Extraordinary Tales Review

October 31, 2015 | Rachel's Reviews

I feel like I try to have a good handle on the animated films coming out but it seems like every month there is a new one I wasn’t aware of. In September it was Un Gallo con Muchos Huevos. This month it was Extraordinary Tales, an anthology film telling 5 of Edgar Allen Poe’s short stories. It is available on demand and that’s how I saw it.

Before the review I must own to not being a hard core Poe fan. I don’t mind his writing but am certainly not passionate about the stories. I guess that makes me both more and less critical of this offering than Poe purists might be.

Extraordinary Tales is directed by Raul Garcia, a point we see reminded 7 times with each short getting their own introduction and credit section. We get it Raul directed the movie! We don’t need to see a full credits for each short!

In truth Extraordinary Tales isn’t really a movie in the modern sense. It is 72 minutes but there are 6 minutes of just closing credits and the transition segments with Poe as a Raven feel like they are on slow motion with voices not matching to the mouth movements of characters. It all feels very slow. I would honestly think when you get to just the 5 shorts it is around 45 minutes of actual story.

But as with this years The Prophet the key to a film like this lies with the quality of the shorts. I’d say only 1 I liked, 2 are artistically interesting but flawed and 2 were amateurish and cheap with one being kind of disgusting. 1. The Fall of the House of Usher-

This is a Poe story I was unfamiliar with and it is about a man who visits a friend of his in a grand house who has an illness that causes them to have visions including a sister of his who died and that the house may be haunted.

The highlight of this short is the narrator is voiced by the late Christopher Lee. I believe this is his last performance and it is very immersive.

Unfortunately I felt the story wasn’t that engaging and the animation was amateurish and cheap. It looked like a video game from the 90s.

2. The Tell-Tale Heart-

By far my favorite of the shorts and my favorite Poe short story. It is done in black and white shadows and isn’t a style I’ve seen done very often so I enjoyed it. The story is about murder and guilt and how it will eat you up inside.

Another neat touch in this short is the use of a 1940s recording of The Tell-Tale Heart by horror great Bela Lugosi. The scratchiness and sound of his voice add to the crime noir feel.

3. The Facts in the Case of M Valdemar-

This is another short worthy of praise for its artistry. It is done using a comic book feel and it reminded me of old illustrations in Dickens or Alice in Wonderland from the turn of the century.

The story is fine about a man who see’s a hypnotist and goes into a kind of midway point between life and death. It’s definitely confusing but I liked looking at it enough to recommend it. Julian Sands narration is also very good in the segment.

4. Pit and the Pendulum-

This short I did not care for. It tells the story of a man incarcerated who is tortured with various devices including a pit and a pendulum.

I know this is the Poe story but I found it unpleasant to watch and kind of gross. It’s one thing for something to be gross or shocking but in this short they keep repeating the same disgusting imagery again and again until I was tempted to fast forward.

For example, there are probably 6 or 7 scenes with rats crawling all over the man, eating food off the man, eating from his bowl of porridge, crawling on his leg etc. It was gross! I also thought the CG in this short looked pretty amateurish.

5. Masque of the Red Death-

Basically this story is about a house where they are hiding from a plague symbolized by a grim reaper type with a red cape. They have a masquerade party where there is sex (strong nudity shown) and all kinds of mayhem going on in different rooms of the house. Eventually Red Death makes his way through the house claiming his victims as he goes.

This is a story I wasn’t familiar with but I liked the artistry in the short. It looks like a gothic watercolor and it was effectively creepy yet beautiful.

However, the mature content I could have done without and with really no story but people being naughty and dying it didn’t hold my interest despite looking nice.

So overall it isn’t a total loss. If you are curious and it sounds like your cup of tea then I would go for it. However, for me The Tell-Tale Heart was really the only short I loved. The rest had major flaws that took me away from the film.

And like I said the transitions and all the credits made it a bit of a slog to get through.

But that’s just me. If you see it let me know what you think! It’s certainly a unique project and I’m glad I gave it a shot.

Overall Grade- C- and that is probably being generous.

Did the Right Film Win? 2014 Animated Oscars

October 25, 2015October 25, 2015 | Rachel's Reviews

Well my friends I have finished my series of watching all of the Oscar nominated films for Best Animated Feature Film. Last year I said 2014 was one of the best years in animation in a long time and now after seeing films going back to 2001, I stand by that claim. You can make an argument for 2009 and 2010 but for not having a Pixar movie it was pretty darn good- and really diverse in style, tone and everything else.

So here is my video breaking down my thoughts on the 2014 nominees:

This is the first year I was doing this blog and have reviews for all of these films, so my thoughts probably aren’t a surprise to any of you. Nevertheless, here is a little summary:

How to Train Your Dragon 2- A rare sequel that improves upon the original. An epic feel to the story and some of the best animation Dreamworks has ever done. I find the story with the 2 alpha dragons to be a little confusing and I think they give the Mother too much of a free pass for leaving her family. But still a very satisfying, entertaining, exciting film.

Big Hero 6- A film with real heart from Walt Disney Animated Studios. I love the character of Baymax and the relationship of Hiro and Tadeshi. I found the villain to be clever and surprising and Sanfransokyo was extremely creative.

Boxtrolls- A wonderful stop motion film about a town whose leadership gets to wear white hats and eat cheese. Snatcher the villain wants to wear the white hat and be respected which I think is a unique motivation and a good lesson for kids about labeling through clothing and other items. The Boxtrolls are sweet and the humor worked for me. The ending didn’t 100% work for me and the lead Eggs is a little flat and I don’t love the drag queen segment but it is very entertaining.

Tale of Princess Kaguya– A movie that has improved each time I’ve seen it. A true artistic masterpiece and a story unique to Japan. It is about a girl found in a bamboo stalk who is trained to be a princess. She has independent instincts but she chooses to be obedient. At first that was challenging to accept but now I love it’s different perspective. It is so gorgeous to look at and uses music very well. It’s a little bit of an artistically challenging movie but worth the effort.

Song of the Sea- A true masterpiece. Even with Inside Out, Song of the Sea is the best film I’ve seen this year. It’s got the emotional depth of Inside Out with Ben trying to deal with the loss of his mother but the hand drawn animation is stunning. Ben’s sister is a Selkie and Ben must get her back to the sea before it is too late. Along the way they meet an Owl Witch and other creatures so it is exciting, heartbreaking and tense. It made my Top 10 Favorite Animated Films. The music is stunning and I wish I could convince everyone to see it. I love it so much .

So if I was giving away the award I would pick Song of the Sea, despite my liking all 5 films. Of the mainstream nominees I do think Big Hero 6 is the best so in that sense the right film did win; however, I think Song of the Sea is the best of 2014.

What about you? What do you think of these 5 films and which would you pick as best of the year?

Did the Right Film Win? 2012 Animated Oscars

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

So I finally finished my video on the 2012 Oscars. Sorry this one took me so long (and it was a pain to edit today also!).

In 2012 we had 5 nominees and they all have their strengths.

Brave– I recently talked about that in my Pixar review. It is a flawed film that doesn’t deliver what it promises in the first 15 minutes. It is supposed to be an epic legend but turns out to be a domestic dispute between a mother and a daughter. I don’t mind that but it is a letdown when we are promised something mythic. I do like Merida, the music and the animation is top notch. I personally feel they took a lot of the lessons from Brave and used them to make Frozen better.

Paranorman- My favorite Liaka film and a film that made my top 50 animated films (so clearly I like it). I really like the character of Norman and the fresh take they have on the bully narrative with the bullied becoming the bully. I think it is very scary and funny with unique world building and character design.

Frankenweenie- This was a new one for me. I had avoided it because I really don’t care for Tim Burton’s style of movies. However, I must admit that I thought it was charming. I really liked the relationship between Victor and Sparky. It makes you want to cry when he loses his dog and all the homages to the classic horror films are a lot of fun. I also enjoy how they made it in black and white. Overall a very entertaining film with a lot of heart.

Pirates Band of Misfits- One of Aardman’s best films with incredible attention to detail it is an underrated film. They pack in the laughs and yet still tell a good story with the Captain wanting to win Pirate of the Year and his interactions with both Charles Darwin and Queen Victoria. If you haven’t seen it trust me it is worth a watch!

Wreck-it Ralph– A film that starts out and ends strong but gets mired in a bland Sugar Rush world in the middle section. Most people love this film but I think it is good but not perfect. I like the character of Ralph but Vanellope I find annoying. With the power cord train station they promise you all the worlds of the video games and yet spend 75 minutes in Sugar Rush, which to me is a disappointment. But it is still an enjoyable film. The villain reveal is done very well and I love Sergeant Tamora.

Like I said in the video, I think most people would pick Wreck-it Ralph for 2012 Oscar. I can totally see that. Of course, Brave won in a bit of an upset. I personally would give it to Paranorman but I know I’m in the deep minority on that. They are all enjoyable films. 🙂

What would be your pick?

2015 Animation So Far Ranked

September 27, 2015September 27, 2015 | Rachel's Reviews

So 2015 hasn’t been the year in animation 2014 was (still in my Oscar reviews 2014 is one of my favorites). The thing that made 2014 cool was even the silly comedies were solid. But that’s a post for another day. Let’s talk about the films of 2015 so far. Song of the Sea (still best film I’ve seen in 2014) doesn’t count because it is technically a 2014 release.

Going bottom to top…

Strange Magic-

Not a good movie by any stretch but not as bad as any of last years bad animated films. It’s the script and the uncreative song choices that sink this magical fairytale

Home-

Terrible voice performances and characters that don’t really make sense with a tired plot spoil decent animation from a book I’m told is quite clever. Basically ends up being a lame road trip movie. A real letdown.

Maya the Bee-

For the smallest kids. Good animation, a nice message but a lame villain and unoriginal story. Still I enjoyed it.

Minions-

A big letdown. All good parts were in trailer. The animation is fine and there are cute moments but it didn’t make me laugh which is a problem in a comedy. Also the adult humor I could do without

un Gallo con Muchos Huevos-

A pleasant surprise, pretty good animation for 5 mil budget, creative, some decent laughs. Some strange characters but I think a lot of that comes with my unfamiliarity with the series. Didn’t like the PG-13 elements and the story is predictable but overall entertaining.

Hotel Transylvania 2-

Kind of forgettable but entertaining comedy for kids. The animation is pretty good and I did laugh a fair amount. A nice message about accepting people for who they are, not who you hope they’d be.

The Prophet-

The 8 amazing shorts are great enough to overcome the thoroughly lame framing device.

Spongebob Squarepants: Sponge Out of Water-

Completely nuts but I kind of liked that. If you’ve seen as many animated films as I have it is cool to see something weird and insane every now and then. The ad campaign was so deceiving because out of water segment is extremely brief. A lot of laughs and I loved the 2D animation. It’s not for everyone but I liked it.

Shaun the Sheep-

Aardman is back with a lovely dialogue free offering about Shaun, a sheep, wanting a day off from the farm. It is funny and sweet with great stop motion animation. There were a few sections where the laughs are too spread out but over all a fun film for the entire family. Wish Aardman could figure out their distribution problems so more people would see their films.

Cheatin’-

An animated film for adults but not gratuitous about love, marriage, infidelity, honesty and heartbreak. It also has little to no dialogue but the Bill Plympton visuals are so absorbing. You feel like you know the couple and neither Jake or Ella is a villain but 2 people who failed to communicate their hearts.

When Marnie was There-

A movie about a young girl’s journey through depression and self-loathing through her friendship with a mysterious girl named Marnie. It is beautiful, lush, vivid, and absorbing with an amazing soundtrack. It’s really a story about a family saving a little girl even when they have seemingly abandoned her through death. You have to accept a little magical realism for the story to work but I was willing to take that leap.

Inside Out-

What can I say that I haven’t already said about this film? I’ve seen it 4 times in theaters and each time I am more in awe of the richness of the storytelling. What a bold film from Pete Docter and Pixar that captures the emptiness of depression and how important being sad can be. The story arc that we get from Joy is astonishing for a character that should be one note and predictable. Bing Bong is so original and heartfelt. And yet it still is really funny in segments. Just about a perfect movie IMO

Hotel Transylvania 2 Review

September 27, 2015September 29, 2015 | Rachel's Reviews

Can we all pass around a petition or something that will tell Adam Sandler he should only make animated films? But then again there was 8 Crazy Nights a while back so he is by no means a homerun in animated films either. Still, his best films by far of the last decade have been the Hotel Transylvania movies. That’s definitely damning by faint praise but it is nonetheless true.

It’s weird trying to write a review of Hotel Transylvania 2 because I had a good time watching it but I can’t think of a whole lot to say in its defense. Does that ever happen to you? You like something almost in spite of itself?

Well, Hotel Transylvania 2 picks up where the fun but forgettable first installment left off with Dracula’s (Sandler) daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez) getting married to Johnny (Andy Samburg) and then having a little boy named Dennis or Denisovich as the Count likes to call him.

The Count is a doting grandfather and loves Dennis but is constantly preoccupied on whether he is a vampire or not. He is a ‘late fanger’ as they like to say and has till he is 5 to get his vampire fangs. If he doesn’t then he, Mavis and Johnny will have to move back to California where Dennis can be safe.

Leaving Dennis with Count Mavis and Johnny go to California to check it out and meet his parents (Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally who should be cast in more voice work. She’s great!). Mavis is thrilled with all the nighttime 24 hour options in California.

Back at the hotel Count has his friends from the first film Frankenstein (Kevin James), Invisible Man (David Spade), Blobby, and Mummy (Keegan-Michael Key who evidently is in every comedy of 2015). They decide to try and scare the fangs out of Dennis and take him on a vacation of their greatest haunts much to Mavis’ anger.

They also end up involving Count’s old school father Vlad (Mel Brooks who is underused in the film)

That’s basically the plot. It’s a silly comedy but it did make me laugh. I particularly liked a repeated joke with the Phantom of the Opera singing. The tangents with in California and on the scare quest take away from the humor and the ending drags on and is too maudlin. But overall it is a pleasant amiable film that is aimed at kids with little to none of the adults only humor I didn’t care for in Minions. I also laughed a lot more than in Minions from start to finish.

The animation is also nicely done led by the great GEnndy Tartakovsky. The colors are bright and the characters are surprising and fun.

The voice talent all works but the cast is so large that some of my favorites are woefully underused such as Mel Brooks and Fran Drescher (who I know some hate but I’ve loved her ever since The Nanny). She has maybe 3 lines in the entire movie. Dana Carvey, Jon Lovitz, Chris Parnell, Nick Offerman are hilarious actors and they are given very little to do.

FILM STILL - HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2 - Frank (Kevin James and Jonathan (Andy Samberg) watch the birthday celebration of Dennis (Ashler Blinkoff, center) with Wanda (Molly Shannon), Dracula (Adam Sandler), Mavis (Selena Gomez), Mike (Nick Offerman) and Linda (Megan Mullally) in Columbia Pictures and Sony Picture Animation's HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2.

And yet the running time is 89 minutes! I told a friend of mine ‘if Bambi can tell its story in 70 minutes Hotel Transylvania 2 doesn’t need 89). They could definitely cut out the animated dance number at the end- a trend in animation carried over from the 2000s that I really hate

Hotel Transylvania 2 is a movie made for kids without a ton of grown-up appeal but I did laugh a fair amount. More than I did in Minions and definitely more than Dreamworks’ Home. It has better animation, writing and story than either of those films.

So take that review for what it is worth. I would wait and get it from the redbox or rent it. Have some laughs and enjoy a moderately entertaining animated film. Nothing more, nothing less.

Overall Grade- C

Here’s my video review

Did the Right Film Win? 2011 Animated Oscars

September 25, 2015 | Rachel's Reviews

Hi guys! Time for the next in my animated oscars series. Today we are looking at 2011 which was an eclectic year for animation with no Pixar or Disney nominations. I personally would have nominated Arthur Christmas and Winnie the Pooh but the 5 they went with are interesting in their own right.

This is a bit of a long one but I think you will enjoy it.

Basically I thought Puss in Boots may be my favorite film from the Shrek universe. I like how they kept the parody elements down. I also liked the 3D back when I first saw it and think the animation holds up very well. The voice work by Antonio Banderas is good and I like the action which was a loving homage to Zorro and those kind of classic films. On downside I didn’t love how they handled the Salma Hayek character. She starts strong but isn’t treated with much respect and ends up having to be rescued and as an ordinary love interest. I also think it can feel a little episodic and gets a little convoluted at moments. But overall I enjoy Puss in Boots.

Kung fu Panda 2 I really enjoyed. I know many readers don’t care for it, which is cool. Always good to have a variety of opinions. I think they toned down the humor and made a real kungfu movie with good fight scenes and battles. I think they also majorly upgraded the villain with Shen voiced by Gary Oldman. I like the adoption subplot and the development of the Furious Five is much better than in the first. Overall, I think it is a good martial arts movie!

Then we have Cat in Paris which was a huge surprise for me. I had never heard of it and I really liked. I thought the animation was unique and beautiful. I really liked the Mother character and felt she was well developed and interesting. The story surprised me and didn’t go exactly as I thought it would. The music is really strong and it’s both scary and funny. Its a real hidden gem.

The fourth nominee is a foreign film called Chico and Rita. This is a very adult animated film with a lot of nudity and I had to skip over sections. That said, I liked the character of Rita and the music. The animation I thought looked rotoscoped and generic; although, there are pretty moments. I didn’t like the character of Chico and felt the movie was a little to easy on him. He’s a real jerk and doesn’t deserve Rita. The jazz music is really catchy and I can see why it was nominated even if it isn’t my cup of tea.

The final nominee is Rango. If you have been a fan of the blog you might remember my review of Rango last year. I was pretty tough on it and I must admit I liked it a little bit more this time around. The beginning has some interesting surrealist touches and towards the end the story picks up. I appreciate they were trying to do something different but overall the pallet feels very beige to me so everything ends up looking bland and the same. I also feel it takes way too long for the story to get going and don’t find Rango ambling around very funny. Granted I haven’t seen many Westerns it is spoofing so that may be part of it. I think the characters are underdeveloped and you go long stretches without characters which makes them even weaker. Overall, I’m just not a fan of Rango but I see why others like it.

Of course, Rango won for the year and I think in this case the wrong film won. There just isn’t enough story and the artistry is too bland for me to get behind Rango. If I had to pick out of the 5 I would go with Cat in Paris. I think it is visually inventive, the story surprised me and I really liked the characters. Overall, it is a real delight.

What would you pick out of the 5 films?

Curious George Review

September 21, 2015September 21, 2015 | Rachel's Reviews

This post previously appeared in my Family Movie Night column over at Ldsblogs.com. Would love if you checked out all my writings over there and would be so grateful for comments. Thanks!

In this Family Movie Night series there are going to be weeks that appeal to certain families more than others. Last week was a film that will probably appeal to older children and teens; whereas, this week the choice is more for young children under the age of 5. As a lover of animation I enjoy all of these films so you never know what your family will like. I would like to think older kids can sit through a film geared at younger kids but there is always going to be that battle.

Making a film for toddlers is particularly difficult because of their short attention span. For it to work it needs to be somewhat episodic in feel as opposed to a longer plot that might be hard for little ones to keep focused on. It also needs to be gentle with a simple message they can absorb. That’s what makes Winnie the Pooh so brilliant is it is short stories that are sweet and teach a valuable but simple lesson.

This week’s pick recognizes the challenges of making a film for toddlers and executes it very well. It is the 2006 animated film Curious George.

Based on the book series by HA and Margret Rey Curious George is kind of an origin story to our lovable monkey named George and his friend with the yellow hat named Ted (voiced by Will Farrell). Ted works in a museum owned by Mr Bloomsberry (voiced by Dick Van Dyke in his first animated film role). The museum is having a hard time entertaining kids some of which are brought by a teacher Ms Maggie (voiced by Drew Barrymore).

The museum isn’t making enough money to stay afloat and Mr Bloomsberry’s son Junior (voiced by David Cross) wants to build a giant parking structure. This is a tired plot point we’ve seen in movies like Home on the Range but there is so much left to love in Curious George that I didn’t mind the plot.

Mr Bloomsberry is almost convinced to close the museum but Ted changes his mind by promising to find the relic called “The Lost Shrine of Zagawa”. This is what sends Ted to the jungle and is what helps him meet George.

Given this movie was made in 2006 it was actually pretty special to see it not only in 2D animation but for it to be so bright and colorful. In the world of CG everywhere it is a joy to watch Curious George. I hate to say it but such a film would never be made in 2D in 2015 and I think that is a real shame. The backgrounds of both the city and jungle are lush, layered and colorful. It just looks so beautiful!

They also made George so adorable. He makes me smile every time he is on screen. I feel they managed to make him even cuter than in the books. In what may seem like a strange comparison the charm of George reminds me a little bit of Wall-e. Neither of them talk but they have personality, love another character clearly and are just so darn cute!

After Ted meets George he finds the statue but it is only 3 inches tall, which will not be the grand attraction Mr Bloomsberry is looking for. Ted smudges this detail in the photo he sends and heads back to New York but George loves him and follows him on the boat.

The rest of the movie is basically George making mischief in one scene after another. There perhaps could have been one less of these scenes but they are done with such a joyous spirit I didn’t mind them. Like I said with Winnie the Pooh there is a gentleness and sweetness that even the villain Junior is really just looking to be loved by his Dad.

To perfectly appeal to toddlers Curious George could have been a little shorter. It would have been better at just around the hour mark but I think most kids should be able to sit through the 86 minutes.

There’s a really nice message to the film about embracing adventure and being loyal to those who love you whether actually your family or not. I also think it is nice to see a film where a little mischievousness and individuality is encouraged in young children not put down as disorderly or too manic. (Although watch your walls after the kids view this movie!).

As far as the voice talent they all do a good job although I don’t think the celebrity voices are really necessary. I think the people who are going to watch Curious George are going to do so celebrities or not. Movies can save a lot of money by having voice actors do their job and I wish more films would use that amazing resource.

The music is a huge standout in the film with original songs from Jack Johnson. This I think was worth the money as his relaxed style goes well with the bright joyous nature of Curious George. I love all of the songs and even bought the soundtrack when it came out year ago.

I’m a 34 year old adult with no kids and I really enjoy Curious George. It’s so beautiful. I love the music and the sweetness of the characters. It’s like a hug from a friend and I think a hidden gem many don’t know about. If you like Curious George there are a number of sequels and a TV show from most of the team minus celebrity voices that are also very well done.

If you do watch it with or without your little one put in the comment section what they think about it. I would love to know how they react as it is a type of film especially with the 2D that is rarely made any more. Enjoy and stay curious!

Un Gallo con Muchos Huevos Review

September 9, 2015September 9, 2015 | Rachel's Reviews

I have a goal to see all the animated films released each year and 2015 is no exception. I thought I had a good handle on the films coming out but was surprised today when looking at the box office to see an animated film that had flown under my radar. It is a Mexican film called Un Gallo con Muchos Huevos. Being Monday is my movie day I went out gave it a watch.

Gallo (as I will call it) is made by Huevocartoon Producciones and it is done with mostly CG with some 2D dream sequences thrown in (kind of strange the characters dream in 2D?). Over all, I thought the animation looked pretty good especially considering a 5 million budget. It’s bright and colorful and tells the story pretty well. It’s really hard to believe Dreamwork’s Home cost 135 million and I certainly liked this better than that…(Isn’t that just insanity that one movie can cost 130 million more not including marketing than another!).

Anyway, Gallo features a bevy of Mexican stars doing voice performances and to my ear at least they all did a fine job. The music by Zacarias M de la Riva was also pretty good.

Gallo is about on the level of Minions for me. The plot isn’t that great and it had way too much adult humor but there was some things to like. Over all, I thought it was average movie. I’m glad I saw it.

It’s about a rooster named Toto who is the runt of the litter but always dreamed of fighting in the cock fights downtown (evidently cock fights are legal in Mexico). These cock fights are actually done with gloves like a boxing match. There’s a star fighter named Bankivoide and a former star fighter called The Red Rooster.

A sort of weird element to the film is that the eggs all have personalities and talk. I was a little bit late so I may have missed an explanation but it didn’t seem like these eggs were ever going to crack which I found strange. There is also a piece of bacon that moves and talks which was strange. You think a processed slice piece of meat, even if it is pork, might make the chickens a little uncomfortable.

You do see the owner of the farm and her husband has died and they are behind on the mortgage. Unfortunately this brings us the tired plot we’ve seen a million times of ‘save the farm’. Sigh…

The animals decide to enter Red Rooster in a cock fight to win back the money to save the farm but when they challenge Bankivoide the Godfather Egg (yes, you read right) says Toto must enter the fight.

They accept the offer and Red Rooster tries to find a duck who beat him when he was a fighter. This leads to a strange section with a rapping Snoop Duck…The star duck has died but his trainer egg is around and he agrees to train Toto.

There is also a sexy chicken that looks like a peacock who sets vultures on Toto and the gang so that they won’t beat Bankivoide.

It’s very predictable and silly but just nutty enough to be mildly entertaining. However, the kids in my audience did not seem to enjoy it and kept having to go in and out, up and down the aisles (was a little annoying!).

As a movie fan there were some pretty good in-jokes and references to other movies that made me laugh. The script isn’t that bad. It’s just in the service of a super corny, played-out story.

And there are a lot of inappropriate jokes. We get jokes like the sexy bird singing about a rooster ‘hitting my sweet spot’ and lots of jokes about cocks and breasts that were completely uncalled for. It will probably over most little kids heads but that is no excuse. I hate that kind of content in children’s films.

If your kids speak Spanish then it might be a good experience for them to hear a movie in their language, or if they are trying to learn Spanish it could be a useful tool. It’s right on that level of Minions. Bright, colorful, a few laughs and weird choices to keep me semi-interested. It’s not one to rush out to see but if you get a chance give it a watch.

Here is the trailer to give you more of an idea.

Overall Grade- C, Content- B-

Did the Right Film Win? 2007 Animated Oscars

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

Hi guys! Happy labor day weekend! I’ve been having a lot of fun with my sister in town, but I was able to rewatch Persepolis and watch Surf’s Up for the first time. I just posted my video on the 2007 Oscars and I think all 3 films are very creative.

Ratatouille and Persepolis both made my Top 50 Animated Films Countdown and my Most Artistic Animated Films, so clearly I like both of them a lot. It’s tough to pick which one deserved to win because they are both so different and I appreciate them for different things. I went with Ratatouille because I love the ending so much but I can totally see going with Persepolis as well. It’s a fantastic film that helped introduce many to a whole new ‘adult’ side of animation.

As I said, I had never seen Surf’s Up and I really liked it! It’s very creative with the way it applies a documentary approach to an animated film. The humor works. The ocean and surfing scenes look gorgeous and I liked the message about winning and competition. It’s a very strong film.

So, all 3 are great but in the end I think the right film won. What about you? Which would you pick?