trailer review

Finding Dory Trailer Review

| Rachel's Reviews

So we got our first full trailer for Finding Dory today.

I must own I thought the trailer was just ok. I like that girl shark they show.  She looks fun and the visuals of the ocean look amazing.  I can’t wait to see that!  But the story does concern me a bit.  Pixar has always had a philosophy of never repeating the original film with their sequels.  So far I’m just not seeing what is going to make Finding Dory unique. That concerns me a bit.

What was so great about Finding Nemo is how surprising it was.  Things like the AA sharks are hilarious.  I still laugh at those scenes.  Plus, the dual plotlines of Nemo in the dentist office and Merlin looking for his son were delightful.  The ocean was beautifully portrayed and I loved all of the tense, emotional and funny moments.  The seagulls- hilarious!

It makes me wonder- how is Finding Dory going to surprise me? As much as people hate Cars 2 I’d rather watch that then a warmed over Cars duplicate.  At least they were trying something new and different.  I enjoyed it with its flaws.  I hope they surprise me and try something new.

But it should also be noted that Pixar isn’t always great with their trailers for some reason.  This one had things I liked and am looking forward to but it didn’t wow me.

What about you? What’d you think of the trailer?

Kung Fu Panda 3 Trailer Review

| Rachel's Reviews

This is just the week of the animated trailer release! Today we got the Kung Fu Panda 3.

I may be in the minority on this one but I am not a fan of this trailer.  To me it is more of the same from Dreamworks.  A bloated celebrity voice cast, lots of lame jokes and cheap sentimentality.

Kung Fu Panda was charming with a solid script if not particularly original story (Basically the Ugly Duckling meets Karate Kid).  It had just enough humor and sweetness to carry the day and I enjoyed it.

I know some on this blog disagree with me but I thought Kung Fu Panda 2 was a significant upgrade.  Not only was the animation much better (some of Dreamworks best) but it ditched a lot of the humor for a pretty cool quest story.  The villain was very creepy and I loved the way we actually got to see the Furious 5 fleshed out.  Instead of being background for Po we saw why they were legends and got to get their personalities, weaknesses and strengths.  It was pretty fun.

So after that big step up to get a retread of the first one is a major letdown.  I mean how many times have we gotten the estranged son trying to bond with his Dad scenario…so much so they made fun of it in Toy Story 2.  I always try to have an open mind and it is just a teaser but my initial response was definitely not excitement for Kung Fu Panda 3.

Dreamworks why do you hate me!

Zootopia Teaser

| 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?