Remember when I reviewed The Swan Princess Christmas how my Animation Advent Calendar & this came up at the end of it? Well, finally it's come! Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the first movie, this is the second one in the Swan Princess series to be CGI after the revitalization starting with The Swan Princess Christmas back in 2012. Now that it's time to see Odette & Derek start a family of their own, will this movie be as charming as the first movie now a child is in the mix, or is it annoying as little bratty kids running around & shouting for no reason? I'm sorry, I can't be bothered to say 'Let's find out!' like I normally would because this movie is absolute rubbish! And if you can comprehend it, this is actually WORSE than the Christmas sequel, and I'm inviting you to witness the awfulness that is The Swan Princess: A Royal Family Tale & why it is so terrible!
Story: As the title suggests, the story involves Derek & Odette being pressured by Uberta into having a child, and they decide to adopt a girl called Alise after her father dies in a fire (Clearly so they don't have kids asking where babies come from & so parents don't have to talk about the birds & the bees just yet) She has trouble & doesn't want to talk, but she very quickly warms up to them despite sharing no dialogue (seriously, she calls Odette 'Mommy' at the end even though she's only known her for about 2 days & we barely see them) And do you know what the oddest thing about this is? This isn't actually the main plot! We barely get to see this side of it making the relationship between Odette, Derek & Alise severely underdevleoped! Heck, Alise barely talks & we never see them consider the fact her father died & it would have to take time for her to come to terms with her loss & to warm up to Odette & Derek. But, no! They immediately decide to adopt her when they discover she has no other living relatives & try to get her to talk during an annoying montage (I'll explain more in the songs section). Believe it or not, the main plot is much more absurd & surprisingly complicated! The Forbidden Arts before the events of the first movie changed up a prophecy where a swan princess will bring joy to the kingdom & there'll never be evil by making it the other way around! This alarms a group of squirrels, who decide to kidnap Alise & to use as bait to lure Odette & Derek to their hideout! Oh, and they're working with the Forbidden Arts and have a bad habit of using dialogue which parents thought was cool 10 years ago like 'swagger' (yes, it is annoying) I am totally serious when I say that this is the premise of the movie considering the advertising placed emphasis on the adopion, when in reality, it takes up 15 minutes at most! And who wrote & came up this crap if you may ask? Richard Rich! Let that sink in for a moment!
And if you must know, the middle of the movie is just filler with even more subplots like Uberta, Bromley & Rogers being taken hostage at the castle, Uberta & Rogers falling in love & the sidekicks serving absolutely no purpose! But the biggest problem I have is there's no connection to any of these plots. They all feel like they're competing against each other & they are still either underdeveloped or not explained very well! The movie only lasts just over an hour and it feels like an eternity! The plot is vacuous, ineptly put together, clumsy, and abysmal! Now do you understand why this is worse?
Animation: I'll give it this, the CGI is a bit better than the last attempt...but that's not really saying much. The character designs have the same flaws as the Christmas movie in that the 2D look doesn't transfer to 3D well making their faces virtually unrecognisable, and truthfully, really creepy! The eyes in particular are the reason why as they have a more cartoony look to them on all the characters! The character animation is a bit more polished than the last movie, but it overall feels like a PS2 game in a sense that it looks stiff or if something is sped up or slowed down. The texturing is still pretty bad on the skin, hair and the squirrel's fur but it's much more apparent with the clothing this time round. The special effects are awful, especially with the fire, smoke and magic. Actually, the only good effect or bit of animation in the entire movie was the opening titles because they're the only thing which Richard Rich has kept consistent from the movies! And that is a very bad sign! Another problem I have is the camera angles & editing of each scene, tending to speed up with the angles being really confusing as if it was a fanvid of The Sims 2! Like I said, it's a tiny bit better, but it's still completely terrible even by direct to DVD standards nowadays!
Characters: If you thought the past sequels butchered the characters, then it's nothing compared to this! Odette now is even more bland, uninteresting and annoying. She's just the typical kind pretty princess with nothing on her and we don't learn anything new at all! I know, she tries to get close to Alise & can relate to her because of both of them losing their respective fathers tragically, but it's pointless when we know that she's lost her father in the other movies! Derek is even more bland and stupid than before, with the personality of a lemon. Heck, he barely has any screen time & he doesn't even contribute much to the plot! Queen Uberta is still over the top like the other movies, but in this case it's incredibly annoying & insufferable! The fact she pretended to die in the beginning & pressured her son & daughter in-law to have a child was just sociopathic & she gets more & more annoying as the movie progresses. Then there's Alise, who has no personality whatsoever! She barely talks, we don't know anything about her, she barely has any screen time and is just used as a plot device rather than being her own character! Same goes to Speed, Puffin & Jean Bob by the way! In fact, they are so pointless that if you can easily take them out of the movie, and it would still be the same! The sidekick/comedy sidekick squirrels were annoying & utterly ridiculous that I just wanted to strangle them whenever they were onscreen. The Forbidden Arts (who talks for some reason now) is the non threatening villian who never explains why he wants Odette dead & is evil for just being evil! Then there's Scully, who is actually the closest thing to an interesting character in the movie! I'm not joking, and even then he's still boring & annoying! All the characters are generic, annoying, stupid & completely useless & I just want them to shut up!
Songs: Remember in the Christmas review when I mentioned they used modern music? Well now it's a whole lot worse! I don't even think I can consider it a proper musical as there are only 3 songs, but here goes: We Wanna Hear From You is an absimal attempt of a pop guitar song with rap in it (I'm not joking) with awful visuals as it pressures Alise into talking as Odette attempts to get close to her. Get The Job Done is awful, pointless & insufferable, so moving on! The lullaby Always With You that Odette sings to Alise is probably the closest to the best, but even then the lyrics and melody are generic and really boring. All I'm gonna say is just mute them if you decide to watch it cos they're filler & are a massive waste of time (I'll give my verdict as to whether or not you should watch this now, as if the other 3 sections weren't that important!)
This. Is. Pure. Crap. What else is there to say? The story has completely jumped the shark, the animation is atrocious, the characters are completely generic & uninteresting and the songs are just tripe! The only recommendation I can give is to just stay away from this! It's just a cashgrabber with no creativity whatsoever & it completely disregards anything from the first film! You have no idea how hard it was for me to stomach any of what was going on and it actually makes me angry when I think about it! ven if the hand drawn sequels were pretty drab (and also rather ridiculous), I'd take them any day over this CGI crap! If you want an animated movie which has a focus on adoption in a positive light and is actually heartwarming & developed, then go and watch Despicable Me! Richard Rich, I'm sorry to say, but you have murdered your own movie AGAIN! There better not be another sequel because I can't take any of this anymore & we are only 2 movies in to this franchise! In fact, 2 is just 2 too many!
Now, I remember seeing the trailer for this when I saw Tangled when it was out in cinemas with my friends and we all said the same thing after the trailer ended: that is the stupidest idea I've ever heard of! Why take a very tragic and well known Shakespearean play, and make it into an animated film made for the kiddies, but use something as uninteresting and creepy as garden gnomes to tell the plot?! I mean, that's like making, I don't know, an animated version of the Titanic with a rapping dog-oh wait that does exist...Anyway, directed by Kelly Asbury, who helped with the first two Shrek films, it was originally supposed to be made by Pixar, but John Lasseter didn't like the idea. Then the rights of the film were given to Miramax, but then they closed down. Finally, Starz Animation (who made Tim Burton's 9) in Toronto got the rights and the movie was distributed by Touchstone, a company owned by Disney. So can this movie show that garden gnomes can actually be an interesting subject to see on the big screen for kids, or would this movie make the old bard roll in his grave? Let's find out!
Story: Like I mentioned before, the ridiculous premise was what immediately turned me off from seeing this movie when it first came out. And I have to say, it gave me what I was expecting! The story is just way too simplistic and isn't strong enough to hold onto a 90 minute film. Only the basics of the Romeo and Juliet story are in the movie, with the forbidden romance, Tybalt being killed, the families at war yadda, yadda, yadda. The changes made are beyond stupid & don't make any sense, and are underdeveloped or have no purpose but to make the running time longer! The humour is just awful! It consists of bad pop culture references, or very very lame gnome or Shakespeare puns which are painful and annoying! The ending is the worst part because not only is it insulting to the source material and is censored for children, but it's also predictable and makes the movie very inconsistent with the concept of how gnomes die! Gnomeo's father is meant to be dead & it's established being smashed in the gnome world means you're dead. But when Tybalt dies, at the end of the film he's seen alive, but glued together! I mean, come on, you pretty much contradicted your own gnome rules! Talk about a plot hole! Actually, is it me or is it like Toy Story but with gnomes? But here's the reason why the whole being inanimate thing worked in Toy Story, and why not in here! Even if the toys were in different places and were in different positions, it could easily be thought with the humans that their kids left them there. But in Gnomeo and Juliet, we're talking about garden gnomes, which would be kept in the same position in the same place all the time! If I noticed one disappeared or changed position, I'd be creeped out! The romance is extremely rushed and it doesn't actually feel like the protagonists are star-crossed lovers, but rather just a generic 'badass' couple we've seen in other animated films like Shrek. It doesn't really help it was directed by the same guy who worked on the movies! So, overall, I hate the story! It's uninspired, boring, generic & insulting to Shakespeare!
Animation: even if I don't like the plot, I have to admit the animation isn't bad. First off, I will say that it's very colourful and that it has a unique look. The textures are done well and the gnomes actually look like they're made of porcelain, and the sound editing helps with the chips and whenever someone touches them. Also, the backgrounds are very well done and are almost realistic, even though for nearly the entire movie, we're only in the back garden of someone's house. The character animation is a bit inconsistent ranging from realistic to more cartoony depending on each character. But there's a huge problem I have, and it's the character designs! I know, they're supposed to be gnomes, but I feel like they're not likeable designs and I found Gnomeo's very odd because it's as if they want us to find him bizarrely attractive and James McAvoy's voice doesn't suit it! Also, it doesn't feel like anything new, it just looks your generic animated film instead of anything amazing like other animated films out there! I can't say that it's bad, in fact it's good, but the flaws I mentioned are pretty big.
Probably one of the most disturbing things I've ever seen
Characters: I get the feeling that the part the writers cared the least about were the characters because none of them are worth liking or remembering! Most are just there to be one-off jokes or bland versions of the original characters voiced by millions of celebrities! First, there's Gnomeo, voiced by James McAvoy, and my problem with him is that he's just stupid. What I mean is he's just so naively optimisitc everything will be OK despite his romance with Juliet obviously being forbidden! Juliet, voiced by Emily Blunt, is just the generic sweet yet badass girl trying to be all sassy, and it doesn't really help that they try to make her original, even though we have seen this kind of character many times in modern animated women (again, look at Fiona from Shrek)! Nanette just annoyed me, which is a surprise for me since I normally like Ashley Jensen and she's just so unfunny in this! Tybalt, voiced by Jason Statham is just the cliched jerk with nothing else on him, and is an awful and bland villain! Benny, voiced by Matt Lucas annoyed me as well, and he was clearly the comedy relief, but he never made me laugh! Featherstone, a garden flamingo is the equivalent of Friar Lawrence and everyone loves him because of one scene where he lost his love, but he reminded me too much of Ray from The Princess and the Frog and annoyed me in the rest of the movie! Heck, they're both voiced by the same actor, Jim Cummings! The fawn voiced by Ozzie Osborne wasn't funny as well as them tiny gnomes with them irritating voices & ugly designs, and Lord Montague, voiced by Michael Caine, was just the generic overprotective father to Juliet! The only thing I will say is that the best character was the Hulk Hogan voiceover for the advertisement of the lawnmower: he's not in it for long, he at least made me chuckle a tiny bit, and he knew when to shut up! This is probably the worst part of the movie! It's not that the story is insultingly told by the original characters, it's told by the half-assed characters I just want to shut up whenever they appear!
I knew this would be a dumb film just based on it's premise! Gnomeo & Juliet is just a lazy piece of crap with an insulting & generic story, paper thin & bland characters but some nice animation. I wouldn't really recommend this to anyone, especially not Shakespeare fans who'd easily bash this film, and children might find some of the unsubtle adult humour funny. I'll just address the big elephant in the room with the music because it's nothing but Elton John songs, and they have no purpose whatsoever to be in the movie! They're poorly placed in sequences & even the score has some of his music in it! It's insufferable & annoying, & being an executive producer doesn't count! Now, I know there'll be a sequel to do with Gnomeo & Juliet meeting Sherlock 'Gnomes' (haha(!)) and all I have to say is...WTF?!
Hi guys, and Happy Valentine's Day! *sighs* the day of love, loved and despised for singletons like me! Sorry, being single sucks at the moment & have never been in a relationship so, moving on! So, why eleven if I could've done ten? It's Valentine's Day! Of course almost every love song in an animated film is good, that's why the Oscars love them! I was going to do twenty, there was that many, but I decided on eleven because I didn't want the post to be boring and tedious! Keep in mind this list is my own opinion, and if you prefer different songs or you think that they're ordered up wrong, that's cool! Everyone's entitled to their own opinion and I'm not stopping anyone to change it! Anyway, let's take a look at the list and I hope you enjoy it!
11) Accidentally In Love from Shrek 2! This has got to easily be my favourite song in the movie! Sung by the pop rock band The Counting Crows, it's placed during a montage of Shrek and Fiona's honeymoon, placing emphasis on how they weren't supposed to fall in love in the first movie, but are still together. The visuals also complement the song, featuring some funny gags and puns including a cameo from Ariel, and a Sound of Music reference only for them to be chased by a mob, but also making it sweet and romantic at the same time. The song ended up being nominated for an Oscar in 2004, but lost to Al otro lado del rio from The Motorcycle Diaries. A little known fact is this wasn't originally gonna be in the movie. It was used at the last minute because the original song used for the montage wouldn't fit in time with the animation, but the animated sequences were locked which meant they couldn't be changed. After lead singer Adam Duritz saw the sequence with no music, he was inspired to write it, which helped since he had a girlfriend at the time. I just can't help but love the catchy tune and sweet lyrics, it's a guilty pleasure of mine and if I can be honest, I much prefer the version used in the movie (the one in the video) rather than studio version in the soundtrack.
10) I See The Light from Tangled! I know I've said in the past that I'm not a huge fan of the songs from Tangled, but I See The Light is probably the only exception besides Mother Knows Best. Paying tribute to past Disney love songs and composed by Alan Menken, it has a bit more of a contemporary feel to it rather than being like a Broadway song. The visuals are just gorgeous, with all the lanterns illuminating the night sky with Rapunzel and Eugene in a small boat realizing their love for one another while Rapunzel has finally achieved her lifelong dream of seeing them, kind of like Kiss The Girl from The Little Mermaid. Wouldn't that just be the ultimate date?! Disney pop singer and actress Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi, who you might know as the title character in the TV show Chuck, provide the voices for Rapunzel and Eugene, and they surprisingly manage to complement each other very well. The song also manages the tug on your heartstrings, which is probably it's biggest charm next to the breath-taking and sophisticated visuals.
9) I Won't Say (I'm In Love) from Hercules! This song could be considered the anomaly on this list since it's not about two characters expressing their love for each other, but rather someone denying their love because of past experiences. This is the case for Megara, as she's secretly seducing Hercules in order to help her master Hades find a weakness so he can defeat him, although she's really starting to fall for him. Hercules was my favourite Disney film as a kid, mostly for the character Meg and the music, despite it being rather odd that they're using gospel music in a movie set in Greece and I Won't Say I'm In Love is my favourite song in it. Broadway actress Susan Egan does a great job singing while still showing Meg's snarky side! I Won't Say I'm In Love...pretty much the perfect song about being in the friendzone!
8) Far Longer Than Forever from The Swan Princess! Like I mentioned in my review, I can't help but love this song! It's about the protagonists, Derek and Odette expressing their eternal love for each other despite being far away . The visuals and editing, including the back to back camera rotation and transitioning from scene to scene kind of remind me of a music video from the 90s promoting a movie like Disney did. The music itself is rather minimal, but it doesn't really matter and it is a very sweet song with the singers carrying it out perfectly. Broadway singers Howard McGillin and Liz Callaway do a great job as Derek and Odette's singing voices, and in a way, I don't understand why this song has been put into obscurity because it's actually a really good song! Far Longer Than Forever, the perfect love song for a monogamous marriage!
7) That's All I've Got To Say from The Last Unicorn! The Last Unicorn was one of my favourite movies growing up, and I just find this a sweet song about how clumsy courtship can be. It shows Prince Lir finding it hard to express his love for Lady Amalthea, a young woman who was a unicorn, but. I think the thing which surprises everyone is how good Jeff Bridge's singing voice is, considering he was more famous for his acting at the time rather than singing. It could be argued that it's trying to bring back the love song in an animated film trope because of Disney being in their dark ages, but I digress. I actually like how psychological the song is as Almalthea is conflicted with continuing her quest to find the rest of the unicorns, or to remain human and be with the prince. The animation is just beautiful with Amalthea and Liir trying to express their love for each other, with all the transitions and editing being like a music video. Overall, an underrated song from a very underrated film...that's all I've got to say!
6) Kiss The Girl from The Little Mermaid! Although I have massive gripes with Ariel and Eric as a romantic couple, this song just can't help but make me root for them as Sebastian uses his charms to get Eric to kiss Ariel so she can achieve her dream of being a human forever. I love the Jamaican vibe with the calypso music starting from slow and intimate, to being a full blown number as Ariel and Eric begin to realize their growing love while Sebastian and other colourful fish and birds serenade them in a small boat in a lagoon. I just can't help but love it, and personally, I think it's better than Under The Sea! Kiss The Girl, the perfect song for a first date!
5) You'll Be in My Heart from Tarzan! OK, I know this may be a bit of an odd choice, but I decided the list should include at least one song about the love between a parent and child, instead of just between romantic couples! The song is about the love a parent has for a child, which in the case of the movie, is the gorilla Kala and baby Tarzan, who she decides to raise after his parents are killed by the leopard Sabor. Composed and sung by singer Phil Collins, it has a contemporary pop feel to it like the other songs in the movie. Collins allegedly wrote the song for his then young daughter, actress Lilly Collins (the one from Mirror Mirror & Mortal Instruments), and I can understand why with the calming lyrics, almost like a lullaby. I can understand why this won the Oscar in 1999 for Best Original Song and I consider it to be underrated compared to other songs from the soundtrack!
4) If I Never Knew You from Pocahontas. OK, technically I'm cheating since this was a deleted song, but it was included in the 10 anniversary DVD and a version by Jon Secada and Shanice is used in the end credits, so in a way it counts. The song in the movie takes place after John Smith takes the blame for Kocoum's murder and is sentenced to death by Chief Powhatan, Pocahontas' father. Pocahontas goes to his tent to apologize for everything, but Smith uses the song as a thank you to Pocahontas and expresses his love for her and how he'd rather die than never know her. The song is beautiful, with the melody and lyrics by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz really helping set the scene, with the minimal visuals helping with the intimate atmosphere. I know Mel Gibson is a controversial actor, but I rather enjoyed his singing in this, with him and Broadway singer Judy Kuhn really complementing each other, and the way Gibson sings to Pocahontas really makes the song feel very comforting. The reason why it was cut out in the original run was because kids at the test screenings found it boring, as well as Menken feeling it slowed down the film. Pocahontas isn't really one of my favourite Disney films, but this song and the music in general are probably the strongest things about it. Overall I consider this an underrated Disney song and should be given more credit!
3) Can You Feel The Love Tonight from The Lion King! Probably my favourite song in the movie! The movie's version of the song shows childhood friends Simba and Nala reuniting and realizing their love for one another, while Timon and Pumbaa relay the events and are worried they've lost their friend. I love the tribal feel to it, with the visuals being fun and adorable at the same time with Simba and Nala playing around culminating in them. And honestly, that's all I've got to say about the movie's version. I love Elton John's version, it's a classic! I personally find it much better and he's pretty much the entire reason why I love this song, but I'm not saying the movie's version is bad! Nonetheless, it's still a sweet and romantic song written by the best in the music industry!
2) A Whole New World from Aladdin! Just listening to the first bars of this song immediately make you think of Disney! It shows the most iconic scene in the movie with Aladdin and princess Jasmine on a magic carpet rides, well, showing her a whole new world from her palace. The visuals are just gorgeous, and are so iconic that other movies like Let Me be Your Wings from Thumbelina and more recently How To Train Your Dragon have been accused of ripping it off! Singer Brad Kane and Broadway actress and singer Lea Salonga (well known for being in musicals like Miss Saigon & Les Miserables & would eventually be Mulan's singing voice) provide the singing voices for Aladdin and Jasmine, and they complement each other perfectly. I surprisingly like the funny moments during the scene as Aladdin and Jasmine fly around the world like the Sphinx's nose falling & the bird's WTF reaction to seeing them flying. Peabo Bryson's & Regina Belle's version is also great, but I much prefer Kane & Salonga's version, and I can understand why this won the Oscar for Best Original Song.While it is a very iconic and romantic song, it was a toss up between this and my number one choice for the top! Still, this is good enough to be very close to the top, and I feel like I'm flying whenever I listen to it!
Before number 1, I'll reveal my honourable mention!
So Close from Enchanted! I know the movie is part animated and part live action, but I can't help but love this song nonetheless! It takes place at the ball in New York while Robert and Giselle dance the King and Queen's Waltz, realizing their love for one another despite being engaged to other people. Yes, the rhythm doesn't fit that of an actual waltz, but I still enjoy it nonetheless and is probably the most contemporary song in the film next to Ever Ever After. The visuals are gorgeous, it's as if it was intended to be animated, but made in live action! Probably the most obvious reason why it isn't on the list is that it's in a live action sequence, not an animated one! Despite that, I love this song and it makes me feel like dancing whenever I hear it! And my number 1 Best Love Song from an Animated Film is...
1) Beauty and the Beast from, well, Beauty and the Beast! Come on, after my Beauty and the Beast review, you knew this would be on top! Composed by Alan Menken & written by lyricist Howard Ashman, it's during the iconic dance sequence with Belle and the Beast falling in love, and it's fricking adorable! Sorry, I love to girl out when watching it, I can't help it! Sung by Broadway legend Angela Lansbury, she just nails it perfectly as Mrs Potts, and I love how it's not sung by the main couple, but rather someone relaying the events as to how much their love has grown. The visuals are just gorgeous, the ballroom is amazing to look at with the sweeping camera angles from the ceiling with the cherubs watching and the shot from the chandelier panning down to Belle and the Beast dancing. As for the Peabo Bryson and Celine Dion version, I do enjoy it during the end credits, particularly in Bryson's part, but I personally love Lansbury's much more! I find it sad listening to this as it was Ashman's final project he worked on, and this is probably the best he's ever done next to Part of Your World from The Little Mermaid! Nevertheless, it's my favourite song from the movie and I still love it now & will continue to do so in the future! Beauty and the Beast, my personal favourite love song from an animated film ever!
Two days before Valentine's Day, I decided to review one Disney movie which mainly focused on romance, and what better one than a Disney Princess one? So after thinking about it, I decided to go with what people consider Disney's greatest love story, Beauty and the Beast! Based on Jean lePrince de Beaumont's French fairytale La Belle et la Bete, this is the 34th film in the Disney Animated canon, and came at the start at the Disney Renaissance after The Little Mermaid. It had a troubled production from the start when Walt Disney wanted to do it in the 40s, but had to scrap it alongside other project. Disney tried in the mid 80s, but they had trouble with adapting the story as there were only 2 characters in the original story, and it wasn't intended to be a musical. With the help of directors Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale, screenwriter, Linda Woolverton, lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken, they managed to fix it up and put it back in production in 1989, after the huge success of The Little Mermaid. Sadly, it would be Ashman's last project he ever worked on as he died of AIDS on March 14th 1991 and never saw the final movie. But on a brighter note, it became the first ever animated film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, even though it lost to Silence of the Lambs. So does this movie show that beauty really is skin deep, or is it as ugly as a beast? Let's find out!
Story: When it comes to the plot, Beauty and the Beast isn't exactly the easiest of stories to adapt into animation. But somehow, Disney managed to do it! The changes they made were definitely for the better, as the romance is nicely developed and not one plot overshadows the other. The romance is just beautiful and perfect, as Belle and the Beast's relationship begins to progress only when he starts to be nice to her and when they both start to put their defences down and get to know one another. Not once does it feel forced or contrived, it's just adorable once the Beast starts to be nice to Belle. I mean, it's not like past Disney romances where they fall in love at first sight or in a matter of days and decide they're meant for each other. Heck, Belle's desire isn't just to get married or find love, she just wants something even she can't comprehend! The comedy is also funny, and doesn't rely on adult humour, as the household objects also serve a purpose as to further develop the growing chemistry, and have distinct personalities. The pacing is also well done, and nothing feels rushed at all. If anything, I was surprised with the running time of because it felt longer, in a good way! I think what I love most is it knows it's a fairy tale and it should be treated like one instead of just having small elements and calling it a 'fairy tale'. Honestly, I don't have any qualms with the plot at all! Seriously, this one of them rare movies where there I don't have any problems whatsoever in terms of writing, it's simply perfect!
Animation: Even after 23 years, the animation it still very very beautiful to look at. I don't think there's any other character design which could fit each one perfectly, especially for Belle and the Beast, with the latter showing his emotions through his eyes and Belle being beautiful both inside and out. I know people have complained about the design for the human version of the Beast, but I personally don't mind it since she and the audience fell in love for the Beast for his personality, not his looks! The character animation is well done with a realistic approach on the humans, but I find it's much more creative on the non human characters like the household objects with Lumiere, Mrs Potts and, actually all of them! Even the Beast's movements reminds me of a wolf when he's more, well, beastly! What really impressed me was the scope of the movie, with the forests and the. It also has a French feeling to it through the architecture, like in the castle or the village where Belle lives. Speaking of places, the backgrounds are what impressed me the most! They really are beautiful to look at with the detail being perfect and having a fairy tale feeling, especially with the architecture of the Beast's castle. Glen Keane's animation on the transformation sequence just blew me away and is probably one of the best sequences in 2D animation I've ever seen, next to the dance sequence! The use of computer animation in the ballroom also impressed me, even if it may look really dated compared to others (in 1991, it would've been a marvel to look at) with the sweeping angles in the dance sequence being amazing to look at. The animation is just stunning & it just makes me wonder why 2D animation has died down in recent years!
Characters: I don't think I've ever seen such an amazing cast of characters with three dimensionality, personality and memorability. First, there's Belle, the oddball of her village because of her love for reading and wants to experience adventure. Also, unlike other Disney Princesses at the time, she doesn't fall prey to what the men around her tell her to do, is intelligent, and doesn't listen to what anyone says about her. She's also open minded as she starts to have feelings for the Beast and cares deeply about her family, and you genuinely feel like she's lost everything when she agrees to take her father's place as the beast's prisoner. The Beast is also likeable, as he believes he could never be loved by anyone because of his looks, and he's not really sure as to how courtship works with Belle. Personally, I think he could be the best Disney character ever written for his complexity. Yes, I adore Belle, but I find his character arc being more interesting as he starts to have feelings for Belle and becomes a kinder person for her. Gaston, the villain, wants to marry Belle just so he can have a trophy wife and for his reputation as the town hero, and wants to kill the beast because he thinks he's in the way of what he wants. I like that he's more realistic . The household objects like Lumiere, Cogsworth and Mrs Potts also have funny and distinct personalities, with Lumiere being a Casanova love expert, Cogsworth being the punctual and bossy clock, and Mrs Potts being the kind and motherly teapot! I love that they don't force Belle and the Beast to get together, but let them take time to fall in love. Belle's father Maurice is also a great character, I love how loving he is to his daughter and can also be a bit eccentric at the same time, being an inventor. LeFou, Gaston's lanky can also be funny when commentating on the action going on and whenever he helps Gaston try to accomplish his goal of marrying Belle! This is probably the best aspect in the film next to the plot, as the characters in this helped see Disney from a new perspective, especially with how they represented women through Belle!
Songs: This movie has often been considered by critics as the best Broadway musical on the silver screen at the time of it's release...and they're right! Alan Menken and Howard Ashman's work is incredible, and unlike The Little Mermaid, it has a more Broadway feel to it and is much more consistent. The score is very enchanting and magical, fitting the visuals perfectly. Songs like Be Our Guest, Gaston or Belle are big showstoppers and have fun and catchy tunes are well as some funny lyrics, with the visuals fitting them perfectly. Even the small ones like Something There or the reprise of Belle are rather sweet and still have a purpose as they progress the character development or the romance between Belle and the Beast. I'm also going to go over Human Again since that was added into the movie in the DVD I have, and I love how it shows the curse from the household object's perspective, being a fun Broadway style number which surprisingly integrates well with the rest of the movie (I know it was in the Broadway version & that was why they put it back in!) But it's obvious which one's the best. I know it, you know it and Disney knows it: Beauty and the Beast! It's such a sweet and romantic song with amazing visuals, and Angela Lansbury just nails it with her singing! It brings a tear to my eye every time I watch it! Alan Menken & Howard Ashman's work is probably the best I've ever seen next to The Little Mermaid & Little Shop Of Horrors, this movie is the perfect farewell for the late Howard Ashman in terms of music & lyrics!
The best word to describe this movie is beautiful. Beauty and the Beast is a gem of a film with a heartwarming and romantic story, amazing animation, unforgettable and endearing characters and songs which will get stuck in your head! This is a perfect watch for Valentine's Day for all you lovers out there, and even if you're single, you can just girl out to how adorable it is! Children will also enjoy this as much and well, it's actually perfect for all the family no matter how old you are! Personally, I think this is Disney's most perfect telling of a fairy tale ever! It's not only one of my favourite Disney movies, it's one of my favourite movies period, and I can understand why it got that Best Picture nomination & Golden Globe win! I love watching it now and will continue to do so in the future, it's simply perfect! Story: 10/10 Animation: 10/10 Characters: 10/10 Songs: 10/10 Overall: 10/10
This animated film was made by Warner Brothers Animation back in 1998, around the time the Disney Renaissance was coming to an end which had movies like Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King and The Little Mermaid. It would be the second film for Gary Oldman that year, with Lost in Space being the second one where he played another obvious bad guy. Now, Warner Brothers were considered around the time to be making Disney knock-offs which proved to be box office bombs like Ferngully or Cats Don't Dance. It's important to point out production only took a year and it proved to be difficult for the animators and started to give up on the movie, even have the head layout department being laid off and some of the animators admitted the problems were from working around the clock and that trying to copy Disney was a bad idea. Anyway, can the magic of Excalibur show Disney and King Arthur in another animation studio can work together, or were the animators right and this shows the flaws of copying Disney? Let's find out!
Story: The plot is a complete mess from the very start. It's about a woman named Kayley, who dreams of becoming a knight like her deceased father and goes off on an adventure to save Camelot with a blind hermit named Garrett and a two headed dragon, after the sword Excalibur is stolen by Ruber, a rebel knight of the round table who wants to take over the kingdom just because he's evil. Although it's loosely based on a spin off book to the King Arthur legend called The King's Damosel, clearly Warner Brothers took some 'inspiration' from the films of the Disney Renaissance when writing it! I just want to point out that this movie is completely different from the book and if you're expecting something like Disney's The Sword in the Stone for an animated King Arthur movie, that is not what you're going to get with this movie! It utilises every Disney cliche possible at the time including a Disney Princess-esque character wanting more despite society not letting her, the snarky love interest who doesn't get along with her at first but then start to fall in love, the 'funny' though really annoying animal sidekicks, the adventure where they have to find the deus ex machina which will of course show good wins over evil and the compulsory musical numbers! It's predictable and actually really boring because you immediately know what's going to happen. But the biggest problem I have with the story is the lack of logic. Nothing is explained in the movie because they couldn't be bothered to explain the concept of Camelot or what the characters do because they don't have as much screen time as they should. It's just as bad as having little exposition rather than too much of it, Warner Brothers!
Animation: if there's something that Warner Brothers did right, it's how they handled the animation. Although the character designs can be argued to be taken from Disney, in particular Kayley for Belle, they still manage to have a distinct style which can be recognisable. The character animation is also really well done, going for a more realistic approach, even if it's not as fluid as other 2D animated films like Disney or Don Bluth. It's more the non human characters which impressed me in terms of character animation, in particular the different magical plants in the forest Garret lives in and the weapon/rock minions Ruber creates. The backgrounds of Camelot look a bit generic, but they still manage to make it look grand with the giant landscapes surrounding it. What impressed me with the background animation was the forest, being very colourful and creative. If I had one criticism, it would be how they handle the computer animation on the Rock Biter rip off. It sticks out like a sore thumb and it's not very well integrated with the 2D environment. However, I have seen worse versions of this, but it still bothers me. Also, at time it would range from a bit cheap in scenes which aren't that important and there doesn't seem to be much lighting in some parts, making the movie look completely flat. The animation may not be as good as other Warner Brothers animated films like The Iron Giant, but it still manages to have a distinct style in itself.
The main character Kayley, voiced by Jessalyn Gilsig (Terri from Glee) is just boring! They make her out to be an independent brave heroine just because of her dream to become a knight like her father, when in reality, she's constantly rescued and does nothing! Garrett, a blind hermit voiced by Cary Elwes, is the only developed and remotely likeable character in the movie, but unfortunately, he's nothing new. Ruber is just awful as a villain, and I feel sorry for Gary Oldman with the clumsy dialogue he's given and how nonsensical and over the top he is! Oh yeah, and he has no motives for being evil whatsoever, he's just evil for being evil and wants to take over Camelot. But at least he's not as bad as Cornwall and Devon, voiced by Don Rickles and Eric Idle, who annoyed the hell out of me! They're the compulsory comedy relief sidekicks like the Genie from Aladdin, except not funny! Then there's the chicken axe...yeah! Pointless, one dimensional and not funny! The big guy himself, King Arthur, voiced by Pierce Brosnan, is entirely useless besides the movie having Camelot in the title and same goes for Merlin! It shows they could make great characters if they wanted to, but they didn't put enough effort in because of the fact they want to try and copy Disney.
Songs: Yeah, of course this is an animated musical if they try to rip off every Disney cliche! Some I actually liked, but others were just pointless and annoying! On My Father's Wings, despite being a Disney Princess-esque song is actually pretty enjoyable and I like the Celtic vibe to it, but I don't like the lyrics. I Stand Alone isn't that bad, but it's entirely pointless with the scene following it. The villain's song has no tune whatsoever and the lyrics are just bad! Yes, it may explain what he wants to do, albeit very vaguely, but the singer is just so over the top and poorly executes it (it's not Gary Oldman, it's an uncredited singer & I can understand why he didn't want his name in the movie)! If I Didn't Have You is essentially a Big Lipped Alligator song: it has completely different tone to the rest of the movie, is never ever mentioned again and comes right out of nowhere. And it's awful and annoying, clearly trying to be like Friend Like Me from Aladdin with the pop culture references and Don Rickles and Eric Idle are bad singers! For those who don't know, the famous Celine Dion song The Prayer came from this movie! In here, it's just really downgraded with the visuals, and they don't even match to what Juliana is singing about! Another problem I have is that the singing voices of the characters don't sound like the speaking actors, especially Garret, and it can be very distracting when trying to listen to the song.
Quest For Camelot is essentially Warner Brothers attempt of Disney gone wrong with a dull and underdevleoped story, very nice animation, boring characters and a mix of good & pointless songs! I'd only recommend this to people who like non-Disney animated musicals like Anastasia, Thumbelina and The Prince of Egypt, even if this is a weaker edition. I can see why this has been put into obscurity, but it's a shame the actual good Warner Brothers animated films were bombs like Cats Don't Dance and The Iron Giant, both of which I will eventually review! And if you really want to watch an animated film starring Gary Oldman as an over the top yet intimidating villain, just go and watch Kung Fu Panda 2, he's awesome! Story: 2/10 Animation: 7/10 Characters: 2/10 Songs: 5/10 Overall: 3/10
Now, before I go into a little behind the scenes info about this movie before reviewing it, I was going to review this film first when I started this blog because I saw it around the time, but when I saw Despicable Me 2, I thought it was more sufficient as a starting review, and I had more to say. I always had Epic on my mind because after rewatching it after renting it on DVD, I found that I actually have more to say. Anyway, Blue Sky's most recent film, Epic, is based on the book The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs by William Joyce, who's also an executive producer for this adaptation, and was also supervisor of Dreamwork's Rise of the the Guardians, which also happens to be another adaptation of one of his book series. I would also like to point out that the movie's protagonist is named after Joyce's daughter, Mary Katherine Joyce who died at the age of 18 from brain cancer and that the rights to make an adaptation of the book were originally given to Pixar, but were given to Fox, who distributes Blue Sky's movies. So is this movie as epic as the pretentious title, or is there actually a reason behind why Blue Sky called it that? Let's find out!
Story: if there's anything epic about this movie, it's most definitely not the story! I've heard people compare it to Ferngully and Avatar, and they were right! What do they have in common? Well, someone is transported/shrunk to a new world where they have to save the environment from the bad guy because they're evil and there's a huge war with nature while the protagonist is pretty much inadvertently double crossing them as they get to know the people of the new world. Yeah...I'll give it credit that Epic doesn't make the environmental message as preachy as the other movies I mentioned and there are pretty cool action scenes, but they throw in way too many subplots added in! It's as if the writers thought the main plot wouldn't interest the kids enough, so they decided to add in other cliches and comedy relief so they can Nod's story about being a rebellious Leafman goes nowhere and is predictable, the romance between MK and Nod is pretty bad because it's underdeveloped and they have no chemistry whatsoever and the relationship between MK and her estranged dad is really underdeveloped. I mean, the situation sounds good, but it wasn't handled well and there isn't any time for it to be properly discussed. I mean, the loss of a parent at an age where it's easy to get emotional is a very serious subject and the movie should've spent time to actually see how it affects Mary Katherine and her dad never seems to think about it until he realizes what an idiot he's been and how he lost everything, only until he discovers everything he's been obsessing over is true and goes back to being his idiotic self! So, pretty much, the movie wasted a perfectly good subject matter! Even Lilo and Stitch did it better even with the relatively kid friendly main plot! Sorry, about that, had to get it off my chest! So is there anything good about any of the subplots? Well, there's one with Ronin being in love with Tara, but that's only in the beginning and the end of the movie, and like I mentioned, the environmental message is less preachy, but it's replaced with a very basic good vs. evil plot!
Animation: now here's the part which surprised everyone when the trailer was first shown and discovered it was made by the same guys who did the Ice Age and Rio movies! The style is far different than the cartoony style that Blue Sky normally does, and it looks amazing! The character designs are more realistic and thee attention to detail on the skin is perfect. The environments are very innovative where the Leafmen and the Boggans live with the contrasting colour schemes, as well as the. The attention to detail of everything is perfect from the textures of the clothes, the armour of the Leafmen & the fur of the animals. The fact everything is to scale makes it even more amazing to watch, and the scene which really shows this was when MK, Nodd & Ronin go to her dad's house. What impressed me the most was the character animation, being very creative with the theory that when you're the size of a bugger, they would appear to move much faster from a human's perspective, with scenes like Ozzie the dog moving very slow from MK's perspective being great to look at, and is probably the highlight of the film. With beautiful animation like this, I feel like this shows Blue Sky can do much more, even though we have to be bombarded with bad Ice Age movies with generic animation!
Characters: This movie clearly shows the flaws with Blue Sky when it comes to their characters: there are too many for us to care about and most are just there to get celebrity voice actors. MK was just OK. I didn't like Amanda Seyfried's acting (I like her as an actress, but she failed to impress me here) but I liked how MK dealt with everything around her like her mother's death and trying to save the pod. Nod just annoyed me. I don't know whether it was how he was written or Josh Hutcherson, but he was just too cocky for me to care about and his plot was predictable. Mandrake, the villain, is probably one of the most forgettable villains I have ever seen. He's just too cliched and reminded me way too much of Hades from Hercules, even though Christoph Waltz does a pretty good job. As for Mub and Grub, I expected to be really annoyed by them going in with all the advertising & trailers, but I unexpectedly found them funny. OK, they're not the funniest sidekicks ever and they're clearly trying to be like Disney animal sidekicks, but they made me chuckle a bit, thanks to Aziz Ansari and Chris O'Dowd's voice acting!
Noticing a pattern here?
Anyway, there's also Professor Bomba, who I found annoying and a bit of a dick to begin with ignoring his daughter whose mother just died, but what got me confused with him was whether or not he was meant to be a comedy relief because of his clumsiness, but at other times, he goes all serious when he realizes how stupid he's been for years obsessing over tiny people which cost him his marriage! Anyway, there's Queen Tara, who is pretty important to the plot, but I thought she was just there to get Beyonce's name on their ads! And she can't act! Yes, I know she was in other movies like Dreamgirls and The Pink Panther, but I never really thought she was cut out to be an actress, she should just stick to singing (which she thankfully is!) There's Bufo, who was entirely pointless besides Blue Sky having Pitbull's name on their ads and Nim Gallu, who's kind of helpful with the plot, but it's messed up with Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler's casting and obviously, he gets an entirely pointless musical number (I'll admit, it's pretty catchy)! Then there's the only character worth caring about, Ronin! Seriously, why wasn't the movie about him? He's a stoic Leafman warrior who's too serious about his job, but he's shown to be caring and is in love with Queen Tara. And Colin Farrell is probably the best out of the celebrities they got for this film!
Despite everything I've criticized, this movie is probably one of the better Blue Sky films with their best animation, and I'll give them credit that they tried to do a more serious story like Dreamworks did with Rise of the Guardians, and not just because of William Joyce's involvement. They show they can make some good characters, but they didn't put in enough effort for the ones we need to care about because they mostly focused on the celebrity voice actors and there are too many underdeveloped subplots and relationships which were unnecessary and took us away from the main plot. I'd recommend this for fans of Rise of the Guardians or Ferngully because the movie has the same pros and cons and it did leave me invested in the first 20 minutes. Story: 4/10 Animation: 10/10 Characters: 5/10 Overall: 6/10
Now, I thought I could get 10 sequels to counteract the worst list, but most of them are only OK, and I could only find 7 direct to DVD sequels which were actually good! So, here are my best ones and these are the ones actually worth watching when it comes to Disney sequels!
7) Lilo & Stitch 2. This sequel is like the original when it comes to the story. It has that one element which is so good, it overshadows the rest. The subplot with Stitch malfunctioning/dying is exactly that. Although the hula plot isn't as compelling, the subplot is interesting and the humour is actually pretty good. The animation is really pretty and looks just like the first movie and the characters are still their same likeable selves, with Stitch being the most developed, still being cute and fluffy. Jumbaa and Pleakley are still funny and the subplot with David and Nani wasn't so interesting. The only really big issue I have is the ending being cliched, but the positive elements of the plot still make it good enough to make it on the good list, as well as being jam packed with Elvis songs!
6) The Lion King 1 1/2 (The Lion King 3: Hakuna Matata where I'm from) This one is based on a spin-off Shakespeare play Rosencraft and Guildenstern are Dead, revealing the play Hamlet from their perspective. This is what the Lion King 3 is like, showing the first film from Timon & Pumbaa's perspective. The comedy is of course, funny, but I loved how it expanded their friendship between Timon & Pumbaa & that we got to see Timon's old life, introducing Ma & Uncle Max, who are both funny! The animation looks amazing and is on par with the first film, which is no surprise since it's meant to be during the movie. The songs are fun and I love the characters. If I had one problem, it would be the tone, since it would be funny from Timon & Pumbaa's perspective, but saddening in the film, particularly during the wildebeest stampede. Despite that, I enjoy this midquel for the humour!
5) Bambi 2. While the first film was a bit more of a biography about the life of a fawn, this one is a bit more developed as it reveals what Bambi's relationship with his dad was and it takes place straight after his mother died. I love the voice acting, especially from Patrick Stewart as The Great Prince, and he's not portrayed as just stoic and cold hearted, he just doesn't know how to raise a child. The animation is also gorgeous, highly respecting the original being very calm and the woods are beautiful to look at. The only problems I have are the subplots involving Thumper, his sisters and Flower, which can be very distracting from the main focus and I'm guessing they put it in to make kids laugh so it's not too dark. The songs are OK, but they can easily be glossed over. Even if some scenes and humour aren't that good, the main plot is still heartwarming and the animation is gorgeous which I love about this midquel!
4) Brother Bear 2! Unlike other sequels, this one didn't have much of a hard act to follow. Actually, if anything, I prefer this to the first movie! Kenai, now voiced by Patrick Dempsey, and his childhood friend, Nita, voiced by Mandy Moore have to go and burn an amulet which binded them as children at an Equinox so she can marry someone else, all while falling back in love in the process. The romance is probably the best compared to Hunchback 2 and is the best in the character from movie 1 finding a love interest type of sequel. Koda still annoyed me, but he's not the focus since it's about the lovers and all he really does is whine, complain and get in the way. Even the moose have a bigger purpose in this rather than just being comedy reliefs and I'm glad that they're not as annoying! The music is nice, the animation is really good and I like this better to the first film.
3) Aladdin & The King of Thieves. This serves as the finale to the Aladdin series & franchise, and it's actually really good! It shows Aladdin & Jasmine's wedding getting crashed by the Forty Thieves, and discovering it's lead by his father Cassim, voiced by John Rhys Davies. I love how it shows the relationship between Aladdin and his dad, with the ending being satisfying! It's action packed, there's comedy from the Genie, with Robin Williams returning, there's romance, emotional stakes and this is better because of Aladdin's story, not Iago's like in Return of afar. The songs are also really good, and I love the one Jerry Orbach sings as Saluk! The only issue I have is the animation, it's pretty crappy compared to the first film, and nothing can stop Aladdin being a classic! Despite that, I'd really recommend this for Aladdin fans and it's way better than The Return of Jafar!
2) The Lion King II: Simba's Pride. Now, while films like The Little Mermaid 2 botched up the child learning the same lesson their parents learned the the last movie type of Disney sequel, this one shows how to do it right. How? Because the plot isn't exactly the same & it actually respects the original by being based on another Shakespeare play, which is Romeo & Juliet in this case. The romance is also well done & you can relate to Simba wanting to be a good king and father to protect his pride from Zira. I surprisingly liked Zira & she's probably the best Disney sequel villain, even if she's not really on par with Scar. The music is wonderful & I like that they took a song from the Broadway show for the movie! Overall, I enjoy this and I love the message of it and Lion King fans will really like this.
1) Cinderella III: A Twist In Time. This sequel really surprised me when I watched it! While the second one had no effort put in, this one is the complete opposite! The animation is quite close to theatrical quality compared to others, probably because of the budget and actually being intended for cinemas! The music is also as improvement from the second film, with the exception of the first song. But what I loved most was the plot being more self aware compared to others, as well as the character development from Anastasia. And Cinderella has to work for her happy ending, which I was genuinely surprised at since she's normally known for not doing much, and the romance is more believable compared to the first film. Overall, I recommend this one the best out of the Disney sequels and it's worth a watch!
Remember when I reviewed The Swan Princess Christmas how my Animation Advent Calendar & this came up at the end of it? Well, finally it's come! Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the first movie, this is the second one in the Swan Princess series to be CGI after the revitalization starting with The Swan Princess Christmas back in 2012. Now that it's time to see Odette & Derek start a family of their own, will this movie be as charming as the first movie now a child is in the mix, or is it annoying as little bratty kids running around & shouting for no reason? I'm sorry, I can't be bothered to say 'Let's find out!' like I normally would because this movie is absolute rubbish! And if you can comprehend it, this is actually WORSE than the Christmas sequel, and I'm inviting you to witness the awfulness that is The Swan Princess: A Royal Family Tale & why it is so terrible!
