes- I don’t think this is awful but it is pretty boring. The sequel is definitely better in my opinion.

9. Little Mermaid 2- I give it a bit of a pass because I love Little Mermaid but if I’m honest it’s pretty awful. The animation is terrible and it’s a copy of the original film without any of what makes it special. There is one decent song but the rest are lame.

8. Mulan 2- I appreciate that they tried to tackle arranged marriages and feminism in a way but it comes across as very preachy and stupid. I don’t like how Mushu is suddenly against Shang and it’s just a let down from the bold characters of the original film.

7. Tarzan 2- I don’t really like these midquels because they play too much with the original story. I guess this is ok for very small children but thoroughly lame.

6. Atlantis: Milo’s Return- I love the original Atlantis: the Lost Empire but I am one of the few. This was a series that was made and combined together to make a movie and it shows. It doesn’t flow together and all of the mystery and fun of the original is lost.

5. Fox and the Hound 2- a midquel that takes Todd and Copper and has them join a country hoedown band. Just what you always wanted…

4. Beauty and the Beast: the Enchanted Christmas- another midquel that annoys me. It doesn’t make any sense given the original movie. If the Beast had a big Christmas party I don’t think they would be storming the castle in a few months…and besides that it’s just thoroughly lame.

3. Pocahontas 2- I can see how someone can ignore the historical inaccuracies of the first Pocahontas but this is just too much. Just no is all I have to say

2. Cinderella 2- 3 terrible stories combined into one movie. They are trite, lame and poorly animated. The worst is when Jacques gets turned into a human so he can learn that size doesn’t matter…Groan.

1. Hunchback of Notre Dame 2- I am no fan of the original Hunchback of Notre Dame but even I know this sequel sucks. It takes any subtlety or message of the original and stomps it on the ground. Suddenly we have a love interest for Quasi and a bell with jewels on the inside because beauty is found inside…double groan. It’s awful.

So there you have it my best and worst of Disneytoons!

The Art of Finding Dory Review

June 29, 2016July 2, 2016 | Rachel's Reviews

While I am happy vacationing in Spain the first 2 weeks of July I thought it would be fun to post a couple of reviews of animation art books I own. If you don’t have an art book it’s pretty self explanatory. It’s a book that explains and shows the art behind a particular film. These are not limited to animation (Marvel, DC and Star Wars for example have them) but all that I own are. I might not be quite as quick to respond to comments as I usually am on these art book posts because I will be gone. Have patience with me and I hope you enjoy them!

The first book we are going to look at is from the most recent animated release, Finding Dory. It is the Art of Finding Dory.

It’s kind of interesting because this art book has a preface, introduction and forward. The preface is by John Lasseter and he talks about the first time Andrew Stanton pitched Finding Nemo (“You had me at the word fish”) and then Finding Dory (“Nemo had as its canvas the entire ocean, but Dory expands that world even more…where even the plainest quarantine tank is lit by intricate caustics of light playing along its walls and floors). That emphasis on light and how it was used by the artists is a big theme of this art book.

The forward by director Andrew Stanton is quite moving. It shows the emotional connection he had to Dory from get-go. He says “Dory was lost. Most people overlook that fact…You see, Dory was looking for her family, too, only she had forgotten that fact. Dory had been lost for years, no knowing where or when that tragic separation occurred. I’ve always wanted to believe every audience member sensed that longing in her- that a fish with short-term memory loss, wandering the ocean alone, couldn’t truly be happy”. I know feel thoroughly guilty for never thinking that much about Dory- the poor fish! I’m so glad Andrew Stanton told her story because clearly he was very moved by it and it shows in the finished film.

Finally, the introduction by author Steve Pilcher, pencil and marker man on Finding Dory, shares his perspective on the design of Finding Dory. “The way shapes, color and light worked together to support the intent and focus of a shot became a carefully coordinated balance from sequence to sequence, shot to shot”.

You can tell The Art of Finding Dory is written by a technician like Pilcher because it is very technical but I found that fascinating.

The first part of the book is all about the production design. They focused a lot on lighting and how the ocean illuminates things differently than on the land/tank sequences.

I really liked pages that showed the sketching process to making Finding Dory.

They then have tons of information on character design for both small and larger characters.

Next we get tons of storyboards showing the evolution of the film’s story. I love looking at storyboards. It reminds me there are men and women actually drawing this stuff!

Finally we get to see the layout of the Marine Life Institute and all the small details from the flags, maps and signs.

They designed everything for the park- even stuff you don’t really see like the Kidzone bag you see above. That’s so cool!

If you liked Finding Dory then I think you will definitely like the Art of Finding Dory. It’s beautiful to look at but very enriching as well. I learned a lot about computer animation and the Pixar brainstorming process.

Let me know if you get to check it out what you think. Thanks!

Legend of Tarzan Review

June 28, 2016 | Rachel's Reviews

Today I had the chance to see the new Legend of Tarzan film, and I must admit to being pretty disappointed by it. Most people will say this is better than Independence Day: Resurgence and they are right but so much of our enjoyment of a film goes down to our expectations. It’s not that I was expecting Tarzan to be great but I was expecting it to be a Tarzan movie. What do I mean by that? To me a Tarzan movie has a man raised by apes flying through the jungle swinging on vines and falling in love with Jane. With Independence Day: Resurgence I expected a dopey alien movie with destruction and that’s basically what I got. My expectations were not similarly satisfied by Legend of Tarzan.

In fact, we get probably under 5 minutes of Tarzan swinging on vines through the jungle and never once with Jane. In this version of the story he is buttoned up in stiff suits and colors until well into the movie and he is already married to Jane from the beginning. You get to see a little bit of how they met but never any romantic jaunts through the jungle. Is that too much to ask in my Tarzan movie?

Instead you get basically a jungle war film. There is a tribal leader played by Djimon Hounsou who has a grudge against Tarzan. . This particular leader guards valuable diamond mines that Christoph Waltz wants to get his hands on. He makes a deal to lure Tarzan to Hounsou for a trade of diamonds. Jane played by Margot Robbie insists on coming along with Tarzan and ends up getting abducted by Waltz.

Then Tarzan and Samuel L Jackson’s George Washington Williams’ character must save Jane. There are lots of battles, some of them quite violent. I wouldn’t recommend it to kids.

Alexander Skarsgard could make a good Tarzan but we literally don’t see him with his shirt off until about 30 minutes into the film and even it’s for purposes of conflict and war. There’s little to no joy or fun in the picture. Samuel Jackson gets a few laughs but that’s about it.

The movie does look nice and the cast has decent chemistry but it’s just not what you want in a Tarzan movie. And Christoph Waltz isn’t good as the evil Captain Leon Rom. He must be great in those Tarantino films because every movie I’ve seen him in he’s been very bad. He’s definitely the worst 2 time Oscar winner I’ve ever seen.

The special effects are amazing throughout and I didn’t hate it but it wastes a lot of potential. In a way it kind of reminds me of Man of Steel. That wasn’t my Superman movie and this isn’t my Tarza movie. I think it is going to be a big bomb for Warner Brothers and why on earth did they spend $180 million on a dark and gritty Tarzan movie? It makes no sense.

Overall Grade- C (on the video I gave it a C+ but I’ve changed my mind!)

Upcoming Trip

June 27, 2016 | Rachel's Reviews

Hey guys! I just wanted to give you all a quick update on what is going to be happening the next 3 weeks. Tomorrow I will see the new Tarzan movie and post a review. Then on Wednesday I am going to Spain to visit my sister. I will be in Spain until the 11th! If you want to find updates on the trip follow my social media @smilingldsgirl (facebook, snapchat, twitter, instagram) and my personal blog http://smilingldsgirl.com. I should post at least a couple of times on that blog of my adventures (it’s going to be a lot of beaches).

However, never fear! I am not leaving you or my youtube channel high and dry! I have worked really hard to have content ready while I’m gone on my youtube channel including my weekly family movie night and Disney Canon reviews on Wednesday. Here’s a little update!

And then for this blog I am really excited to be featuring a bunch of animation art book reviews! This will be something different for my blog and I’m excited for you to read these.

Obviously I am going to be out of the country so if I don’t respond to comments as quickly as I normally do please don’t be offended. I will do my best.

Also I will not be reviewing BFG and other films I would normally watch until well after I get back home. I will do my best to play catch up when I get back.

Thanks so much and I hope you are having a great summer. Are you taking any vacations this summer? Let me know what you are doing that is fun! Take care!

Independence Day: Resurgence Review

June 24, 2016June 24, 2016 | Rachel's Reviews

So I had the chance to see the Independence Day sequel today and I will be very curious to read what you’all think of the film- especially if you are a big fan of the original. I left feeling like it was just ok. It’s not horrible but it’s not great either. Here’s my review on youtube:

However, recently I rewatched the first one and was honestly a little disappointed. It’s not as good as I remembered it. It ends well but the first hour and 45 was a lot of standing around staring at screens and talking. It was more boring than I remembered and the explosions felt more repetitive than I recalled. It’s not awful but it was a bit of a letdown on the rewatch.

Anyway, I went into this sequel with pretty low expectations. I just wanted to be moderately entertained and I’d say it kind of achieved that standard. There’s attractive people and some decent special effects. Jeff Goldblum is good and there are moments that are dumb fun.

Unfortunately for me it all felt a little forgettable and silly but not necessarily in a good way. It just was ok. The acting is ok. The special effects are ok. The story is ok. It’s probably the kind of movie that will make a decent cable watch on a Saturday but not worth the $20 ticket price some have to pay these days. But like I said it’s not awful so if you are bored and need something to do you could do worse.

The story recalls a lot of elements from the first movie but none really stand out. Like in this film there are multiple scenes where the band of pilot brothers fight the aliens like the Grand Canyon scene in the original and they are all fine but nothing special. There are at least 2 scenes where a president or former president makes a speech and they are fine too.

One odd thing is characters are eliminated without much mourning or sense of loss in the script. Also certain characters try to provide comic relief and fail miserably. The romance is also very bland.

I don’t want to spoil things but certain moments with the aliens are extremely silly, and I guess that is fun. There are actually different aliens they interact with which I thought was kind of clever and interesting. You see a lot more of the aliens this time around than in the last. You also get a little more explanation of why they are doing what they do.

The destruction is very intense this time around but you expect that in Independence Day movie. I guess I struggle a little bit with these kinds of scenes in a post 9/11 world. They just aren’t fun for me any more but that’s just me.

They also try to get you to believe Vivica A Fox goes from exotic dancer to doctor in between the two movies which seems like a stretch. The special effects in a scene with her are especially bad. Also the actor who plays Will Smith and her son, Jessie Usher, isn’t very good and certainly doesn’t have near the charisma as Will Smith. Liam Hemsworth is ok.

It’s a fine movie but not a good one. I can see having fun with it and I did have some dumb fun but it’s forgettable. Let me know what you think if you see it- especially if you are a big fan of the original. That’s just kind of my jumbled thoughts on this one!

Overall Grade- C