Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

OPENING: 05/20/2011

STUDIO: Disney Films

RUN TIME: 137 min

ACCOMPLICES:
Trailer, Official Site

The Charge
In the fourth Pirates opus, Jack’s back. But can this new story under a new helmer be as good as its predecessors?

Opening Statement
There are many people who love the initial entry of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, although seeing the awfulness that was The Country Bears and knowing that The Haunted Mansion was soon to follow, Pirates just seemed like a similar ploy for Disney to pillage their old tourist attractions and try to eke out a few doubloons. However, Pirates found a savior in Johnny Depp and his oddly mannered but oddly alluring Jack Sparrow. He is still the best reason to watch any of the three (now four) Pirates films. He has carved out for himself a place on the list of greatest characters ever committed to celluloid. The success of Pirates led to the inevitable sequels and the unavoidable franchise that developed. Most said the films that followed the first Pirates installment were unfocused and bloated, a CGI discordance. I however find their breadth and scope, the imagination and the gutsy-ness it took to bring these stories to the screen, both amazing and inspiring. The fourth film, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, is a worthy successor into the further adventures of Captain Jack Sparrow.

Facts of the Case
Jack finds himself crossing wits and swords with a lady from his past, the mysterious Angelica (Penelope Cruz). She takes him on board the Queen Anne’s Revenge, ship of the brutal and unjust pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane) and becomes embroiled in a search for the Fountain of Youth. This is a race to see who gets there first. It is run between the Spaniards, Blackbeard’s crew and the indestructible Hector Barbosa (Geoffrey Rush) who is more concerned with revenge for his lost ship and his lost leg then after immortality. Along the way they must all contend with zombies, mermaids and all sorts of other devilry.

The Evidence
New to the series is director Rob Marshall, he of Nine, Memoirs of a Geisha and the Academy Award winning Chicago, taking over for Gore Verbinski, director of the first three Pirate films. He brings a new sensibility to this movie without taking anything away from what has been established before. As you can see from his filmography, Rob knows a thing or two about song and dance, and this plays into the newness he brings. On the previous iterations of Pirates, Jack got by and won battles on his wits, quick thinking and luck more then anything else. However, this time Rob choreographs the fight scenes like dance routines (Step-two-three-four, Stab-two-three-four) and as such Jack comes across as having somehow learned gymnastics and acrobatics and therefore having far more skill and grace then he’s ever shown before.

What Rob does not do away with, and that which I am glad he does not, is the brutality and the weight of the situations taking place. The Pirate films could have so easily become cartoon-like in their depictions of the life on the high seas, bloodless and play violence, especially under the guidance of the Disney machine. But Gore Verbinski did not shy away from showing a gutted old salt, a boy on the gallows or a sailor meeting his crushing demise under the tentacles of the Kraken and, thankfully, Mr. Marshall is not shy either. There is a scene near the end of the film where a whirlpool rips the flesh off a man’s bones. It brings with it the heft and punch it should…as well as a harkening back to a certain Last Crusade.

Rob brings along with him a couple of actresses he worked with on Nine; the first being Dame Judy Dench who makes a brief and comedic cameo as a society lady. The second is Penelope Cruz, teaming up with Depp for the first time since Blow, who I feel is miscast as the daughter of Blackbeard. She does not have the ruggedness of appearance or personality that we’ve seen in this series from other women of the sea, but instead has to try and balance a loyalty to her father that exposes her emotions with a hardness of heart towards all those she uses and manipulates. It is a disservice to both her as an actress and to the series. There is also a subplot that develops between a missionary and a mermaid (sounds like the beginning of a joke) that went on far too long and which also ended rather ambiguously for the poor missionary. I suppose the writers were trying desperately to fill the hole left by the expulsion of the Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightly storyline, but really, any time away from Jack and his crew was time ill spent.

Closing Statement
Those small defects aside, this movie will join its three brothers on my DVD shelf. I was shown breathtaking sights that I could never have envisioned on my own. The film took me on a journey, an adventure, from one end of the world to the other, though perils and wonders with people I enjoy spending time with. The story expanded my imagination and brought into new light things that I previously thought I had already known. I had fun, and cannot ask for anything more from a film. Savvy?

The Verdict

8/10

African Cats

OPENING: 04/22/2010

STUDIO: Disneynature Films

RUN TIME: 89 min

ACCOMPLICES:
Trailer, Official Site

The Charge
Meet two families living in the wildest place on the planet.

Opening Statement
The thing that kept coming into my mind as I watched African Cats is “Boy, I miss ‘Meerkat Manor’.” I know that Animal Planet show isn’t the first show/film to try and anthropomorphize animals or even the best one, but sitting through four seasons with those adorable rodents really embedded that formula into my brain. African Cats plays with the same formula. It attributes names to the animals so that we can follow that animal’s storyline (although I can never tell one lion/cheetah/meerkat from another). Then it builds drama and suspense though a voiceover that tells us what the animals are doing, are feeling and their motives for what they do. The voiceover also reminds us whom we’re watching, you know, in case they all look alike. Within each of these stories there are the heroic ones and the villains, the courageous and the cowards. It’s all very black and white but the thin plots accompany some rather remarkable photography and at times, some pretty cute animals so it all makes for a very enjoyable evening.

Facts of the Case
African Cats tells the story of Mara, a lion cub who strives to grow up with her mother’s strength, spirit and wisdom. Fang is the leader of Mara’s pride who must defend his family from a rival lion. It also tells the story of Sita, a fearless cheetah and single mother of five mischievous newborns. This is the story of mothers and of the power and courage of a mother’s love. The males in all the stories are either tyrants, weaklings or just absent.

The Evidence
The photography is the main draw of this film. Go to a theater where you can see it big and clear and it will take your breath away. Director Keith Scholey along with Alastair Fothergill, here in the role of co-director, and Keith Scholey, here producing, are all part of the team that brought us the gorgeous and astounding BBC series, “Planet Earth.” In fact, Disneynature’s other releases, Earth and Oceans, pillaged…I mean borrowed a large amount of the footage that was previously released on “Planet Earth.” However, the footage for African Cats seems to all have been shot specifically for this or at least not released on anything before. That said, all the collaborators poured the same amount of care and love into their current work as they ever have.

The only criticism I level at this film is the overbearing, overwrought voice over narration brought to you by Oscar nominated actor, Samuel L. Jackson. Now, some of that blame can be placed on whoever gave Sam lines like, “She is risking E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G now” and “He has become THE MOST DANGEROUS ENEMY to Mara” and other such hyperbole filled lines. But there were times that the lines just didn’t sound right, that Sam couldn’t sell the drama he was meant to. I assume Disney was thinking of the little ones, thinking that they would need to be spoon-fed the story, but unfortunately it brings the production value of the entire show down. Disney was not thinking of the little ones, however, when they were including shots of lions taking down zebras; their blood soaked maws coming up from their kill.

Closing Statement
After getting home from African Cats I watched Oceans (it was on my Netflix Watch Instant Queue) to contrast and compare what Disney had done previously. Oceans not only is expertly narrated by Pierce Brosnan but it almost can’t fall into the trap of over-chatty voice over because it doesn’t try to tell us a story; it instead is content to show us a great variety of different wonderful and diverse sea life. In attempting to create a narrative, it seems that the filmmakers may have attempted something that was beyond their comfort zone. Truth be told, the filmmakers should have trusted their footage and their audience more because the images they were able to capture told enough drama that did not need to be commented on.

The Verdict

7/10

Mars Needs Moms

OPENING: 03/11/2010

STUDIO: Disney Pictures

RUN TIME:88 min

ACCOMPLICES:
Trailer, Official Site

The Charge
Take out the trash, eat your broccoli – who needs moms, anyway?

Opening Statement
Try as he may, Robert Zemekis cannot find his way out of the uncanny valley–that deep gorge where his other forays into motion-capture like The Polar Express, Beowulf and A Christmas Carol have fallen. For those who are unaware of what this valley is, look at the “human” faces in any of those films and see if they don’t creep you out. Apparently, if the face is not human–a creature, alien, monster–then things are fine because we relegate the inconsistencies in muscle ticks and facial nuances to something more cartoonish. However, when the filmmakers want a person to look like a real person, there is always something off about them, something they have been unable to perfect. Though they look real, they don’t move like we expect them to, the little twitches, the subtleties, it’s like they were injected with too much Botox and they fall into the uncanny valley.

It doesn’t help that in Mars Needs Moms, the on screen representations were modeled after the actors who lent them their movement and voices. I spent the beginning of the film thinking, “Boy, that looks an awful lot like Joan Cusack, but in a disturbing way.” If he has not yet, I wonder why Zemekis, who seems determined to conquer this motion-capture way of making films, hasn’t joined forces with James Cameron or Peter Jackson and stolen some of their notes. Not that I approve of this style of filmmaking nor am I looking forward to seeing their next attempt (that goes for you too, Lucas), but if they’re gonna do it, then they should work together and get us there faster. That all said, I was not as bothered by the weirdness of the people in this film all as I usually am and, in fact, found myself halfway through not caring about it at all and even, dare I say, enjoying the film.

Facts of the Case
Nine year old, Milo (Seth Green) finds out just how much he needs his mom (Joan Cusack) when Martians, who plan on taking her memories and mental capacities to power their nanny-bots, kidnap her. Milo hitches a ride on the space ship and finds a friend in the only other human on Mars, Gribble (Dan Fogler). There, with the help of a rebel female Martian, Ki (Elizabeth Harnois), they plan a way to get back Milo’s mom and get back home.

The Evidence
The Martians pick out Milo’s mom out of all the other mothers they’ve scanned because she is the rarest of creatures on earth–a mother whose son obeys her. However, if they would have only continued watching just a little longer, they would have seen that Milo does not obey his mother, at least not without a fight. But that’s of course because he needs to have some sort of story arc; he can’t be perfect from the beginning, people! He has to have somewhere to grow.

The Martian young pop up out of the ground like potatoes or groundhogs, which is a nice way to skirt any of the questions the children in the audience may have about where Martian babies come from. The nanny-bots raise only the Martian females, though. All of males are banished to the trash heaps to be raised by other males which means this planet is entirely ruled by women. We’ll get back to that later. The alien designs are…interesting. All the women have some serious child bearing hips (ironic since, as was previously stated, they do not bear the children) and all the males have dreadlock hair and Rasta colors…and are rather dim-witted. They all, however, male and female, have long, flat heads and therefore look like ET’s taller cousins.

Closing Statement
The Martian’s world is colorless and cold with large screens adorning the walls where the supreme leader, or in this case, the Supervisor (Mindy Sterling), looks down upon all her servants and yells slogans and propaganda. Basically, the Martians, advanced in technology as they are, have slipped and fallen into some sort of Orwellian world. It’s not until our motley crew happen upon these deep underground caves and tunnels where the aliens used to live that we see that the Martian’s lives used to be filled with color and that they used to have families. Ah, now we see the violence inherent in the system! So how did things get to where they are now? Why did the females take over the planet and banish the males to the dumps? It all becomes clear in the end as Ki confronts the Supervisor with the pictures taken in the underground caves and the Supervisor responds she made all this happen because the females don’t have time to raise the young and that the males never helped with the care of the young because they were always too busy having fun. Really?!? It appears that Disney is now taking a stand for the power of the two-parent family saying that what is needed to raise children properly is the love and security that can only be found in a family. Well, that’s a nice thought. Good for Disney!

They could also be saying that the women’s lib movement may ultimately lead our society into to a dull autocracy, but let’s stay positive.

The Verdict

7/10

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

OPENING: 05/28/2010

STUDIO: Disney

RUN TIME: 116 min

ACCOMPLICES:
Trailer, Official Site

The Charge
Defy the Future

Opening Statement
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a film that attempts two ambitious things. First, it seeks to provide viewers with a genuinely good film based on a video game. Second, it attempts to deliver a successor to Disney’s ultra-popular Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. While it doesn’t quite deliver on either count, the film is nonetheless a diverting adventure that proves a pleasant experience if not an entirely satisfying one.

Facts of the Case
Jake Gyllenhaal plays Prince Dastan, who began life as an orphan on the streets of Ancient Persia before being adopted by the king. Now he’s an adult, fighting alongside his two brothers in a battle to conquer a city that has supposedly been selling weapons to Persia’s enemies. The battle is won, but the beautiful Princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton, Quantum of Solace) insists that her city has been attacked unjustly. Dastan returns home and presents his father with a gift in celebration of their army’s victory: a prayer robe from the conquered city. Alas, Dastan failed to realize that the robe was laced with some sort of deadly toxin, and his father is killed as a result.

Now, Dastan finds himself in the unlikely position of being a fugitive on the run, with the even more unlikely luck/misfortune of having the fiery Tamina as his companion. As he attempts to escape the clutches of those who would capture or kill him, he tries to solve the mystery of who is really responsible for his father’s death. The odds are against Dastan, but he does have one powerful tool at his disposal: a dagger with magical powers that has the ability to turn back time.

The Evidence
The dagger is both a blessing and a curse to the film, providing the movie with a nifty twist that generates some interest and an obnoxious plot device that just about kills any sense of dramatic weight. It has the ability to allow its user to go back a few seconds in time to undo any bad things that might have just happened. I won’t spoil the movie for you, but suffice it to say that a considerable number of the negative things that occur in the movie are quickly undone by the device (rendering normally-important developments like the death of a character rather bland). In many ways, the film reminded me of Tony Scott’s Déjà vu, which employed time travel gimmicks in a much more compelling and dramatically resonant manner (interestingly, both movies were produced by Jerry Bruckheimer).

That stuff aside, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a pretty straightforward action-adventure movie that gets the job done without really offering any surprises. Gyllenhaal’s Dastan is sheepishly charming and witty, while Arterton’s Tamina is tough, smart and bold. Both know their way around an action scene. We’ve seen these two characters time and time again in modern action films, but Gyllenhaal and Arterton handle their roles well enough. They generate a little bit of chemistry in their scenes together… nothing earth-shattering, but enough to make us care about the two of them making it to the end credits alive.

If Gyllenhaal and Arterton are this film’s Orlando Bloom and Kiera Knightley, then Alfred Molina is its Johnny Depp. His supporting turn goes a long way towards preventing tedium from setting in, bringing a comic spark and charming originality to the proceedings that is more than welcome. Essaying a seedy, government-hating fixer of ostrich races, Molina cheerfully steals the show from his considerably more dour co-stars (even Ben Kingsley, whose enigmatic presence is less compelling than it was earlier this year in Shutter Island). Interestingly, the film uses the Molina character as a sly satire of the modern-day tea party movement, giving him some amusing speeches about the evils of taxes and his suspicions of big government conspiracies. It’s not too subtle a reference, but it’s an entertaining one (many in the audience at my screening chuckled knowingly; though some heartily endorsed the character’s statements).

Mike Newell (a skillful director mostly defined by his lack of definability) does what he can by delivering a film that is coherent both in terms of action and narrative, steadily paced and technically polished. Still, it very much feels like he’s a hired gun in this instance, as there isn’t much that feels distinct or unique about the direction of the film. It compares well to the overcooked, random chaos of a popcorn movie director like Michael Bay, which is the nicest compliment I can pay the movie. It should also be noted that while the film is rated PG-13, it’s a rather innocent affair geared at a younger audience than such recent PG-13 action flicks as Robin Hood and The Losers.

Closing Statement
I can’t really say I had a bad time watching Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. It’s an acceptable dose of summer fun, but it doesn’t leave a lasting impression and it certainly doesn’t seem poised to be a tent pole movie franchise. If all you demand is two hours of lightweight entertainment and nothing more, then it should do the trick.

The Verdict
6/10

G-Force

OPENING: 07/24/2009

STUDIO: Disney

ACCOMPLICES:
Trailer, Official Site

SOUNDTRACK:

The Charge
The world needs bigger heroes.

Opening Statement
Fans of all things film have probably looked at the increasing promotion for G-Force with seething disdain, everything about the production looking like a cynical and toxic attempt to gut parental wallets worldwide. Nothing about the previews looked funny or exciting and the massively popular cast of actors committed to the project appeared astoundingly wasteful. So is the movie as terrible as it looks, or does it equate to a surprisingly enjoyable piece of cinema?

In truth, it’s neither.

Facts of the Case
The film follows a government unit called G-Force, consisting of humans Ben (Zach Galifinakis) and Marcie (Kellie Garner) working alongside a group of genetically engineered mammals and a fly. The resourceful rodents are Darwin (Sam Rockwell), Juarez (Penelope Cruz), Blaster (Tracy Morgan), and Speckles the mole (Nicolas Cage) who after discovering an evil plot by electronics mogul Saber (Bill Nighy) have their unusual operation shut down by the FBI. Unwilling to give up and receiving secret aid from Ben, G-Force continues to investigate the Saber case whilst being hunted by Federal Marshals and meeting other crazy creatures along the way.

The Evidence
G-Force is lodged firmly in the field of mediocrity. The film does more right than I expected, but still takes multiple missteps in an unfortunate counterbalance. For adults and cinema goers with more than a dozen years under their belts, I can’t see this offering up anything of substance, its primary ability to entertain young imaginations with colorful bursts of cartoon action and juvenile potty humor. I admired the project’s undiluted pursuit of manic goofiness, but the story is depressingly familiar and the live-action performances are (for the most part) shamefully bad.

The actors and actresses attached to G-Force are of a caliber most Oscar-baiting films can’t attract, something which only further compounds one’s disappointment with this aspect of the picture. The voice work from Rockwell, Cruz, Cage, and Jon Favreau (playing Darwin’s chubby and domesticated brother) is all fine, but Tracy Morgan grates from start to finish, while the usually reliable Will Arnett, Bill Nighy, and Zach Galifianakis are wasted in badly written and depressingly flat live-action roles. Nighy does his best to inject a little flavor into this bad guy, but simply isn’t given enough screen time. Meanwhile, Galifianakis is handed a part so far outside his comfort zone it should be a crime, the raunchy and loudmouthed comedian forced to play the timid and cuddly father figure to a selection of CGI guinea pigs. Following his hysterical work on The Hangover, this is an undesirable change of pace.

The script is the product of six minds (including director Hoyt Yeatman) which is depressing given how routine and predictable it is. The storyline moves along at a fast pace, but the plot developments are mostly nabbed from better films — an instance where some of the team are adopted by kids at the local pet store is more than a little reminiscent of Toy Story for example. Kids might not mind these similarities too much, after all at 8 years old you can only have seen so many movies. Those with a slightly longer grounding in the realms of cinema may find complaint in the intensely generic plot. On the moral front, the importance of family is a key message that emerges from this menagerie of bubblegum action and silly slapstick. The film presents its ideals simply, so children can understand and appreciate the importance of such ethics, one of the movie’s stronger facets.

The comedy G-Force offers will definitely be more in line with a child’s view. It’s often infantile but parents needn’t fear as the filmmakers keep it clean and innocent. Several recent family films (Land of the Lost springs instantly to mind) have been unable to keep a singular comedy tone, vacillating awkwardly between child friendly and decidedly adult gags. G-Force never commits that sin, audiences treated to insanely silly supporting characters and a fair share of fart jokes. I didn’t find myself laughing often, but the children around me were in paroxysms of joyful howling. The film never pretends to be anything other than a big slab of kid-friendly summer fun, so to over-criticize its comedic style would be churlish and moot.

The Rebuttal Witnesses
Irrespective of your age it’s hard not to congratulate Yeatman for cooking up such an appropriately colorful and frenzied world for his CGI critters to inhabit. G-Force is an average film at best, but the filmmakers have applied coatings of earnest energy. The various action scenes that sporadically break-up the picture benefit a lot from the clear directorial enthusiasm leaking from its helmer’s lense. There is something fabulously frolicsome about the way the film has been visually stitched together, and its deployment of CGI is surprisingly accomplished and effective. Yeatman rarely has anything particularly unique to offer, but his set-pieces have a determination and sincerity which allow them to rise above the kiddy norm.

The film wraps up with a barmy conclusion — imagine Transformers with more espionage and cute furry creatures and you’d be on the right tonal path. If Michael Bay ever makes a film about Guinea Pigs it’s bound to look and sound like these final 15 minutes, all wham-bam action followed by a dollop of unwanted patriotism. The movie even offers a kid-friendly twist, but it’s one this viewer predicted from the first big action scene.

Closing Statement
Kudos to G-Force for being better than expected, even if as a whole it’s only average. Kids will definitely appreciate it more than adults, and for that reason its best left for DVD.

The Verdict
5/10

Ponyo

OPENING: 08/14/2009

STUDIO: Disney

ACCOMPLICES:
Trailer, Official Site

SOUNDTRACK:

The Charge
Welcome to a world where anything is possible.

Opening Statement
In an age where our animation has grown increasingly photorealistic, there’s nothing like a traditional hand drawn adventure to remind you of the power the art form still holds.

Facts of the Case
Little Brunhilda (Noah Cyrus) has tired of undersea life and longs to see what magic the surface world holds. Masterminding an escape from her ever vigilant father Fujimoto (himself a one-time surface dweller), she befriends six-year old Sosuke (Frankie Jonas), who forms an instant attachment. Believing she is the most beautiful goldfish he has ever seen, he names her Ponyo. Unfortunately, their time together is short-lived. When Fujimoto (Liam Neeson) discovers the deception, his mastery of the sea reclaims little Ponyo, leaving Sosuke heartbroken. However, exposure to the surface world has awakened powers within Ponyo, whose magic now enables her to take human form and return to the boy she loves… but not without dire consequences. An imbalance between worlds results, altering the Earth’s gravitational pull and drawing the moon in on a collision course with the planet. The only way to stop the destruction is through the assistance of Ponyo’s mother Granmamare, goddess of the sea (Cate Blanchett), and Sosuke’s ability to pass the test of true love.

The Evidence
Hayao Miyazaki may begrudge being labeled as the Walt Disney of Japan, but the comparison is an honorable one. From his spy genre directorial debut in 1979 with Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro through 2004′s Oscar-nominated Howl’s Moving Castle, Miyazaki and his Studio Ghibli team have created a stable of world class, traditionally animated fairy tales that rival the golden age of Walt’s Nine Old Men. 2008 saw the release of his latest masterpiece, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, and his partnership with the Disney company brings us this all-star English dub. While Ponyo may be geared more towards the little ones, Miyazaki’s trademark stylings are once again in full force, with eye-popping visuals and sweeping operatic sequences that will tickle the imagination of all ages.

This variation on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid, with a dash of Willy Wonka thrown in for good measure, is focused almost solely on Ponyo and Sosuke. What little B and C storylines there may be — the strained relationship between Sosuke’s mom Lisa (Tina Fey) and never-home-sea-faring father Koichi (Matt Damon), the nursing home residents Lisa cares for, Ponyo’s father and his plans for world domination — they ultimately provide nothing more than window dressing for this classic boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl, boy-gets-girl-back tale. Sadly, this singular focus proves somewhat of a detriment to the overall story, as several key pieces of information are never fully explained. But this is not unusual for Miyazaki, who feels stories like these should be told on a childlike level, reaching deep within us to a simpler time when unnecessary details didn’t matter. So if you’re hyper-vigilant about plot holes — how humans can breathe underwater and sea life can breath on land, the unexplained relationship between Ponyo’s parents Fujimoto (a human) and Granmamare (a sea elemental), Fujimoto’s elixir experiments, the unconscionable choice Lisa makes leaving two 5 year old children at home when their home is about to go underwater due to tremendous storm — this one might make you a bit batty.

Adults unfamiliar with Miyazaki’s films may get fidgety, as did many audience members during this closing night presentation of the Los Angeles Film Festival. He thinks nothing of letting the camera sit and absorb all the aspects of the world around his characters, for the environment is as important to the story as the characters themselves. People attuned to the Tony Scott, McG, Michael Bay summer movie madness where the brain has little time to digest anything, may find it hard to adjust. For those willing to try, you will be well rewarded. This is sumptuous savory filmmaking at its finest. The detail the Ghibli team brings to its work rivals the best in the animation business. The palate ranges from the brightest primary colors to the deepest darkest hues of the sea. There is nary a wasted line or brush stroke in any scene, and even the tiniest of characters get the opportunity to shine. And it’s all once again underscored by a brilliant score from composer Joe Hisaishi. While the theme song is be a bit pop-hokey (the Americanized version is worse), the score itself amps every emotion to the Nth degree.

English dubs have long been hit and miss, dividing anime purists who feel these films should be seen and appreciated in their original form. But Disney has once again gone above and beyond the call of duty, casting not just high-profile talent, but voices that lend sincerity and depth to these characters. Tina Fey and Matt Damon disappear into their roles as Sosuke’s parents. Betty White, Cloris Leachman, and Lily Tomlin are wonderfully subtle as Sosuke’s elderly companions, and it’s a rare treat to have Tomlin play the heavy. And Liam Neeson and Cate Blanchett bring tremendous gravitas to their undersea personas. I only wish we could have spent more time with time. As it is, they all seem more like plot devices than fully fleshed out characters. After all, the film belongs to Disney’s newest prince and princess — 9 year old Noah Cyrus (Miley’s little sister) and 8 year old Frankie Jonas (the fourth pistno in the Jonas Brothers machine) — both of whom perfectly capture the wonder and exuberance of their onscreen counterparts.

Closing Statement
It’s easy to forget how we once viewed life as untainted, unburdened beings, where every experience held rapt our full attention, and every resulting emotion was purely expressed without fear of judgment or retribution. Ponyo takes us back to that time, if only for 100 minutes. It may not crack the upper echelon of Miyazaki’s impressive career and parents may find it hard to keep their interest, but the kids in our audience were mesmerized from start to finish. For that achievement alone, Ponyo is a welcome addition to the Studio Ghibli canon.

The Verdict
8.5/10

Up

OPENING: 05/29/2009

STUDIO: Disney / Pixar

RUN TIME: 96 min

ACCOMPLICES:
Trailer, Official Site

SOUNDTRACK:

The Charge
The greatest adventure of our lives is often the one we don’t even know we’re experiencing.

Opening Statement
I don’t know what’s in the air or the water up in Emeryville, CA, but whatever it is inspires some of the greatest filmmaking the world has ever known. Pixar has once again tapped into the universal truth of the human experience and delivered an adventure in Up so sweeping and emotionally charged even WALL•E could shed a tear.

Facts of the Case
Meet Carl and Ellie, two kids whose imaginations and lust for life is larger than all outdoors. These two kindred spirits want nothing more than to venture forth into the deepest reaches of the unknown and make a life for themselves amongst the beauty and majesty of Mother Earth’s most magnificent creation — Paradise Falls. Of course, life often manages to get in the way of our dreams. But, as the saying goes, love conquers all and nowhere is that belief more evident than in the journey shared by Carl and Ellie. Unfortunately, all journeys must end, and this one leaves Carl heartsick and without purpose… that is until the modern world begins to close in around him. What’s a adventurer with nothing left to lose going to do? Why take to the sky and fulfill a promise to his true love. Only problem is, Russell, one of the neighbor kids, accidentally tags along for the ride — and a good thing too, since these mismatched travelers are going to need each other to survive the many trials and tribulations that await them.

The Evidence
I fully admit, I had my doubts going into this one. For as much as I adored WALL • E and pretty much everything else sprung forth from the hallowed halls of Pixar, a 90 minute adventure about a senior citizen and his flying house did not sound all that appealing. Several minutes in — via a brilliant sequence encapsulating Carl and Ellie’s life together — I realized how foolish it was of me to ever doubt John Lasseter and Ed Catmull’s team of gifted filmmakers.

Up is a film that hooks your emotions and never lets go. Unlike Hollywood’s hard-on for mind-blowing visual effects, Pixar leverages its technological prowess but always puts story and characters first. As WALL • E ran away with the hearts and minds of last summer’s movie audiences, Up will do same. Director Pete Docter (Monsters Inc.) and writer Bob Peterson (Finding Nemo) marshal their troops, guiding us on a journey to a world we didn’t even know existed, and one we will want, nay need to revisit again and again. It’s a world beyond space and time, where idyllic 1940s sensibilities run headlong into modern challenges, ultimately bringing out the best in us all, even when the biggest obstacle turns out to be a childhood hero who’s far less noble than you idealized him to be.

Carl (voiced with tremendous nuance by Ed Asner) is a member of the Greatest Generation, now past his prime and usefulness to society. He’s standing in the way of capitalistic “progress” and needs to be put on a shelf with the rest of the aged and infirm. Trouble is, he’s not going quietly, and rightly so. Why should any of us be forced to do what the masses feel is best, when we know in our heart of hearts there’s so much more of life left to explore? Thankfully, fate has paired him with Russell (perfectly captured by young Jordan Nagai), a boy much like Carl used to be, full of adventure and appreciation for all the world has to offer. Russell too has been touched by life’s complexities, but he’s not about to let that stop him from doing what’s right.

Along the way our heroes join forces with Dug, a talking dog, and Kevin, an exotic version of Sesame Street’s Big Bird. The bonds they form are critical, as their journey is laden with pitfalls which can only be overcome by utilizing their combined knowledge and talents. On the surface, it sounds simple enough — and I don’t want to give away too much of the story, so as to preserve the wonder that awaits you — but even the most basic of tales in the hands of Pixar are rich, all encompassing experiences, supercharged by another brilliant underscore from composer Michael Giacchino. The thematic elements will linger long after you leave the theater, and you’ll need a copy of the soundtrack to scratch the itch that’ll haunt your emotional core.

Okay, there are a couple of niggling plot holes, like how Russell was able to make it up to the front porch after take-off, and just how old is Charles Muntz when we meet him, but these are easily set aside by the scope of the overall experience. Up is a pitch perfect balance of heartfelt emotion, laugh out loud humor, and edge-of-your seat excitement.

I did not have the opportunity to see the film in Disney Digital 3D on first viewing, but for as awe-inspiring as the visuals are in 2D, I can only imagine the depth of splendor to be experienced in Pixar’s first extra-dimensional foray. Like WALL-E, there are moments you will swear you are seeing a live action film. From the environmental detail of the South American jungle, to the tactile design of our heroes — down to the fabrics of their costumes — the imagery is astoundingly lifelike, even centered around characters who harken back to the glory days of Rankin-Bass. The rendering achievements Pixar is making with each successive picture is remarkable, which makes me wonder just how much further they can push the envelope.

And speaking of envelope pushing, we are once again blessed with a beautiful Pixar short which precedes the feature. Partly Cloudy is a touching and inventive tale of how babies of all species are created and brought into the world. Writer/Director Peter Sohn (Ratatouille) gets the opportunity to spread his wings, painting a landscape lush with character, color, and effects. It may not be as memorable as Knick Knack or as hilarious as Jack-Jack Attack, but it proves once again how important these shorts are to the future of the company, expanding an already rich stable of writing and directorial talent.

Closing Statement
The Pixar clan are hands down the most impressive storytellers since Bill Shakespeare and the Grimm Brothers. Young or old, male or female, rich or poor, kind or cruel, anyone who enters the theater to see Up will find themselves stripped down to their innermost 6-year-old, freed from every care and concern they came with, and emotionally unshackled, so as to lose themselves in one of the finest human adventure stories ever put to film. And, if you’re lucky, it just might change your perspective on what’s most important in life.

The Verdict
11/10 (That’s right, I said 11. In the words of Nigel Tufnel, “Eleven. Exactly. It’s one louder.”)

You’ll recall Disney dumped the franchise, after a less than robust return on Prince Caspian. The Mouse’s loss appears to be the Fox’s gain. Now all they need is a screenwriter. Unfortunately, first draft scribe Richard LaGravanese may no longer be available, leaving Walden and Fox in the lurch. The principal cast will all return, but director Andrew Adamson shifts into his producing chair, letting Michael Apted take the helm.

Source: Variety

Bolt

OPENING: 11/21/2008

STUDIO: Disney

TRAILER: Trailer

ACCOMPLICES: Official Site

The Charge
A hero is unleashed.

Opening Statement
This latest flick from the folks at Walt Disney shows some signs of promise for the studio. Disney’s animated films of the past decade or so have been rather lackluster, both in the 2-D and 3-D animation departments. Films like Home on the Range and Chicken Little just haven’t been offering audiences much to get excited about. Now that Pixar heavy hitter John Lasseter is overseeing things, there is a sign of hope. Lasseter is only credited as an executive producer here, but his influence is more than evident. Bolt isn’t quite a Pixar-caliber motion picture, but it wants to be, and it’s a huge step in the right direction.

Facts of the Case
A teenage girl named Penny (voiced by Miley Cyrus) is in trouble. Her father has just been kidnapped by the evil Green-Eyed Man (Malcom McDowell, A Clockwork Orange), and she can’t go back home. Penny determines that she’s not just going to run and hide. She’s going to do everything within her power to get her father back, even if it means taking on all the Men in Black who work for the Green-Eyed Man. After all, Penny has a secret weapon on her side. That would be Bolt (John Travolta, Get Shorty), a genetically-enhanced dog with remarkable superpowers. Together, Bolt and Penny are going to beat the bad guys and save the day!

At least, that’s how things are going in the television series that Bolt and Penny are filming. Unfortunately, poor Bolt does not realize that he is in a television series. In an attempt to get as much “realism” as possible from the proceedings, the director (James Lipton, Inside the Actor’s Studio) has done everything necessary to prevent Bolt from knowing that he’s just acting. Until now, each episode has gone smoothly. The bad guys try to hurt Penny, Bolt saves Penny, and everything is just fine and dandy by the time each episode concludes. Then the network decides to throw a cliffhanger into the mix. They separate Bolt from Penny until the start of the next shoot, which sends Bolt into a panic. He has to get Penny back!

Through a series of odd events that I will not reveal here, Bolt finds himself lost in New York City. Penny is all the way on the other side of the country, in Hollywood, California. He has to get back to her, and he thinks it will be easy. After all, he’s a super-dog. He has no idea that he has been aided by talented special effects teams all this time. Joining him for the journey are a couple of new friends: a cynical cat named Mittens (Susie Essman, Curb Your Enthusiasm) and a hyper hamster named Rhino (Mark Walton). Will these three amigos be able to complete their cross-country mission? Will Bolt be reunited with Penny? Will Bolt learn that he isn’t really a Superdog before he gets himself hurt?


The Evidence
Despite a plot that relies heavily on Hollywood humor, the film valiantly remains free of the sort of obnoxious pop culture references that have damaged so many animated films in recent times. Despite a lot of slapstick humor and goofiness, the film manages to offer up reasonably complex characters who are genuinely sympathetic. Despite the presence of big names like John Travolta and Miley Cyrus, the film largely avoids celebrity stunt casting in favor of casting actors who are capable of nailing the specific role (Susie Essman and Mark Walton are superb picks for the two largest supporting roles). The film achieves a lot more than I expected it to, and I’m pleased to finally be able to recommend a Disney animated film again.

The story is a well-oiled machine. Film-within-a-film elements aside, this is pretty traditional stuff that is handled with skillful professionalism. Carefully measured doses of comedy, action, and drama are mixed in to create a satisfactory viewing experience. It’s a film that has enough energy and color to keep the kids happy, but also enough intelligence and depth to make the film a satisfactory viewing experience for adults. The animation here is quite solid, and the action scenes are simultaneously amusing and exciting. I might say that the film does a nice job parodying action movies, but I’m not really sure that such a thing is possible anymore (Hot Fuzz is an exception). Considering the sort of preposterous stuff we see onscreen these days, I don’t think that “fake action” in Bolt is terribly far-fetched… which kind of makes it even funnier.

Sure, the story is a bit on the predictable side. You can see most of the plot developments coming around the corner. There are also a few too many silly supporting characters… it seems like the film has a desire to introduce us to a new duo or trio of goofballs each reel. These problems pale in comparison to the attributes.

Closing Statement
Bolt may be a bit formulaic, but the formula this time around is much more effective. Nobody has quite reached Pixar’s level yet… but between Dreamworks’ Kung Fu Panda and Disney’s Bolt, is evident that the other studios are finally realizing that telling a good story actually works on both a critical and commercial level, and I hope it is a sign of good things to come in the future. This one is a fun family film.

The Verdict
8/10

Q: You’ve worked in many unforgettable movies. Which is your favorite?

Burny: I have a very strong feeling for The Great Mouse Detective, beyond that Beauty and the Beast was one of my favorites to work on. Lady and the Tramp was my first film with the studio, and, of course, Sleeping Beauty has a very soft spot in my heart.

Q: When you were working on the film, did you have any sort of idea it would remain so popular 50 years later?

Burny: No! We were pleasantly surprised when everybody saw the final print and I think we all felt we made something classic. But at the time, we didn’t realize this would become such a beloved classic. We were too close to the working problems of it, just getting the work done. But then, when it was all together and we saw it for the first time, we realized we had something!

Q: What sort of problems did you encounter along the way?

Burny: There were problems all the time through the picture. Namely, it was a very slow process because we were trying to make it such a classic and we were using more abstract design elements which created a lot of problems. The very fact that we had to animate every frame instead of shooting each frame twice. If we didn’t the animation would strobe against Eyvind Earle’s backgrounds. We were working on three field paper and when you’re doing inbetweens on every drawing, you’re flipping back and forth with very wide paper which slowed the process down dramatically.

Q: What’s the one sequence in Sleeping Beauty you personally are the most proud of?

Burny: The first scene in Sequence 8 which was in the forest where Aurora was beginning to sing to the birds as she was picking the berries. That was actually the first scene that was animated in the film and I had to do it over four times. Once with her, once with the birds, and then we had to clean it up twice. Marc gave me a cake that said “Happy 31″ (which was the number of the scene) to celebrate that it finally went to color and Walt bought off on it!

Q: What’s your advice to a someone who dreams of becoming an animator?

Burny: Do lots of quick sketching. Watch people in restaurants or wherever, and just do quick drawings of their poses. Make them very expressive. I didn’t go to art school. I came to Disney with desire to draw. I drew all my life and, when I came to the studio, I was lucky enough to work with Marc Davis. He taught me so much, but I would encourage anyone to focus on getting as much art education as you possibly can get.

Q: When you create a character, there are a number of preliminary designs from which to choose. Can you tell us about the “elimination” process? How do you pick the final design and who has the final say?

Burny: In this case, Walt had the last word on the design. As it passed between different designers and Marc Davis, it afforded them a chance to take a little bit of everybody’s design and mix it together. But Walt made the last decision on each character and every aspect of the picture. He wouldn’t let anything go unless he saw it and that’s why it took so long to make this picture, especially since he was so involved with Disneyland at the time.

Q: How much of Maleficent’s onscreen personality comes from Eleanor Audley’s rich vocal performance and how much is classic Marc Davis?

Burny: I’d say 60% of it was Eleanor’s and Marc followed up with the rest of it! He was highly influenced by her. She set the tone for how the character should act.

Q: What design features make Maleficient a great villain?

Burny: The head-dress certainly made a strong statement; her height overpowering the frame, and her bombastic acting where she would keep everything controlled and then suddenly explode. That created a strong character.

Q: What was the deciding factor for the final look of her character?

Burny: Marc made a variety of designs to show Walt and he made the choice going with the horns and so forth. Marc spent a lot of time with his designs and with Eyvind, which is why he made her such an elongated figure, to work with Eyvind’s horizontal and vertical backgrounds.

Q: What made Maleficient so different from previous Disney villains?

Burny: One thing that got me was her reaction at not being invited to the party. It was a bit over the top, which is pretty darn cruel for no reason.

Q: Can you see any elements of Maleficent in subsequent Disney villains?

Burny: Cruella was also designed by Marc Davis and the voice was Betty Lou Gerson. She was a classic radio actress and had the same things that Eleanor had in her voice. Marc really had a lot of fun with that character. She was bombastic all the time. Every animator loves to have a character move; not be very stilted. Again, Marc wanted a more controlled character in Maleficent with very little movement. He wanted to save her movement for shock value when she suddenly explodes.

Q: Sleeping Beauty is one of the only Disney animated films where the hero takes out the villain himself, while most other Disney villains meet their end indirectly. Did you have to fight at all to use that ending?

Burny: No, I don’t believe we did. We needed to resolve Maleficent in some manner. Certainly she imprisoned Phillip and caused Sleeping Beauty to go to sleep. The only one that could undo it was the Prince. There was no one else except the faeries and they couldn’t use their magic against her. That was a strong story decision.

Q: Maleficent metamorphosing into the dragon was one of the earliest sequences to use the Xerography process. What was your experience of the change in animation?

Burny: Woolie Reitherman directed the dragon fight sequence and he did use the Xerox process for the first time on the dragon. I think they went back over the Xerox line with ink & paint, but he did use the process as an experiment for enlarging and reducing her in the frame. That was actually the start of Disney using Xerox in animation. It was a very crude process. We used an omega 8×10 enlarger as our camera and had these old aluminum inking boards coated with the Xerox material. It was very crude, but by the next picture, 101 Dalmatians, we had a first class Xerography operation.

Q: How many animated features did Walt have in development at any given time? Were there any that didn’t get made you would have loved to be a part of?

Burny: About 1940, Walt was starting to do four features at one time (Pinocchio, Bambi, Fantasia, and Dumbo) and they were all in work status. At the same time, he had stories that were in development like Cinderella and Peter Pan which hit a wall because of the War, so they were put on the shelf and revisited later. Walt was so disappointed in Pinocchio and Fantasia not doing as well as they should — because the overseas market disappeared during World War II — that he was going to go on a long vacation. Someone sent a little series of pictures of an elephant character and he gave it to Joe Grant and said “See what you can do with it.” So, Joe and Dick Humor developed the story of Dumbo while Walt was away, which was done very fast because it was so simple and it turned out to be very successful.

Q: What is your favorite Disney feature you didn’t work on?

Burny: Pinocchio. I wasn’t able to work on it since I was just a little kid, but it had the biggest impact on me, because it’s why I wanted to work here at Disney.

Q: Is there a story or a fairy tale you would really love to adapt or see adapted as an animated feature?

Burny: Paul Gallico’s The Abandoned. In fact, the studio owns the book and many of Walt’s Nine Old Men went to him and said this is a story they really wanted to do. This was the one picture that got away from them.

Q: How has animation at Disney changed since Sleeping Beauty?

Burny: When we first worked on Sleeping Beauty, we were trying to do a more classic approach to our animation; to be more exacting in the design. We were learning to use our “straights” against “curves,” to fit within Eyvind Earle’s stylized backgrounds. This was a slow process. Later on, we went to a looser approach on 101 Dalmatians, where we could speed up the process but were also trying to get back into the classic style of animation. Even today, we still try to keep a classic approach. Perhaps not as designed as on Sleeping Beauty, but still classic in our approach to contemporary titles.

Q: What’s the one thing you think nobody notices in Sleeping Beauty that they should pay attention to?

Burny: Watch the beautiful backgrounds. The animation is so well done, especially the faeries when they’re miniature. The restored aspect ratio now includes so much more imagery than has ever been seen before and the forest sequences are fantastic in Blu-ray.

Q: The Blu-ray presentation of Sleeping Beauty is marvelous. Is high definition worrisome to animators, since now even the smallest design flaws may become much more apparent?

Burny: No, I think quite the contrary. We want to see the image as beautiful as it was originally intended to be. Blu-ray — I love it!