Pixar Review 8: Geri’s Game

May 12, 2015 | Rachel's Reviews

After the release of Knick Knack in 1989 Pixar took a break from their animated shorts to make feature films, Toy Story and A Bug’s Life. This worked because the same crew which had grown up on the early shorts was ready to do longer films. However, by the end of the 90s they had recruited a lot of new talent who they wanted to test out so they reinstated the animated shorts.

Their first short back is called Geri’s Game and it was designed to push their limits for creating a human being. Nobody can deny that Geri looks a million times better than the humans in Toy Story who were used minimally so it worked but this is a whole another level.

It’s a simple silent movie style story like most of the shorts but it is so charming. It’s about an old man named Geri who is playing chess but with who? With himself! The thing that makes it so charming is as he moves from one side of the table to the other the film creates an illusion of 2 players and Geri gives both characters personality. The player with the black pieces is feisty with a wicked sense of humor, and the other guy is more soft spoken and cowers in fear.

It’s a delightful little short and it is directed very well with neat perspectives where you capture the chess pieces from one angle and Geri from another. It’s great stuff!

Geri’s Game was released in 1997 so it won Best Animated Short in the 97 Oscars but it was shown to most of the public with the release of Bug’s Life. This would become the 3rd Oscar with their special award for Toy Story and Tin Toy for best short in 1987.

It’s neat that Pixar has found a way to not only entertain us with their shorts but to nurture new talent and it is perhaps that reason that at least to me they haven’t made a terrible film. You can feel the unique new voices coming out in shorts like Geri’s Game and it is a complete delight. Also keep your eye open because Geri appears in many a future Pixar feature film including our next review Toy Story 2.

Overall Grade- A+

Pixar Review 7- Bug’s Life

May 11, 2015May 11, 2015 | Rachel's Reviews

Hey guys! I hope you all had a good Mother’s Day. Let’s celebrate by talking about what I think is an underrated Pixar film, A Bug’s Life. After the epicness of Toy Story Pixar’s second feature had a lot to live up too. To add to the tension was the premiere of Dreamworks Antz that same summer which I reviewed last week.

With all of that pressure I think they came up with a charming movie with some lovely animation and nice messages for kids. Is it perfect? No but if it was the only Pixar movie I’d still say it was a strong effort.

A lot of people criticize Bug’s Life because it is a formula picture. It tells a story of the oddball character who is sent on a journey where in the end he is finally shown to be special. This is an especially popular formula because of all the writers who no doubt have a similar journey. We also get the liar reveal which we see in lots of movies.

If all that is true then why do I say it’s underrated? Because I think a film doesn’t necessarily have to be original to win an endorsement from me. A movie can follow a formula but do it well and that’s great. One of my favorite movies of all time is You’ve Got Mail and that is a total formula picture. It works because the writing is good and the characters are easy for me to relate too. I think you can say the same for A Bug’s Life.

A Bug’s Life is about a colony of ants that live by a tree surrounded by water called Ant Island. They are a timid species and afraid of any kind of change (even the great twig of 93!). Except for one ant named Flick voiced by Dave Foley who is an innovator and is trying to make things better.

The ants are ruled with an iron fist by a grasshopper named Hopper voiced perfectly by Kevin Spacey. He intimidates them to giving an ‘offering’ every year of food, so it basically works out to servitude but the ants are too scared to fight back.

The ants have their own leadership- a queen voiced by Phyllis Diller and her daughter Princess Atta voiced by Julia Louis- Dreyfus who are both great and 2 of the more dynamic Pixar female characters we see for a long time. We also get little princess Dot voiced by Hayden Panettiere.

Eventually Flick screws up the offering and he is sent away on a seemingly fools errand of finding bigger bugs to help defend the colony.

Through various circumstances Flick stumbles on to a troop of circus bugs he mistakes for warriors and they return to the ant colony. The troop is a total delight with great vocal performances and really funny writing with characters like Francis the ladybug that’s actually a dude (and voiced by Dennis Leary which is so perfect!).

I also love Heimlich the German caterpillar who dreams of being a beautiful butterfly ‘and then everything will be better’. Joe Ranft, who was an animator at the time, did the voice and he gets a laugh from me every time he is on screen.

Like I said at the beginning, the story isn’t really what attracts me to A Bug’s Life. It’s a lot of other things:

1. It’s bright and colorful. It looks great and every scene has texture unlike the brown, brown, brown of Antz. The soil looks like little craters and the grass looks like giant trees because we are seeing it from a bug’s perspective.

2. The voice cast is great. It runs so deep with everyone from Madaline Kahn, Bonnie Hunt, Brad Garrett, Richard Kind and more.

3. Hopper is a terrific villain that is menacing and extremely scary from the point of view of the ants. He also has some great sarcastic remarks.

4. The writing all around is really good. It elevates the more ordinary material. There are a lot of laughs and genuine moments of heart . I particularly like when Flick is trying to convince Dot that she’s just a seed using a rock.

I also really like a scene where the ant children put on a little play letting the circus bugs know what they expect. It’s very funny.

5. The score is some of Randy Newman’s best. I know a lot of people deride Newman but I like his cheerful style and found this to be just the right tone for the story they were telling. The finale song is also great. One of his best.

And that’s enough for me to give it a hearty recommendation. It’s bright colorful, sweet time at the movies. And it’s a movie that will appeal equally to little girls and boys, which can sometimes be hard to find.

Overall I give it a B.

They ended off Bug’s Life with this very cute ‘outtakes’ segment which was kind of a thing in the 90s but I enjoy it.

What Disney Taught Me About Love

May 10, 2015 | Rachel's Reviews

I loved this post on What I Learned About Love from Disney. Give it a read!

My Favorite Simpsons Episodes

May 9, 2015May 10, 2015 | Rachel's Reviews

Since its animation I thought I would share with you a video I just posted of my favorite Simpsons episodes. It’s a longer video but the list starts at 4:17 mark. Please give it a thumbs up and subscribe to my channel if you haven’t.

My top 13 Simpsons episodes.
13. Brick Like Me
12. Bart the Mother
11. Bart on the Road
10. When Flanders Failed
9. Bart Gets an F
8. The Cartridge Family
7. Treehouse of Horror V
6. Secret War of Lisa Simpson
5. Homer the Great
4. Lisa Gets an A
3. Marge vs the Monorail
2. King Sized Homer
1. Homer’s Enemy.

What are your favorite episodes?

Antz Review

May 8, 2015May 8, 2015 | Rachel's Reviews

Btw this is my 300th post on this movie blog! Can you believe it? It hasn’t even been a year and 300 posts!

I figured before I review Bug’s Life it might be wise to also talk a little bit about the other ant movie which came out that year- Dreamworks Antz. I have always felt like Jeffrey Katzenburg was a real snake for going to Dreamworks and clearly spilling the beans on Pixar’s project. Pixar was such a tight community at that point it’s the only explanation that makes any sense. So I never watched Antz because I thought it was a lame thing to do and didn’t want to support it.

So I clearly have no sentimental attachment to Antz and was approaching it with a fresh perspective not knowing much about it but that it is about bugs. I must say rarely have I been left so befuddled by a movie. I didn’t like it but it is so so strange I kind of admire what they were trying to do with the story. An ambitious failure perhaps? (although how ambitious can a movie starting out as a copycat be?)

It’s an extremely odd movie.

First of all, the animation has not held up well. Maybe I’m just biased but I think Bug’s Life looks way better. It’s brighter, prettier, the characters flow and move better and I can actually tell the characters from one another. In Antz it is like the UPS drivers designed the art direction of the movie. Brown, brown, brown, brown and if it wasn’t for the voices I’d have no idea who was who.

There are a few sequences when they get to Insectopia that are fun to look at but for the most part it just looks extremely brown and dated.

The story centers around Z an ant voiced by Woody Allen which is the part of the movie that worked the best for me. Allen is very funny although extremely inappropriate at times and jokes way over kids head (do kids even know what a shrink is?). With Allen’s history it is perhaps an odd choice for a childrens movie but this really isn’t a children’s movie (that was kind of an unfortunate trend in mid to late 90s).

The ants are basically living in a dystopian society. All choice has been taken away from them and they are assigned at birth their role in the colony and nobody questions it. Z and his 2 friends Azteca and Barbatus (Jennifer Lopez and Sylvester Stallone) have no problem with the situation but Z hates digging as he tells his therapist.

The bad guy is a an ant named General Mandible voiced by Gene Hackman with Christopher Walken oddly playing his henchman (shouldn’t that be reversed?). He is basically a Nazi. He wants an all powerful colony of ants, so he develops a scheme to get his army above ground and basically drown the entire colony; thereby, starting afresh at his rule and order. All they need is camps and you’ve got the 3rd Reich.

I’m sorry but that’s a lot for an animated movie to conquer and this movie aint no Watership Down…

Z runs away and kidnaps the princess Bala (after meeting at a bar earlier…). They of course hate each other at first but warm up as the movie goes on and head towards Insectopia.

One cool thing in the movie is all the insects are to scale but some of the scales seemed odd. Like the termites are 6 or 7 times bigger than the ants. Those are some big termites! Still, the idea was interesting. There is even a termite war at one point.

I liked when they met 2 wasps that were very funny. Wish they had been in the movie longer (Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtain).

The last 20 minutes start to pick up momentum as Z and Bala return home and try to thwart the General’s plan and save the colony.

There are some good things about this movie. I like Allen. I like how it tries to dive into these bigger themes (nobody loves a little romp through political philosophy more than me). However, there are a lot of problems.

To begin with as I said it is very ugly to look at and the voice performances are another Dreamworks attempt to get famous people rather than the right people for your parts. Someone like Christopher Walken as basically a toadie is bizarre.

As much as I like the attempt at political allegory it just feels too muddled and safe to really say as much as they want it too. Again watch Watership Down if you want that kind of allegory for adults.

Aside from Allen the characters are all kind of unlikable. They wine, complain, or we see them so little we don’t care about them. Pixar is so good at helping you to care about its characters. Even a hopping lamp we care about in Luxo Jr.

My other major problem is the innuendo and language. It’s a lot like Road to El Dorado in that way without its racism. For example, I do not want to see an animated film where a character is referred to as a tight ass. That’s not going to fly in my world. There’s also a line about how Z is going to have erotic dreams about Bala and several scenes with characters getting tortured by the General for information. (Can you believe it but its true!).

Antz is just weird enough that I can see why some like it. To me it is just too ugly all the way around to enjoy. It’s not as bad as Road to El Dorado but few animated films are (although that one looks better than Antz).

In the end I don’t think it really is in the same league as Bug’s Life and I certainly can’t recommend it. (You starting to catch on why I really don’t want to do a Dreamworks Canon series! Just not my cup of tea).

Overall Grade- D+ Content Grade- C

Incidentally for another brilliant movie about ants watch last years Miniscule Valley of the Lost Ants. It’s so good!

Hit Me With Your Best Shot: Citizen Kane

May 6, 2015May 6, 2015 | Rachel's Reviews

For months I have enjoyed viewing my blogging buddy over at Coco Hits New York Conrado Falco’s posts called Hit Me with Your Best Shot. It’s part of a series of posts sponsored by The Film Experiment which is a blog/podcast on movies. The idea is you post the best shot (or sometimes 2) that exemplifies a classic film.

The reason these posts excite me is because I have a great love for photography as my grandfather, father and brother are all professional skilled photographers. My brother Ben Wagner is now the founder and CEO of Poler LLC clothing but he has done both film and still photography for all kinds of publications. Anyway, photography was a big part of my family and I think that is why I love movies and in particular looking at the stills of a movie and how they all work together to evoke a particular mood or moment in the film.

On Conrado’s last Hit Me post he invited me to participate and I figured why not? Well, of course the first one I do has to be Citizen Kane! Only the greatest cinematography ever in a movie. Widely argued as the greatest movie ever made, it is tough to argue that it is the best crafted movie with cinematographer Gregg Toland creating a work that has yet to be topped. Literally almost every shot in the movie could be used for this project!

Most people know Orson Welles was given free rein in Citizen Kane directing himself in the story of Charles Foster Kane who is widely seen as a sub-in for newspaper baron William Randolph Hearst. Kane starts in obscurity but rises to be the richest most powerful man in the world. And yet on his death bed he is practically alone and his one word is Rosebud.

Then for the rest of the movie a reporter named Jerry Thompson seeks to find out what Rosebud means and who Charles Foster Kane really is.

I love this movie but I am out of my league attempting to give any kind of professional analysis of the shots. I know some things that impress me but I am sure there is much more a truly skilled technician would be able to tell you. I highly recommend listening to the Roger Ebert audio commentary on the blu-ray. It’s fascinating.

So the 3 shots I picked are…

Here’s a man who runs a newspaper, a tabloid no less, but what does he have going into the eternities? Nothing but himself. He is infinitely alone. After he insists Susan Alexander really is a singer he forces everyone to like her and forces her to sing just to prove he is right. This image of the light bulb, his face and the newspaper with the headline about Susan is basically his life in one shot. He is exuberant, bright, sad, staring, and causing furor where ever he goes.

This is a shot from the beginning when Thompson gets his assignment to research Rosebud. They have just finished watching the Kane newsreel about the great man’s life and all the reporters are nothing but shadows. How apropos for someone about to find out the ‘hidden meaning’ of a word and a man’s life.

The lighting Toland and Welles achieve is astonishing. The way shadows are used and light reflecting off of people in not just one interesting way but many in one shot is mind blowing. He has many shots with a person that is blacked out facing the characters on the screen. All we see is like a police outline and can look at the light and the reactions of who they are talking too. Here is another example.

I guess that’s 4 shots then. Give me a break. It’s Citizen Kane for goodness sakes!!

What do you think of my shots? It’s really a rite of passage for any film lover and I have the Citizen Kane boxed set collector’s edition which I highly recommend. You’ve got to see it!

Pixar Review 6- Toy Story

May 5, 2015May 6, 2015 | Rachel's Reviews

What is the great human fear? I think it is the fear of being replaced or forgotten by those we love (or even the world at large). I propose to you that is the reason why Toy Story is such a great movie. Yes it’s a game changer in the world of animation and yes it introduced the world to 2 of the most delightful characters in movie history but at it’s core is a message that we can all relate too.

Toy Story is of course Pixar’s first animated feature film and the first CG film from any studio. After getting Oscar recognition for Tin Toy the idea of a lost toy started with John Lasseter and crew and they were able to convince Disney to sponsor their project. It took them 5 years to make and what they came up with is one of the most likable entertaining animated films ever made.

I asked on facebook and twitter- Any thoughts on Toy Story 1? What impact did it have on you? Do you love it? What do your kids think of it?

Will said

I love, love, love all of the Toy Story movies. They’ve been been very formative on my life. For one thing, they taught me that you shouldn’t abuse or mistreat anything whatsoever, on the off chance that they are sentient.

Jeremiah said

It completely changed the way I look at animated film. The script was so refreshing and the computer graphics blew me away! It’s still my favorite animated feature film. My girls are 18 & 19 and they grew up on Toy Story and they still love it today!

Jeremy said

I loved it as a kid. I had a toy Woody and a toy Buzz who I played with a lot. I’m actually the exact same age Andy was in Toy Story 1 and 3, and I went to see Toy Story 3 on my 18th birthday the summer before I went away to college. Suffice it to say, many feels were had.

Megan said

I LOVE Toy Story. My 4-year-old loves it as well. I try to only get him hooked on movies that I don’t mind listening to thousands of times over again! Hahaha.

Gina said

kids (ages 5-9) love it. Buzz lightyear is still a hero, even though the movie came out a decade before the oldest was born

Terry said

I loved it! Wish I was having lunch at Pizza Planet.

Kyle said

Like a majority of Pixar’s films, it’s a masterpiece. The impact it had on me? Teaching me how to do lean storytelling right

I particularly like that last sentiment. Toy Story is such tight storytelling.

The beginning is all to build up the introduction of Buzz. We see Woody as basically the CEO of the bedroom. Everyone has their job and he is comfortable in his spot as the leader. They even have a little staff meeting.

But suddenly this new seemingly better version of Woody comes along and just like any kid would do Andy is super excited; thereby quickly unraveling Woody’s world. The posters are gone, the old west town cardboard is gone and a spaceship has replaced it and finally Woody’s spot is now a Buzz comforter and sheets. At least for that moment Woody has been replaced.

Woody then experiences two of the most deadly sins but we can all relate too- envy and jealousy. He’s envious of what Buzz has that appeals to Andy and the other toys and he is jealous of all that Buzz has taken away from him.

He handles these emotions sometimes being angry, sarcastic, sad, and depressed but it is always a response that at least I relate too when I’ve been faced with similar situations. We are also always given bits of joyous comic relief like the famous flying sequence.

The other thing that is so brilliant in the Buzz and Woody relationship is they are seeing the same things and yet in totally different worlds. Buzz is a space ranger and is seeing everything through those goggles. Woody is a toy and looking from his viewpoint. How often in life does conflict come from 2 worldviews crashing into each other like that? Again another reason why so many children and adults relate to Toy Story and love it.

Once Buzz and Woody get lost the story becomes a real journey. This is perhaps one of my favorite scenes in all of animation. ‘You are a toy!’ Again it’s those two universes coming into conflict.

The design in these sequences is just beautiful. The stars at the gas station and the fun of Pizza Planet. I agree with Terry I wish I was having lunch at Pizza Planet.

Then the story moves to our villain Sid who is actually a really creative kid in a lot of ways. He isn’t just playing but creating; however, in the world of the movie he is basically an evil mad scientist who is murdering toys. It totally works within the world of the movie.

The brilliance of the sequences at Sid’s house is Buzz is not Woody’s competition any more but his only ally. It’s kind of like you may hate a person in your sorority but if it is only the two of you walking down a scary street all the sudden you feel this bond. Group dynamics work that way! Buzz also learns that Woody is right he is just a toy. Surely we can all relate to that moment where we realize we are very small insignificant person in the grand scheme of things. That’s what makes this scene so powerful.

Randy Newman’s music is wonderful for especially the Toy Story movies. He has a modern feel mixed with a Great American Songbook style. It describes what’s going on without being too literal, poetic while still feeling marketable which is perfect for a movie about toys. It just works.

As tension builds Buzz is tied to the rocket and Woody has to think of a way to save his once enemy now friend. He realizes these creatures he once feared are really wonderful (another good lesson for kids) and they stage a little lesson for Sid.

But that’s not the end. No they have to get to the moving truck before Andy leaves. This last segment is so great both plot, animation-wise and everything else. It is such a triumphant moment for Buzz when he realizes he can save the day for the people in his life (again a very relatable emotion).

All the voicecasting is great especially of course Tom Hanks and Tim Allen who are just perfect for the roles. Who would have thought Tim Allen when he was on Home Improvement would make a great space ranger toy but it works. Tom Hanks is more of an obvious choice but his experience in both comedy and drama make him the right pick for the part. All the side characters are completely lovely with Potato Head Don Rickles probably being my favorite. John Ratzenberg is great as Ham. Annie Potts as Bo Peep and Jim Varney as Slinky Dog are all great.

They were so clever too with details like watching the Mr Spell or the Etch-o-sketch for little jokes. It’s also brilliant to have a dinosaur that should be fierce be neurotic. Wallace Shawn is terrific as Rex. They all have accepted their place like in a business and work together well. Even when they are ostracizing Woody it makes sense from their point of view.

Anyway, what more is there to say but Toy Story is not just the first CG animated film but it is one of the best. The story taps into themes we can all relate too and taps into universal emotions. It also gives us some of the best characters ever in film. The adventure is so much fun and it still looks great today. I love it. If it was the only Pixar film I would still be singing their praises.

Overall Grade- A+ (you’ll see that a lot in these Pixar. It’s just the way I feel).

Toy Story was so well loved that the academy gave it an honorary award for special achievement and I think that was the catalyst for the Best Animated Feature Film category, so great films like Toy Story wouldn’t be ignored in the future or need special awards. It’s really touching to hear John Lasseter talk about the films creation and team.

It’s All About the Story

May 4, 2015May 4, 2015 | Rachel's Reviews

I thought before I posted my review of Toy Story I would comment a little bit on the big hand drawn vs CG debate. Some in the blogosphere have put hand drawn animation on a bit of a pedestal bemoaning its reduction. People will paint hand drawn in very glorious pictures and CG as its ugly tyrannical cousin.

I’m sorry I just don’t buy it. Whether stop motion, 2D, 3D, CG or whatever else it all comes down to the story. As last years Rocks in My Pockets showed you can have sketches, doodles and with the right kind of execution and story it will be compelling.

Toy Story, Up, Incredibles, Ratatouille, Wall-e, Lego Movie, are not masterpieces because of the animation. It is the story. It is always the story. Same with the Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Pinocchio, Cinderella, Spirited Away etc. The stories are amazing; thereby making the movie something that will last forever. Occasionally you will have an artistic film like Fantasia that tries something new- mainly presenting a concert in the form of an animated movie. In that case the story takes second fiddle to the art but it is the exception rather than the rule.

Still got 2D on that pedestal? Well think for a second that hand drawn animation gave us this little gem…

But I won’t be too defensive about CG either because it gave us this monstrosity.

But hand drawn can give us this glorious, emotional scene

CG can provide us with this. For my money one of the greatest scenes ever in any film, animated or not.

If that doesn’t convince you both mediums are capable of great artistry and dreck than I don’t know what will. I am an equal opportunity animation format lover. I love great CG animation. I love great 2D animation. I love great stop motion animation. I love great live action movies. But in the end it all comes down to the story (I’ll say it a million times).

And I just have to believe in a world where an entire studio makes stop motion films- one of the hardest most laborious types of filmmaking there is, we will always be a space for 2D animation. It just might not be from the big 2 (currently Disney and Dreamworks) and you know what? That’s fine with me. (I can just hear some of you shouting at the screen). If the only 2D films we get are masterpieces like Song of the Sea from small studios in Europe sign me up.

I really see a 2D studio in the states starting up like Laika and putting out low budget films with an old school feel. If that happens all it takes is for one of these studios to score a big hit with their 2D project and the bigger studios will take interest. Even if it is smaller vanity projects I just don’t believe 2D is dead. Check out Over the Garden Wall which was a stunning miniseries last year. Watch the Simpsons which despite what some think has gotten artistically more interesting in the last few years. Watch Song of the Sea, or this year we have When Marnie was There or The Prophet coming out. We also will get Shaun the Sheep from the Aardman stop motion folks. As I see it the world of animation is as rich and diverse as it has ever been. Last year we had 20 animated films. 20! I remember when we were lucky to get 2. And really how great to not just get the big voices but a wide range of artists using different mediums that help them tell their stories. I know I’m in the minority but I feel very optimistic.

But I digress. My main point is I am not going to defend CG or its dominance in these Pixar reviews because I fundamentally don’t think it is a bad thing. I would put the animation in Ratatouille or Wall-e up against anything in the Disney Renaissance. I really would.

But like I said, in the end CG, 2D, stop motion, live action whatever it might be the story trumps all. Last year there was a movie about a man sitting in a car talking on his phone for 2 hours called Locke and I was completely immersed because it was a good story.

If you like 2D better that is awesome. We all have our artistic preferences but just make sure you aren’t seeing it through rose tinted glasses nostalgia can provide. It’s great. I love it but I also remember the 70’s and 80s when the good animated films could be counted on one hand and we waited years to get them and that was a 2D world! Give me the last 20 years over that 20 any day CG and all.

Anyway, I am certainly grateful for the new tools Pixar gave us and the incredible stories CG animation has told. Because they are special, life changing stories however they might come to fruition in an artists hands.

So let’s enjoy these masterpieces and get started talking about what started it all for CG Toy Story!

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE STORY!