Review: Cars 2

Cars 2 | John Lasseter, 2011

From 1995 through 2004, Pixar gave us Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, and The Incredibles. All of these were very good, with some of them touching greatness and are now classics. But then in 2006 they stumbled with Cars, a simple story of a hotshot rookie car finding out that sometimes the best things in life are simple. Up ‘til then, it was the most reviled movie by the studio, and yet it managed to get good reviews. It also wasn’t a hit that would make a studio want to make a sequel. However, since the release of that movie, Disney has sold over ten billion dollars in merchandise, and they made Pixar put out a sequel.

Well, five troubled years later, Cars 2 has been released, and it has now become Pixar’s lowest-rated film. It has a 34% on Rottentomatoes, which is lower than just about every Dreamworks movie. While they are right in that it is pretty disappointing for a Pixar film, it is actually not that bad. But after the string of great movies that got released after the first time that Pixar hit rock bottom (Ratatouille, WALL•E, Up, and Toy Story 3), it really leaves on wondering where things went wrong.

D50: The Princess and the Frog

Disney only released three CG animated films since Home on the Range. But with those three, plus the output by Dreamworks, Pixar, Blue Sky, etc, I longed for a traditionally animated film from the studio that started it all. So, when it was announced in 2006 that Disney was going to continue to make 2D films, and that the first one would be the movie that would eventually be known as The Princess and the Frog, I got super excited. Three years later it came out and it definitely did not disappoint.

The Princess and the Frog, like many of the great Disney movies, has a very simple story. It’s pretty much the Grimms’ The Frog Prince, but in reverse. But in like those movies, the story is only the foundation for the movie and it ends up succeeding due to other factors. One of the biggest reasons for the success is the work of writers/directors John Musker and Ron Clements. They left Disney when it was said that no more 2D films were going to be made. But then John Lasseter personally asked them to return to make this movie, and you can tell they were glad to come back as they ended up making their best film.

The best decision they made was set the story in New Orleans. By setting the movie there, they had a better opportunity to make magical, dark, and very joyful musical. Also, the setting gave the characters distinct personalities. There were the down-to-earth types like Tiana and her family, the grand ones like Charlotte, and her dad, and even for those with room to grow, like Prince Naveen.

Also, they could not have picked a better composer for this movie. Randy Newman’s traditional sound, usually joyful lyrics, and hits of jazz, blues, and gospel (the genres of music New Orleans is known for), makes for what may very well be Disney’s best musical score. From the first song, “Down in New Orleans,” performed by Dr. John, we know that it’s not going to be regular Disney musical. The music and lyrics are so cheerful that I honestly tap my foot every time I watch it. From then on, every musical number is a happy and beautiful affair. The only slow song, “Ma Belle Evangeline”, is still romantic, happy, and hopeful. That is my favorite song in the entire movie and one of my favorites of any Disney movie.

As for the performances, there are three great ones, a weak one, and the rest are fine. The weak one is Bruno Campos as Prince Naveen. It’s not bad as it ultimately fits the cockiness of the character, but it could have been better. The great ones are Anika Noni Rose as Tiana, Jim Cummings as Raymond, and the great Keith David as Dr. Facilier. Anika Noni Rose gives Tiana the proper amount of maturity as well as the proper amount of sass. She doesn’t over do it. And what a voice. Cummings is a lot of fun, and gives the character a soul that almost no one else could have given it. It is because of his performance before the end of the film that “his” scene in the end may very well be the most beautiful scene in Disney history. As for Keith David, his casting may just be the most inspired for a Disney villain. Dr. Facilier is a sinister, but charming man, and David captures that. He was simply given a great character to work with. The villain is another reason why the movie is great. It’s one of the studio’s darkest and has one of the most evil motivation$. And his death,  is great and creepy as he is literally (SPOILER ALERT) dragged to hell.

But the thing that most influenced my love for this is the animation. It is freaking gorgeous. It is more fluid than every other 2D animated film since The Little Mermaid, and quite easily the most colorful. I don’t know what it is, but there is something about traditional hand-drawn animation that is more warm, more magical that CG. Few animated film have ever reached the level of beauty of some of the scenes here. Yes, some of the best are aided by CG, but the efforts of the animators with their pen and paper are what ultimately makes things work. Seriously, has any CG movie had scenes as beautiful and magical as these?

nope.

The Princess and the Frog is one of the best Disney has ever offered us. The story may be thin, but it more than makes up for it with the directors’ passion and inspiration, great music, a great cast, and most importantly, gorgeous animation. Disney may not be making as much 2D animation as before (supposedly only one every two years), but just as long as it is out there, I’ll be happy. Bring on Winnie the Pooh!

D50: Bolt

I watched Bolt for the first time when it first came out on DVD. Back then, I didn’t dislike it, but it didn’t work for me. I don’t know if it was the mood that I was in or I may have been thinking about other things, but I didn’t feel it. Going into my second watch of it, I thought I was going to have the same reaction. But sitting down on a quiet day, with a clear mind made me see the film in a different light, and now I think it is one of the best that Disney has produced.

The story and the moral are not the most original. If you get down to the nitty gritty it is just about a lost dog looking for his owner. Yes, it’s a nice story, but one that should be put in moratorium for a while. But the story is only a small part of why the movie ultimately works. Chief among these things is the work of the filmmakers.

The movie had a troubled production. It was originally supposed to be written and directed by Chris Sanders and was called American Dog. It pretty much followed the same story line of a TV star dog who gets lost, believing he really is a super dog. However, it differed in that he gets lost in the desert and it involved a one-eyed cat and a mutated rabbit. But after an early screening, John Lasseter and others suggested some story changes. He refused to make them, and they had to start over.

Sanders was replaced by Byron Howard and Chris Williams, and they did an excellent job in making Bolt work. They created one of the most exciting action sequences in animation history, they (and the animators, of course) gave the characters realistic body language that helped when it came down to the emotional parts of the film. And the rest of the film is deliciously staged.

Speaking of animation, this is a definite improvement over Chicken Little and Meet the Robinsons. The character designs, and the overall look of the film is extremely inspired. According to the filmmakers they based the design and the look around the paintings of Edward Hooper and the cinematography of Vilmos Zsigmond. The result is one of the most attractive CGI animated films in recent memory. In fact, it oddly feels like a 2D animated film, even though it was made to be shown in 3D.

As for the performances, they are rather fantastic. John Travolta was perfectly cast, and after a while I forgot that I was listening to his voice. Miley Cyrus gives the best performance she will probably ever give. And Susie Essman and Mark Walton are great as Bolt’s sidekicks on his journey across America.

After a dip in quality and little push by Meet the Robinsons, Bolt finally put Disney back in its former glory. Let’s see if this new renaissance continues on their post-Tangled films.

D50: Meet the Robinsons

I remember that Meet the Robinsons was supposed to come out late in 2006, but then got pushed back to early 2007. After reading up on the production of the film, it turns out that this was because when Pixar and Disney merged and John Lasseter was made chief of animation, he asked the director to make some changes, such as making the villain more menacing, changing the ending, and add the memorable dinosaur scene. When it was all said and done, 60% of the movie was scrapped and replaced. In the end, the scars of the troubled production showed, but the changes made give it an emotional core that redeems the film and nearly puts it in line with the great Disney films.

When I say that the scars are visible I mean that there are some parts of the film that ultimately do not fit with how things develop in the beginning and in the end. Parts of the middle of the film are chaotic, almost to the point of annoyance and it has some of the extremely low-brow humor that plagued the awful Chicken Little. Also, the villain, while not bad, is not what I would expect from Disney. Sure, there is the villain and the villain’s puppet, but when it was revealed who was the master mind behind it all I was like “Huh? Really?” It’s these things that keep it from greatness, but it is the emotion that makes it so good.

This movie takes on the topic of a kid that was abandoned by his mother and his struggle to get adopted as he gets older. Not a groundbreaking topic, but it is one of the more serious that Disney has taken on. Despite the time traveling mumbo-jumbo, the topic is well developed and it made the movie have a strong emotional core. A lot of this is the result of the animator’s great work with the characters, as well as the performances from the actors. Every time I watch it, I have tears running down much cheeks by the end. I don’t know why, but despite the chaos, it gets to me.

In terms of animation and the technical side of things, it is fantastic. The animation is a serious improvement from Chicken Little. The character design could have been a lot better, but the environments the characters inhabit are extremely creative and colorful. Danny Elfman crafted an nice and unintrusive score that works with the film really well, etc. I can’t really complain about the overall production.

Meet the Robinsos hits all the right emotional notes, but the movie is kind of a mess. Still, it is extremely enjoyable, and almost one of the best Disney has done.

Miranda Would Have Pursed Her Lips: 2006 Cinema In Review

From what I remember and based on the record that I keep of the movies that I saw a particular year, 2006 wasn’t a particularly strong year. I mean, it wasn’t bad, and there were a few great movies, but I just didn’t feel the year as a whole. I mean, even the Oscar for best picture went to a genre movie and that almost never happens.

At this point I’d talk about he highlights of the trends of the movies of the year, but there weren’t any, really. I guess I could only say that it is impressive how The Devil Wears Prada managed to be more successful than Superman Returns (it helped that it was a great movie while Superman was crap). And that’s it I guess.

Here is 2006 in Review:

Cinematic Heaven: Toy Story 3

Toy Story 3 | Lee Unkrich, 2010

As adults, we tend to remember our childhood from events or things that were really important to us whether it is a vacation or our favorite toy. The latter thing is the one that we tend to take for granted the most. We grow up and we try to stop being childish, and it is not until later, when we come across such toy that we remember the joy that it brought us (like Citizen Kane). Since when I was growing up my family lived on a day-by-day basis, I could never have nice toys, but I do have nice memories of those that I did have, particularly of a little white teddy bear that I think was lost somewhere. One thing that I do have fond memories of is the first Toy Story. It came out when I was five years old, but I do remember all the buzz that led to its release. I never did see it in theaters (until last year), but my dad did all he could to find me a pirated VHS, and I freaking loved the movie. Even my oldest brother bought me a little but very cool Buzz Lightyear for my birthday with his entire salary for two weeks. I equally loved the sequel.

So, 11 years went by, and I only watched them a couple of times since until I bought them on Blu-ray. So, to say that I was highly anticipating the third installment is an understatement. I was my most anticipated movie ever. So, as I watched it I felt what one feels when they encounter something from their childhood. It’s not the same thing, but memories flood back in. And not only did it meet my extremely high expectations, it went above and beyond them.

Cinematic Heaven: Toy Story

Toy Story | John Lasseter, 1995

A few days ago, a few cousins came to my house with my uncle and aunt just to visit. They are 14, 13, and 9 years old. The 14 year old is the kind that just wants to hang out with his friends and is always glued to his cell phone. The 13 year old is one of those that only seem to talk about videogames. And the 9 year old is still figuring out what to do, but as of late he is the “too cool for school” type.  They said they were bored, and they had already seen Fantastic Mr. Fox, my latest to-go film for entertaining younger children. So I thought, “hey, Toy Story 3 is coming up soon, let’s watch the original.” They were like “whatev b” so I just put it on, and they went back to their texting and video gaming, and stuff. But once the Pixar logo came up and Andy is shown playing with Mr. Potato Head and Woody, they all looked at the screen and did not look away from the screen until the credits rolled. That right there is the power of good cinema, Toy Story, and Pixar.

List: 15 Years of Pixar

In a little bit over two months, Pixar will release their highly-anticipated 11th feature film, Toy Story 3, taking them back to the characters that started it all. I will celebrate the release of that movie (my most anticipated movie of the year, and easily the movie I’ve anticipated the most in my life) here in form of a trip down memory lane relating to the previous two movies. But for now, I thought it is the perfect time to rank the 10 films that Pixar has released so far.

As I said on my post about what Pixar should do about its future, I stated that the studio is the best animation studio currently working. Every release has been excellent, with one notable exception. What makes them stand appart from other studios like Dreamworks and Blue Sky is that the most important thing to them is the story and the vision of the director. Unless either one of those things is not good, they will not give the project the green light. And the greatness of this process of approval is shown in the final product. Every single movie from them (even the weaker one) has been critically acclaimed, has gotten at least one Oscar nomination, and have become box office hits. Plus, they capture my imagination every time I watch them. Now they are opening their doors to more filmmakers, and I can’t wait to see where Pixar goes from here.

So now, I present my ranked list of the 10 films Pixar has released so far.

P.S. I know Pixar has been around more than 15 years, but it is the 15th anniversary of Toy Story.

Review: Toy Story & Toy Story 2

Toy Story & Toy Story 2 | John Lasster, 1995 & 1999

In 1995, a movie was released by a little known studio called Pixar that would forever change cinema, the animation medium in particular. This movie was simply called Toy Story. It would immediately become a classic among film historians and the general audiences, and earned 3 Oscar nominations, including best original screenplay. Four years later, a sequel that was originally set to be released direct to video was released in theaters, with even more acclaim and went on to become the only animated movie to win a Golden Globe award for Best Picture.

Toy Story is about the jealousy that forms between two toys, Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks), who has always been his owner’s favorite toy, and Buzz (voiced by Tim Allen), the brand new toy with cool gadgets that believes he is the real thing. Toy Story 2 deals with the theme of the possibility of abandonment by their owner as he grows older and having the chance to be admired forever behind a glass case. These synopsis do not cover half of what each movie is about.

What more can I say about these movies that has not been said already? They are wonderfully written, feature great voice performances from the entire cast, and they are entertaining. Although animation is getting better and better each year, these movies are aging gracefully thanks to their timeless story telling and wonderful characters that every person will be able to relate to. To this day, they are better than anything Dreamworks animation and other studios have released, that is no small feat.

Although both movies were huge parts of my childhood, I had never seen them in theaters. Because of this, I decided to see them in their 3D re-release. I had a great time reliving two of the most influential movies of my childhood. It was also nice to see a new generation of moviegoers discover them.

Review: Race To Witch Mountain

This decade, Disney has seen a little bit of a renaissance. The purchase of Pixar, the release of Enchanted, the assigning John Lasseter as head of the Disney animation department, and a return to hand-drawn animation pointed to a return to greatness for Disney. It is not quite there yet, but the signs are there. One such sign is that Race to Witch Mountain is a surprisingly good movie.

Witch Mountain is a sequel/remake/re-imagining of two Disney movies that came out during the 70s. This time, the star is Dwayne Johnson as Jack Bruno, a cab driver in Las Vegas. One day, a couple of kids get in his car and ask him to drive them to a place in the middle of nowhere, and they have the cash to pay him. He does, then through a series of events, he gets involved with an aliens, the mob, and the government.

What makes this part of the road towards a Disney reinassance is how the story is not as childish as a regular Disney movie would be. The story is mature, and the performances from the child actors are great (I believe AnnaSophia Rob is one of the best actresses of her age group). Also, in features great visual effects, a pleasing score, and thrilling action sequences. Plus, any movie with Carla Gugino and Ciaran Hinds being a bad ass gets a good score for me. With that said, I did not like Johnson that much. He is a likable guy and tends to give good performances, but here he is reduced to once again playing the retired tough guy whose former boss wants him to get back in, and also he gets to play the clueless parental figure that I hate so much in movies.

Race to Witch Mountain is one of the better sci-fi efforts in a while. It is thrilling, fun, and features a great story. For t his reason, it is one more sign of the Disney’s return to form.