Zootopia Teaser

June 11, 2015June 13, 2015 | Rachel's Reviews

Big news today in the Disney world! We got our first teaser trailer for next year’s Zootopia.

Up until now I had seen the image of the fox and rabbit but that’s about it. I still kind of wish it was more like the concept art we got early on but I was charmed by the teaser. I think it looks really funny and clever.

The only thing that makes me a little bit nervous is I hope they don’t go overboard in trying to be ‘hip’ and ‘cool’. Some of the character designs bring back nightmares of Chicken Little but I trust John Lasseter wouldn’t let that happen again. I also hope it isn’t too ‘shreckish’ with winky jokes only parents would get. I hate that.

But worries aside I feel really positive about the trailer. I think it is something different. Disney hasn’t done anthropomorphized in a while and the voice talent should be good. Over all I’m excited about the project. Especially because it is coupled with the more traditional Moana. Something for everyone.

What do you think of the teaser and Zootopia?

Hit Me With Your Best Shot: Amadeus

June 10, 2015June 4, 2015 | Rachel's Reviews

This post marks my second entry in The Film Experiment series called Hit Me With Your Best Shot. It’s a fun project where various bloggers all watch a movie (or pick 1 out of 3) and then have the difficult task of selecting 1 shot that in your eyes captures said film.

My first entry was the daunting Citizen Kane but today proved to be difficult in its own way. This weeks film is a different kind of masterpiece- Milos Forman’s 1984 film Amadeus. (Which was my 1984 selection in Movies From My Life btw)

Based on the play from Peter Shaffer it tells a fictionalized version of Amadeus Mozart’s (Tom Hulce) life. It is done through a foil and narrator Antonio Salieri (F Murray Abraham) who in his words is ‘the patron Saint of mediocrity”. He wants to compose music so badly but he is not given the special talents by God, which he bitterly resents especially when a buffoon like Mozart seems to be so blessed.

Part of the problem is Salieri’s warped view of religion. He thinks he can make a deal with God. If he is a ‘model of virtue’ than God will bless him with great talent. If this was the case then we would all be making deals with God…Salieri claims at the beginning that he works hard, prays and gives many lessons for free. This reminds me of the rich man who asks Christ what he needs to do to make it into heaven. “Sell all your possessions and give to the poor”. He goes away sorrowing. Jesus knows there is that one part of his heart which is not given to God. Salieri is much the same way. He goes through the motions of faith without being open to God’s plan for him. He thinks he can earn the benevolence of God and that he knows what is better for his life than God- the ultimate in pride.

This is when that green-eyed monster called envy creeps in and Salieri allows it to fill his heart. Whenever he hears Mozart’s music he is overcome by its perfection and the animosity grows stronger until it finally births a plan for revenge- not just on his rival but on God for being so foolish in his gift-giving. He even burns the cross he is so bitter.

As is usually the case with envy Mozart is completely oblivious to the hold he has over Salieri. He has plenty of his own demons to focus on with a father who is never happy, substance abuse and a public that is not always accepting to his work. In the great irony Salieri is one of the few who consistently realizes the genius of Mozart and yet that leads to his eventual death and demise.

Amadeus does a lot of things as good as any movie I’ve seen. It looks great, the opera’s feel real and lush, music is sublime, costumes wonderful and a little surprising (for example, the pink wig is unexpected in a period piece). But all that aside its greatest achievement to me is two-part:

1. It shows how envy will ruin your life. Unlike last years Whiplash, Amadeus seems to say that we are either born with talent or we are mediocre. Mozart needs no Terence Fletcher to beat the talent out of him. It’s just there. That may be true but surely Salieri could have done better if he had not allowed his rival to overtake him? He certainly could have been happier. As an old man he is in despair, mired with guilt and all because he couldn’t be happy at the blessings of another. No wonder envy is a deadly sin!

2. It shows the sublime beauty of a person absorbing a masterpiece better than any film I’ve seen. That moment when Salieri first hears Mozart’s music is perfect. He’s just looking at the notes on the page but he hears it in his mind and it almost overwhelms him, even years later he is overcome with the beauty of the music. This is why he thinks it is God speaking through Mozart because only a deity could inspire such breathtaking work.

The problem with the grandeur of music shots is you really need the whole scene to get the majesty of it.

You need to hear Salieri talking about the ‘almost comic’ start, “just a pulse” and then the wind instruments and an “oboe. A single note, hanging there unwavering. Until a clarinet took over and sweetened it into a phrase of such a delight” ‘ This is music “filled with such longing, such unfulfillable longing, it had me trembling. It seemed to me that I was hearing the voice of God”.

I think that’s the most beautiful description of music or art I’ve ever heard. But like I said, you need the whole scene (a tribute I think to Shaffer’s amazing script).

So I will go with the envy shot. I am going to pick old Salieri with very convincing makeup. In the narrative he has just determined his plan for revenge on Mozart and God. He describes the funeral and what a delicious day it will be for him. Pointing to himself he says “And God is forced to listen! Powerless, powerless to stop it! I, for once in the end, laughing at him!” You can just feel the bitterness oozing out of this face. I love that he is pointing at himself because it is the envy in his heart that is the problem not God, not Mozart, not anyone else.

THE SHOT-

But in fact, he is the only one left laughing at himself. “Mediocrities everywhere I absolve you!”

Pixar Review 15: The Incredibles

June 10, 2015June 10, 2015 | Rachel's Reviews

I’ve mentioned on this blog I have only recently gotten into the superhero movie genre. For years they were too explosion heavy and stupid without any interesting characters. With Avengers started a new trend (at least for me) of charismatic actors playing likable characters with interesting stories. Each year it seems they get stronger till last year we had 3 excellent entries with X-men Days of Future Past, Captain America: Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy. Each of these movies were puzzles with entertaining characters and good stories.

During the superhero dry spell there were 2 movies that poked through the dreck Spiderman 2 and The Incredibles. Hercules was actually Disney’s first attempt at making a comic book movie but Pixar’s The Incredibles was their first true superhero movie. But like any good genre movie The Incredibles rises above it to be great on so many levels.

I think every movie fan has certain touchpoints in movies that when they are there it is almost always a win. Some of mine are flying, the ocean, true love, musicals, work, and feeling uncomfortable in your own skin. The last two are particularly prevalent in The Incredibles but perhaps not messages people first think of. But I know for me The Incredibles is great because it is a movie about work and coming to terms with your own story. It’s also a great movie about family and the power of a strong marriage.

Like any good movie about work The Incredibles starts out showing Bob and Helen Parr’s potential to do great things- to be super. But through a brilliant opening montage we learn they must hide their abilities and attempt to live a normal life. For Helen this means be a housewife to her 3 children which she can tolerate enough. However, for Bob it means working in what I call ‘cubicle hell’ in a job selling insurance policies.

This is not who Bob is. Other people could be perfectly happy selling insurance but he is miserable because he was made for better things. I know how that feels. I’ve been in that cubicle knowing I could do more, be more, and it is the worst feeling ever. Sure bad things happen all the time but it is a different kind of awful to be stuck permanently with an unhappy mediocre life.

Bob’s boss is this tiny little shrill man which makes for the greater contrast with Bob and their interactions are very funny. He wants to do something good with his life. He wants to tell the story he’s supposed to tell. It’s the same reason I love The Little Mermaid. Ariel isn’t happy because she isn’t being the person she knows she is supposed to be. I really believe it is an important part of human existence to find out what you are supposed to give the world and then do it. And I’ve been in the Ariel/Bob spot where I knew I didn’t belong and had to make a change.

I also relate to Dash Parr, Bob and Helen’s youngest son who has the gift of being super fast. He wants to use his gift but he can’t. He is told to not express that. He makes the brilliant point “when everyone is special, nobody is”. (You all can see why I like Frozen so much right…same message of a child told to hide their gifts). I can remember as a little girl feeling like I couldn’t share my heart very well. I told my family in one argument “I’m the weird one here but at school I’m the normal one”. Just like Ariel and Dash didn’t quite belong. I think a lot of people can relate to that feeling.

But then Bob (Mr Incredible voiced by Craig T Nelson) gets the opportunity to start using his skills again. And what happens? He is happy. He gets in shape. He smiles more. He and his wife (Elastigirl voiced by Helen Hunt) don’t argue as much. He’s telling the right story so he is in a good place. He’s doing the work he was made to do. He even gets a new flashy supersuit from the hilarious fashionista Edna (director Brad Bird).

Unfortunately it isn’t as simple as he at first hopes. It turns out a young boy who was bothering him during the glory days has grown bitter and wants to enact revenge on all superheroes especially his former idol Mr Incredible. He wants to be the hero but with his own inventions not the help of super powers. He is a very chilling, scary villain, partly because he knows all the villain cliches. At one point he says ‘you got me monologuing!”

Eventually the entire family becomes involved in fighting Syndrome and it is in the last third the movie becomes more of a standard superhero movie but still entertaining. Both Violette and Dash are instrumental in saving the day and using their powers along with the Parr friend Frozone (Samuel L Jackson). I love when Helen tells the kids “Your identity is your most valuable possession”. That’s a main message of the film.

I love the sense of family and camaraderie with the Parrs and it is so fun to see each family member blossom in their own unique ways. Most Disney films are about people meeting and falling in love. Incredibles is one of the only one’s I can think of about how important marriage is. It shows a couple fighting, getting along, and working together. Violette at one point says ” Mom and Dad’s lives could be in jeopardy or worse- their marriage”. I love that!

Like in Finding Nemo there is some terrific dialogue in between the action- along with some real moments of heart. I love when Bob rants about graduation. It reminds me of when President Obama wanted to outlaw 8th grade graduation- the one item we probably agree on most!

Helen: I can’t believe you don’t want to go to your own son’s graduation!

Bob: It’s not a graduation. He is moving from the fourth grade to the fifth grade.

Helen: It’s a ceremony!

Bob: It’s psychotic! People keep coming up with new ways to celebrate mediocrity, but if someone is genuinely exceptional…

Ha! That cracks me up every time!

There’s a lot of witty dialogue like that and that keeps it from feeling too predictable or stale. Edna especially gets a lot of the great laughs.

Syndrome might be a little scary for small children (I’m so bad at gauging that). Some of the work and marriage drama might be a bit over their heads but it is surrounded by the kids who I think children will really relate too. They will enjoy the action and the story is simple enough for them to understand.

The Incredibles is a movie you can watch with your entire family because it is about a family. They are dysfunctional at times and quarrel but so does every family. In the end they all want what is best for each other . They all want their family to be safe and happy. the movie is the journey that gets them a little closer to that goal.

I love it. And like I said if you piece it apart it is one of the best movies about work I’ve seen.

Overall Grade- A+

So Incredibles 2 is the next project for Brad Bird. Are we excited? I am!

Over the Garden Wall Series Review

June 7, 2015October 12, 2015 | Rachel's Reviews

I know I am super late in the world of animation bloggers with this post but I finally got around to seeing the Cartoon Network series Over the Garden Wall from last year and let me just say the hype is deserved. Wow!

Created by Patrick McHale from a short he did called The Tome of the Unknown, Over the Garden Wall is a miniseries about two step-brothers who get lost in a mysterious forest world. The only way I can think to describe it is a mixture of Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland. It has the randomness of Alice and the journey of Wizard.

For people that bemoan the state of 2D hand drawn animation this is stunning. It looks so beautiful particularly how it uses light to create layers of the forest and to show mood. I was blown away by the animation! It’s unique and shows a lot of different styles while still keeping a consistent feel. It is carefully done animation with little details like the lighting on Greg’s teapot hat always reflecting what’s going on or the colors and texture on Beatrice’s wings. It’s lush, varied, and it reminded me in animation quality of Spirited Away- no small compliment!

Each episode is actually 2 10 minute shorts or chapters in the story of getting the boys Wirt (Elijah Wood) and young Greg (Collin Dean) home. They are such well written complex characters especially Wirt. He worries about life and doesn’t like to take risks. He’s resentful of Greg and I think a little bit envious. He wishes his family wasn’t a blended family and that Greg didn’t even exist. He wants to go back home but he is not unempowered or weak.

Greg is sweet and carefree. He loves nature and carries around a frog that he often gives historical names too. He is unafraid of monsters and when given the chance to lead he takes it very seriously. A character like Greg could be grating and irritating but he’s not. He also gives most of the humor of the show (and it can be very funny).

They have a third member of their group a blue jay named Beatrice (Melanie Lynskey) who joins the boys to try and find Adelaide a mysterious woman who will break the curse on her family and help the boys get home. Beatrice gets irritated easily and is free with her opinion about everything. It’s a funny juxtaposition given she’s a sweet looking bluebird without being too crass or vulgar. Her character arc has much of the heart of the series.

There is a beast in the forest and a woodsman (Christopher Lloyd) as well as other magical creatures. It can be quite scary and probably isn’t for very small children. But the segments are short so you are never left dwelling on the scary for long.

In a world where hardly anything feels new Over the Garden Wall is such a refreshing surprise. Every episode feels like something I’ve never seen before. It’s so creative and different and constantly surprised me. It might be a little too random for some people but I thought that’s what made it brilliant. You never knew what to expect. It could be a bonfire with vegetable people or frogs on a cruise or a trip into the clouds. Whatever it is I loved it!

I love how the boys interact with each other. It felt like 2 brothers, especially two step brothers. I like that they never had to ‘learn’ anything and yet they did. It’s not one of those animated shows where there is a moral at the end of every episode. Sometimes there isn’t even a story. It’s just the boys interacting with cool stuff (again kind of like Alice in Wonderland in that regard).

The music is also wonderful and eclectic. Some songs are very fun like Potatoes and Molasses, others are spooky, others are very tender and heartbreaking.

I’m not sure who wrote the score but it is perfect. It manages to feel consistent with all the eclectic stories being told.

Normally I hate when adults play children on animated shows (Simpsons being the exception) but here Elijah Wood is terrific as Wirt. He captures a skeptical but earnest teen so well. All the vocals are great including John Cleese, Tim Curry, Chris Isaak, Shirley Jones and more. You can tell this was a real labor of love for all involved.

People are always bemoaning the lack of originality in today’s television and movies. Indeed it feels like every day we get a new sequel, prequel, remake or adaptation. This makes Over the Garden Wall even more of a treasure. It’s so original in every way. I think you could watch it a thousand times and get something new each time. Each episode is so rich with details and artistry it is definitely one I want to get on blu-ray.

Especially as lovers of animation we need to support such creative visionaries and let the Cartoon Network know such efforts are appreciated. I would love to see a series 2 of Over the Garden Wall but I hope at least the network will continue producing such bold entertainment.

Any of you see Over the Garden Wall? What did you think? It’s the kind of series you want to discuss so feel free in the comments.

This shows how deep the series is.

Love and Mercy Review

June 6, 2015June 7, 2015 | Rachel's Reviews

Sometimes I see a movie that leaves me completely at a loss. I walk away not knowing if I like it or not. Love and Mercy was that kind of film. On one hand it is brilliant but on the other it is muddled and confused and a little frustrating. At the very least they could have done a classic bland biopic and tried to do something different. I respect that.

Love and Mercy is the story of Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. What makes it unique is it flips between two versions of Brian- Paul Dano is a young version and John Cusack is an older 80s version.

The scenes with Dano battling voices in his head to make an unconventional sound are brilliant. I love the Beach Boys and their greatest hits album is one of the first I remember listening too. My Dad had a tape and we danced to all the songs. The entire creation of Pet Sounds is in the movie and it is amazing to see them bring in animals and strange instruments and build layers of sound. It felt like it might be close to the way it actually happened.

A side of me wishes we could have stayed with young Wilson but then it would have been more of a standard biopic, so I’m torn. But we do miss a big gap of Wilson’s life. We hear that he stayed in bed for 3 years after a breakdown but we don’t see the actual complete meltdown. This left some to the imagination but I could have seen more.

Meanwhile in the 80’s John Cusack is dating Elizabeth Banks who works at a car dealership. All the while he is closely monitored by his “doctor” played very creepily by Paul Giamatti.

I didn’t think Banks and Cusack had great chemistry but the tension between Giamatti and Banks builds in a believable way. It feels like such a different movie than the music part with Dano. One is like a standard biopic of troubled musician and the other is a creepy thriller. It’s a very weird combination. There are moments when you believe Dano and Cusack are playing the same person and you do get hints of both lives in each other’s performances (they never met in shooting which is kind of amazing) but there are other times when it feels like such different movies it doesn’t really gel.

But there are scenes that work so well in both stories. Like when Dano’s Wilson puts the pieces together for Good Vibrations. It is so exciting to see and hear all the parts of the song build to this great track we all know and love. It made you want to cheer to see such a troubled person make something so great. We also don’t get the expected drug montages like in a standard biopic. Dano’s Wilson definitely is an addict but he does it in unusually staged shots, a lot involving water that reminded me a bit of The Graduate.

Another great scene is when Giamatti flips out at Banks at her car dealership. I was scared for her. It is incredibly convincing. Like I said the two of them are very good together.

There were a lot of moments in Love and Mercy that worked and it did surprise me. It is strange and different and not something you can put your finger on after one watch and there’s something to be said for that.

One thing I hate is we got those annoying paragraphs at the end of the movie. To me that is the directors way of telling us he couldn’t finish the story. It’s a movie cop out and especially in this case because there is a lot of story of both plots we missed out on. For instance, we don’t get to see the downfall of Dano or the revenge of Cusack. Reading about it is so lame!! I’d rather have it just be left to wonder what happened than get the paragraphs.

But it’s at least an ambitious movie. It could have played it safe but it tries things and when it works I loved it. When it doesn’t I was still intrigued. I think it may take seeing it a few times for me to come up with a solid conclusion on my thoughts. I guess that says something pretty good about the movie!

Any of you see it? What did you think? A side of me just wishes it was 2 movies instead of 2 in 1. It kind of reminds me of that Bob Dylan movie I’m Not There with all the different actors playing him.

I really don’t know what grade to give it but I will go with a B-

As far as content there is some language, sexuality mostly off screen, some drug abuse sequences and one very creepy dude. Mental illness is dealt with but in an interesting visceral way that shouldn’t offend anyone. Content Grade- B

Disneynature 5: Wings of Life

June 6, 2015 | Rachel's Reviews

Now we get our next entry in the Disneynature Canon and it is all about those bugs you swat away or are afraid might sting you. It is called Wings of Life and it is mostly focused on butterflies and bees.

I must admit to being a little disappointed in this film. I went into it with high hopes because I find the subject of bees and the bee crisis to be very interesting. I don’t know if this just is too old (released in 2011 so not that long ago…) or they didn’t think kids would like that kind of discussion but it is sorely missed.

The movie is narrated by Merly Streep and she is good but it is told from the point of view of the flowers which is a little ridiculous and there just isn’t that much personality in a flower or a bee. Animals from the ocean, monkeys, or flamingos have way more expression in their faces and you can get more of a narrative.

In Wings of Life you get a lot of time lapse photography showing the flowers opening up and its ok but I grew a little tired of it after a while. The cinematography is beautiful and I did learn a little bit but it could have been a lot more informative. Maybe part is the problem is it is only insects where the other documentaries I’ve seen on the bee crisis has had experts talking about the problem. That would have been more interesting to me. It’s also too long. Insects don’t have a 77 minute draw, at least for me. An insects life is pretty simple- pollinate, mate, protect and die. It’s not that compelling for 77 minutes. Plus, insects up close and personal are kind of gross looking. Not all cute and adorable like a monkey or a baby flamingo.

The two best segments are about the bats in the dessert which get nectar from cactus blossoms and the Monarch butterflies and their migration. I wish the whole movie had been about the journey of the butterflies. That might have been interesting.

As it is, it is kind of slow and I lost interest. It’s the first of these Disneynature that felt like an old school dry nature documentary. No personality. No pizazz. No real narrative It has some pretty images but I would just look at those online and watch Flamingos instead. That one is still the best of the best.

Plus, I thought the narration from the point of view of the flowers was a little strange and I couldn’t get into it.

Wings of Life tries to send a message about gardening and planting flowers but it is a little too late. I think kids will have already disengage by then and it isn’t any new information for adults so they will be bored.

Overall Grade- C-

A Seuss Strike Out pt 1: The Lorax

June 5, 2015June 5, 2015 | Rachel's Reviews

Hollywood you owe Theodore Geisel an apology. The man otherwise known as Dr. Seuss has been injured by Hollywood. Injuries that I don’t know if his work will ever recover from. At best his legacy is severely tarnished by the usually powerful art of movie making and it isn’t just one injury but 3 (could make an argument for 4 but I’ll go with 3).

If you live under a rock and don’t know who Dr Seuss is he wrote brilliant books of poetry for children with imaginative characters, worlds and even his own words thrown in. His only poetic contemporary might be Shel Silverstein but his poems were more grounded in reality than Seuss.

Most importantly there was always a message within Seuss but usually it was a subtle background to the poetry and creativity. It’s like the messages were an added bonus but not the sole focus on the story. This subtlety made the messaging all the more effective because it treated kids with respect.

Seuss believed children really weren’t that different from adults as far as reading and entertainment. He famously said “Children want the same things we want. To laugh, to be challenged, to be entertained and to be delighted” I love that quote especially the to be challenged part.

Unfortunately all 4 of the Hollywood attempts to make a movie of Seuss’ work have failed to live up to these basic tenants for great storytelling. Horton Hears a Who is tolerable but the other 3 are loud, grotesque, unfunny with muddled to actually harmful messaging. The exact opposite of Seuss. It makes me sad. I’m going to review these 3 turds because I think all are emblematic of the worst of modern movies. I’m not sure when I will post all 3 but I will start today by reviewing The Lorax…ugh

The Lorax

People often ask me what the worst animated film I’ve seen is. In the short list are turkeys like 8 Crazy Nights, Fly me to the Moon, The Hero of Color City, and Mars Needs Moms. But none of these movies actually did damage to the legacy of an icon and taught the exact opposite message of the source material like the mediocrity of The Lorax. It takes the Seuss story about moderation and love for the earth’s resources and turns it into a story of corporate greed. Urgh…ticks me off!

In the book Seuss teaches about how a man named the Once-ler invents a product that requires him to cut down trees. He loves the trees which is part pf what inspires his invention. “All my life I’ve been searching for trees such as these”. They excite him and he comes up with something that will help people called a thneed.

The Lorax is kind of the patron saint of the trees and tells Once-ler to not chop them down. The Once-ler responds he is just going to chop down a few to make something useful and to help his relatives have jobs. It will be no big deal. Just a few trees.

Things of course get out of control “I meant no harm but bigger I got” The Lorax bemoans the loss of the swamp and the creatures and eventually they hear the last truffala tree get chopped.

And then the Lorax gives some lovely advice to our readers

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot nothing is going to get better. It’s not”

This isn’t a person without hope but it is exactly a person like the Once-ler where hope lies. We can all do something to make a change and make things better. We have too. We need too. It’s a cautionary tale about how the best of intentions can lead to great harm when not checked and when we don’t listen to our prophets and teachers. But we all care and can do ‘a lot’ so that things will ‘get better’ .

You see what a perfect message that is?

So what does the movie give us? Instead of a penitent Once-ler with a chance to regrow the trees we get an evil CEO who is literally selling air. He needs to keep the trees away so that he can get more money. It’s like President Business in Lego without any of the backstory of the father and the toys (or good writing, vocal performances or animation…).

The Once-ler has not made an invention that will help people and support his family. No, he’s making hats out of the truffula pods and sings about money in about a minute after our introduction…

Gone is a character we can relate too, a character that might make choices we might also make. Instead we walk away from the movie feeling that CEOS are greedy and awful and they need to change.

None of the empowerment and subtley of the book. None of the message that all of us need to make changes to save our planet. None of a sense that we understood why the Once-ler did what he did. He’s just greedy and obsessed with the trappings of wealth, power and looking cool. Like a white collar crime we can look at it with disgust but feel no sense of personal introspection or desire to change.

On the poster we see proudly declared “from the creators of despicable me…” and this is so obvious in the movie. Everything from the color palate, to the character design, to the little fish who are groan-inducing copies of the minions without any of the charm or laughs.

Oh and did I mention we get the great voice talents of Taylor Swift and Zac Efron? They narrate the story unnecessarily (in the book there is a boy the Once-ler meets but no girl and not a part of the story). It’s the same problem I had with Home. Swift and Efron do not sound like children in the least and are so boring together. Swift’s Audrey is the manic pixie dream girl we’ve seen a million times and Efron’s Ted is a complete bore. Not to mention there are about a million ways the CEO could deal with these kids especially if he CONTROLS THE AIR! And yet he paints over Audrey’s drawings. Oh no! What a mean guy!

Betty White appears as the loveable old hoot grandma we’ve also seen a million times (often times by Betty White!). She’s cool because she dances and makes inappropriate comments at dinner. What a riot…It’s all so lame.

The music by John Powell is uninspired and for the preschool set only (and yet not really appropriate for kids that young when you think about messaging and style). I defy anyone to hum or sing any of the songs a day later? This is no Menken Ashman that’s for sure.

If I’m going to be positive I will say that it is bright and colorful and Danny Devito is fine as the Lorax but the script lets him down. He is just a grump instead of an advocate for nature. In the book we feel so sad that the Once-ler didn’t listen. It’s a tragedy with a ray of hope at the end. In this the Lorax is just an annoying little pest.

It depresses me to no end Seuss’ message of ‘unless someone like you” is completely lost in in this lazy uninspired movie. In fact, the exact opposite message is taught- “the environment? That’s other people’s problem. Rich people who own big companies problem”.

That’s the greatest sin of all. You could watch this with kids and I’d bet none of them would walk away wanting to plant a tree or do something good for the earth. They may hum a song or two or giggle at the fishes but my guess is in about a day they will have forgotten they have seen it.

Seuss deserves better than that. The message deserves better than that.

Also I will say for a movie that does the whole ‘greedy CEO’ thing they sure were happy to pimp themselves out to Mazda, IHOP and a million other sponsors come movie time. It is the cherry on top of some of the most cynical movie-making I’ve seen. Let’s just make a buck any way we can!

Maybe that’s why the whole pollution angle of the book wasn’t really addressed? In the book the world of the Once-ler is gross with filthy water and air. In this movie the world with no plants or non-pumped in air looks pretty nice. In fact, they are singing songs about how great it is! Wouldn’t a world with no plants be disgusting? Not some kind of plastic paradise? Sigh…They should be ashamed of themselves.

It’s a definite F for me. I hate it but just wait till we get to The Grinch and Cat in the Hat which are even worse…Why Hollywood? Why?

Hollywood Seuss Strike 1

Good Dinosaur Trailer Response Video

June 4, 2015 | Rachel's Reviews

I went ahead and filmed a video response to the Good Dinosaur trailer. Enjoy! Please give it a watch and a thumbs up. Thanks

Teaser Trailer For ‘The Good Dinosaur’ Released!

June 3, 2015 | Rachel's Reviews

Trailer for Good Dinosaur came out and as my opinion is the same as frequent commenter Mark I figured I’d just share his post. I’m really excited! I think it looks different than anything Pixar has done before and an interesting mixture of realism and the kind of visuals we got in the first Ice Age movies. It looks exciting and certainly far removed from the Disney turkey Dinosaur. It’s hard to tell a ton from a teaser but it has successfully teased me. Wahoo!