I honestly have never been so excited for an animated sequel to come out since Toy Story 3! For my thoughts on the first movie, I'll do a separate review, but judging my reaction, it'll be a pretty positive one! Anyway, released five years after the first film, clearly taking a leaf out of Toy Story's book, the characters have also aged by five years! Still directed by Lilo and Stitch director Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, this one has been an interesting film to look at for me as it features new actors like Cate Blanchett & Kit Harington (Jon Snow from Game of Thrones) as new characters & the trailers did reveal some pretty big spoilers like the identity of Blanchett's character. So now that we finally have the long anticipated sequel, will this soar high like the dragons of Berk, or will Chris still need a bit of training like this last movie The Croods? Let's find out
Story: Since this is a sequel, I did go in with a few doubts, since, well, animated sequels normally don't have the best of reputations (excluding Pixar not including Cars or Kung Fu Panda or Shrek). But with this one, I was amazed with the execution of the main plot. This one is the type where Hiccup wants to find out who he is, discovering his mother Valka has been saving dragons while a new threat wants to take their dragons for a huge dragon army. Not only is the relationship between them very well done and we get to learn more about Hiccup's past, but it's also easily the heart of the movie. Another thing I also love is how they fix up problems from the first movie, in particular explaining more about Alpha dragons as well as more about the conflict between dragons and Vikings before Hiccup managed to change their perspectives on them. Similar to the first film, they do manage to have the action and heartwarming scenes be equal, but in this case, it's cranked up to eleven thanks to the new threat of Drago & the fact that Berk is now a place for dragons and Vikings to live in peace! If there's something I should warn parents before taking their little kids to see it is, it can get quite dark and mature for them. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but if you're expecting a kiddie film with cool flying dragon scenes (which there is), you might be surprised with some of the undertones and keep in mind that it's rated PG! Anyway, this movie shows that Dreamworks have matured much more, similar to the characters, and this shows how capable they are of great storytelling without resorting to pop culture references!
Animation: Yeah, there's no denying that the animation in the HTTYD franchise is incredible! How the hell they managed to outdo themselves, I have no idea! The character designs are well done with aging the characters from the first movie by 5 years while still keeping the Chris Sanders style with being realistic while having a bit of a cartoon flare. The breeds of the dragons compared to the first are very creative as there is a much wider variety and they are all memorable whether it's the design or their personality. The backgrounds are also much more vast and broad compared to the first film, and honestly, they can be very beautiful to look at, especially Valka's dragon sanctuary and the updated Berk now that dragons have been integrated into the daily lives of the civilians. But what impressed me the most was the texturing and the character animation. With the latter, it turns out Dreamworks managed to incorporate some motion capture into some of the action scenes and it is done greatly, and thankfully, it's not so distracting like in Robert Zemeckis' films where they move way too realistically. As I said, the texturing on the hair, skin, water, fire and scales of the dragons is just incredible, especially since they used new software to make the skin/fat move like a real person, which is especially noticeable on Eret and Fishlegs as we see the former's biceps throughout the whole movie obviously with Fishlegs because of his design, but also when he rides his dragon. And speaking of dragon riding, the dlying scenes are still so beautiful to look at, and this time round, they are greatly well choreographed during the battle scenes whether it's the camera angles or the overall mood of the scene itself and you feel like you're on that dragon riding it. Obviously, the animation is the best thing next to the plot and it made me realise what Dreamworks is really capable of! By the way, am I the only one who noticed the outside of Valka's dragon sanctuary looked like the ice made by Jack & Pitch from Rise of the Guardians? Just a little Easter egg for you diehard Dreamworks fans!
Characters: Even if it's been five years and they've aged, I'm so glad to see them back! Hiccup is still the same likeable nerdy type of character from the last movie, but I particularly love how he matures throughout this movie as he has to learn to take the same responsibilities as his father. And his relationship with Toothless is still as strong as ever and is still very heartwarming to watch. Speaking of Stoick, it is very nice to see him embrace the restored Berk and be proud of Hiccupd after all of his prejudices against dragons five years prior, and his relationship with his wife and son is very adorable to watch! Valka, his mother, is easily the best out of the new characters as a vigilante who has been saving dragons and is kind of a badass! Also, Cate Blanchett does an amazing job voicing her. Eret, the villain's kind of assistant, does help the recurring characters with Drago's plan and may be a bit cliched, but he's still likeable and can be pretty funny at times, especially when it comes to Ruffnut! The villain of the film, Drago Bludvist, while not the most developed villain I've seen from Dreamworks, is still a very threatening and intimidating character thanks to his dragon army, motivation and his voice actor, Djimon Hounsou does an amazing job. Although the recurring characters Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut & Tuffnut don't have as much screentime, they still manage to contribute something to the plot and they are still very funny (especially Ruffnut with her crush on Eret) All these characters are still their same selves, which is how it should be, but they have still matured like the plot and the new characters are integrated really well into the HTTYD universe!
How To Train Your Dragon 2 is exactly how a sequel should be made! The story carries the integrety of the original without rehashing it, the animation is superb and all the characters are lovable old & new! This is a must watch for How To Train Your Dragon fans! They will love it immediately even with the more mature tone and animation fans must watch it on the big screen to see the gorgeous animation for themselves! This is probably one of the best animated sequels I've ever seen in a while and I cannot wait for the third film to come out in 2016, even if I'll be in my 20s by then! By the way, since this is out in the summer, then I also suggest you go and watch it as the only other animated film released this summer is Planes 2...and judging the trailer it looks awful with no plot whatsoever! Story: 10/10 Animation: 10/10 Characters: 8/10 Overall: 9/10
This direct to video animated sequel would be released 16 years after the first Secret of NIMH by MGM & had no involvement from Don Bluth whatsoever. It would feature the voices of people like Ralph Macchio, William H Macy, Hyden Walch, Eric Idle & even Dom Deluise returning as Jeremy! In case you haven't noticed, Mrs Brisby isn't the hero in this one, it's her youngest son Timmy. Remember? The one who had pneumonia & nearly died in the first movie? Anyway, will this movie share the same darkness & be as memorable as the first movie, or shouldn't we rely on Timmy as a hero any time soon? Let's find out!
Story: Like I mentioned, in this one Timmy has to save the rats of NIMH from a new evil in NIMH because of a prophecy apparently said by Nicodemus that one of Jonathan's sons would save them (uh, what about Martin?!). This brings up one of the biggest problems of the movie: there's barely any continuity between this & the first story. Nicodemus never mentioned a prophecy in the first movie, Timmy doesn't know what NIMH is, Mrs Brisby's actions in the first movie are never mentioned & they completely forgot that the rats left Thorn Valley to avoid being captured by NIMH! Not only that, but there's barely any continuity in it's own story, and it just leaves me confused after watching it. But possibly the worst part is it doesn't even feel like a proper Secret of NIMH sequel as the same characters we remember like Mrs Brisby, Justin, Timmy's siblings & Auntie Shrew are barely in the movie & are insultingly butchered or pushed to the sidelines! Heck, the prophecy of the movie is self fulfilled in the end & Martin! Oh yeah, and there's some bullshit love story between Timmy & Jenny which was shoehorned in! Because you know! The Secret of NIMH also had a love story, didn't it?! Genius! With this, I'm not even sure MGM watched the first movie & just looked at a Wikipedia summary of the basics (I know it was made in 1998, but it's possible they did something
like that just so they didn't actually have to put any effort in!
Animation: Right off the bat, it's clear the animation is completely terrible & is nowhere near as good as Don Bluth's animation! The character designs just looks cartoony & rubbery, as well as the character animation being stiff with the animals. Heck, barely any of the animals move with hind legs & just walk around with 2 legs like people! Yes, they did some of that in the first movie, but it was much cleaner & they did take time to have them move like real life mice/rats! The quality is shamefully below Saturday morning cartoon standards, especially in the human designs & character animation as Don's human animation is a thousand times better than the crap our kids have to watch for just over an hour! Also, the backgrounds are generic, the atmosphere around NIMH isn't dark or unsettling like the first movie, Thorn Valley looks more like the Great Valley but miniscule & in a bush, it's all just lazily put together with no effort! Heck, even the lip synching is off & it's pretty clear the sound editors didn't give a crap about whether or not the characters' lips move to what the voice actors are saying! But do you know what the worst part of all of it was? They had the balls to use footage from the first movie for the prologue/stupid narration explaining the prophecy bullshit before going into the actual movie! Yeah, pretty clear the animation is atrocious in case you haven't noticed from the screenshots already!
Characters: If there's anything in this movie which MGM screwed up the most next to the plot, it has easily got to be the characters! Timmy is just the generic young free sprir wide eyed hero while everyone else pressures him into being the hero he was destined to be despite having no qualities of being a leader whatsoever! I didn't care for him, he was just a wimp in this! Mrs Brisby is barely in the movie & they completely disregard what she did in the first movie, so next! Justin has turned into a stupid moron, despite William H Macy trying to salvage what little he's given & Mr Ages is the generic boring mentor! Yeah, remember when he was the lovable yet grumpy mouse from the first movie? Jeremy has turned into a theiving jackass pretending to be The Great Owl (he never appears & it's never mentioned what happened to him) And then there's Martin Brisby...oh God what did MGM do to you Martin?! They turned him into the villain voiced by Eric Idle Sorry, this isn't me being angry that they're different from the first movie! This is me being angry because they lose everything essential for well written characters! As for Timmy's new companions, they are no better! Jenny (yeah, great name choice MGM) is the obligatory love interest whose parents are trapped inside of NIMH and has no personality despite trying to make her like a spunky feisty girl like every other animated heroine in the 90s. And for some reason she has boobs despite none of the other female mice having them which was very disturbing (you're off the hook for now Mrs Toad from Thumbelina!) The 2 cats voiced by Andrea Martin & Harvey Korman are entirely pointless & are just filler when the characters have nothing else to do, & that caterpillar Cecil working with Jeremy was annoying and unecessary! None of the old characters are worth caring about anymore as they're completely disregarded, Timmy isn't strong enough of a character to carry his own movie & the new ones are just so boring, I barely remember them!
Songs: Yeah, this is a musical and you're probably wondering why because 1) the first movie wasn't a musical and 2) they are all completely unecessary! They can easily be summed up as the Crowd Song, the Comedic Sidekick's Song, the I Want Song, the Villain's Song & the Reprise of the First Song Turned into a Love Song while the 2 Romantic Leads are far away from each other song...Yes, I'll admit If You Just Say Yes was laughable & made me chuckle a bit, but it was still stupid, odd & vacuously put together! Well, at least William H Macy has a good singing voice. You know who can't sing? Ralph Macchio! None of the songs are memorable, they're all just filler at a time where it was compulsory for animated movies to have 4 or 5 songs in them at any given time!
This was absolutely painful! This is not only one of the worst animated sequels I've ever seen, this is one of the worst animated movies I've ever seen! Period! I cannot believe what MGM did to the beloved Don Bluth movie! The story is nonsensical & poorly written, the animated is just shamefully below Saturday morning cartoon quality, the once beloved characters are now one dimensional with no complexity & all the songs are unnecessary & filler! Nobody should watch this, especially Don Bluth fans & Secret of NIMH fans! Story: 2/10 Animation: 2/10 Characters: 1/10 Songs: 2/10 Overall: 2/10
I'm not French, this is my favourite poster for the movie
I have never seen such hype for a live action fairy tale-fantasy movie like this since Snow White & the Huntsman (which I personally don't like)! Starring Hollywood starlet Angelina Jolie as the title character, this movie shows the tale of the Disney 1959 animated classic Sleeping Beauty, but from the perspective of the infamous villain, Maleficent, this time portrayed as the protagonist and a tragic character. Also starring Elle Fanning (Dakota Fanning's younger sister) as Princess Aurora & written by Beauty & the Beast screenwriter Linda Woolverton, this movie instantly got both it's lovers & haters ever since the first trailer & promotional photos came out mostly because of Jolie's casting. Now that this has finally came out for the whole world to see, will this movie be as beautiful as the 1959 classic, or will this movie put you in an eternal slumber from boredom? Let's find out! By the way, this one won't have spoilers like my Frozen review!
Story: When it comes to plot, you'd expect it to just be the same story of Sleeping Beauty but from Maleficent's perspective, like Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead. Well, yeah kind of, but boy do they change a lot of it! Heck, the only scene remained intact from the 1959 movie is Aurora's christening when Maleficent curses her, and even then she's the one to add the True Love's Kiss part of the spell! And she's not the one to turn into a dragon at the climax, which felt shoehorned in by the way to try & be faithful to the original movie, which I was really disappointed with! Anyway, this version shows Maleficent as a fairy (yes, in the original movie she was a fairy) & how she became evil after Stefan (Aurora's father & the actual villain of his story) took her wings to fake her death so he could become king, with the rest of the movie following the Sleeping Beauty story, as well as the relationship between Aurora & Maleficent over the years. The concept is actually good, but the issue I have is the execution. The movie feels like it's trying to cram in way too much into 90 minutes which makes some parts feel underdeveloped & rushed, like Maleficent as a child at the start, her relationship with Stefan & Aurora's life in the forest with the three fairies. By the way, the romance between Aurora & Philip is virtually non existent, but you could make a very slim argument that it was intentional as it's not the focus of the movie. The best way to describe it is the basic plot of Wicked but with Sleeping Beauty with little a bit of Cinderella mixed into it. Another issue I have is the inconsistency of the narration, as Aurora's narration often comes & goes & is used to explain things instead of just showing them to us as the movie doesn't have time to because of it's restricted time of 90 minutes (this was probably due to the reshoots & this movie is an example of how obvious it is that they did that due to the inconsistencies mentioned)! If it had an extra 30 minutes or so, it could've been that much better! Another problem I have is the morals. Listen up, the movie is trying to show a sympathetic side to Maleficent rather than the menacing villain she's famous for. That's fine & all, but all it did was show a basic black & white perspective on the good vs plot, but the roles being reversed. But there's one thing I absolutely loved: the twist (you'll only know it if you've seen the movie, like I said no spoilers) & the last 30 minutes or so were done pretty well & are finally when you can get into it (except for the dragon this time round being Diaval instead of Maleficent). And it is nice seeing the relationship between Aurora & Maleficent compared to the Disney movie where they never ever interacted together once, and it can get pretty heartwarming to watch. Honestly, I feel like I've been lied to as the advertising made it out to be a prequel/spin-off with showing how Maleficent became evil, but the final product ended up being a botched up remake of the 1959 film.
Visuals: Yeah, there's no denying the visuals of this movie are amazing! The production & costume designs are so so beautiful to look at! They really remind me of the 1959 film including the colours of the fairies, the cottage they live in, King Stefan's castle & of course, Maleficent's costumes & magic. They obviously take a gothic/dark twist to them while still having that Disney fantasy look to them. The flying scenes with Maleficent as a fairy at the start & climax are just beautiful with the camera movements making you feel like you're flying with her, kind of like How To Train Your Dragon. The designs of the creatures where Maleficent lives are just beautiful with the CGI being used very well, and the environment is so colourful & thankfully, the movie does take time for you to sink it all in. The cinematography is also really good, with the use of lighting being well used, especially during the famous kiss & when Aurora pricks her finger on the spindle of the spinning wheel. Another part I love is the use of slow motion as it's used effectively, including scenes where Maleficent has to drag both Aurora & Philip while floating in mid air, which is actually a pretty cool effect. The scope with the castle & forests are all beautiful to look at & it does feel like a fairy tale environment that Disney would come up with. The only issue I really have is the CGI faces of the actresses as the fairies! They have that uncanny valley look to them which felt really disturbing to watch! Despite that, this is easily the best part of the movie & are what you'll remember it most for, next to Angelina Jolie's performance of course!
Characters: Maleficent in this version is a fairy who protects the moors until Stefan takes her wings & has a vendetta against all humans for destroying her world, which is a pretty legitimate reason as to why she becomes evil, specificially, with Stefan due to being in love with him for years (yeah, you kind of see it coming as it takes up the first 5 minutes of the movie). Angelina Jolie's performance is easily the best part of the movie & she does have a chance to be both over the top & have emotional scenes, both of which she does perfectly. Despite that, her motivation for being evil is just the same as Theodora from Oz: The Great & Powerful & she's just too good for her 360 change to be realistic after Stefan castrates her wings off her. Aurora is pretty much the same beautiful young princess from the Disney movie, except surprisingly not as boring to watch. It felt nice seeing more of her fun & spunky side as she barely had any screen time in the original. But still, I felt like they focused on her being more pretty than anything else. The 3 fairies, this time named Knotgrass, Flittle & Thistlewit (why?) have been completely butchered into bad comedy reliefs doing slapstick & are just intolerable. They don't serve as much to the plot as they did in the original & they are actually pretty bad looking after Aurora (seriously, she nearly falls off a cliff as a toddler at one point & they never even notice). Prince Philip is the same generic boring nice prince like he is in the original & doesn't even appear until the last 20 minutes of the movie! King Stefan, now the villain, becomes paranoid & insane after stealing Maleficent's wings believing she's coming for him after she curses Aurora. It is actually a very interesting take for Disney when it comes to villains, but I wish he had more screen time to see him gradually become insane instead of immediately seeing him be insane after Aurora is taken to be raised in the woods. Now is there anyone I forgot...oh yeah, Diaval! This time the raven is turned into human by Maleficent & is her confidant/spy for her, & I surprisingly enjoyed him as he also becomes her moral conscience during the movie as he sees her start to care for Aurora. They are not the worst or most boring characters, but some need a little bit more development/screen time to make them a bit more interesting (besides Maleficent).
Overall, it may be a mixed bag, but it's still pretty passable for what it is. The visuals are gorgeous & Angelina Jolie's performance are amazing, but the plot & characters fall flat due to the restricted screen time & the fact that it attempts to be so much like the 1959 film despite it being horribly retconned. If it had that extra 30 minutes, it would've been that much better! That's the sad part cos the plot has so much potential to be more developed! I would probably recommend this to those who love fantasy adventure versions of fairy tales like Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, Snow White & the Huntsman & Oz: The Great & Powerful, or even those who are fans of Sleeping Beauty to watch it at least once as it is actually worth seeing on the big screen. With the live action Cinderella & The Jungle Book movies coming out next year, let's hope that they learn to come up with a compromise in both story & visuals instead of the visuals being eye candy with no effort put into the plot! Story: 3/10 Visuals: 10/10 Characters: 4/10 Overall: 5/10
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
I honestly have never been so excited for an animated sequel to come out since Toy Story 3! For my thoughts on the first movie, I'll do a separate review, but judging my reaction, it'll be a pretty positive one! Anyway, released five years after the first film, clearly taking a leaf out of Toy Story's book, the characters have also aged by five years! Still directed by Lilo and Stitch director Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, this one has been an interesting film to look at for me as it features new actors like Cate Blanchett & Kit Harington (Jon Snow from Game of Thrones) as new characters & the trailers did reveal some pretty big spoilers like the identity of Blanchett's character. So now that we finally have the long anticipated sequel, will this soar high like the dragons of Berk, or will Chris still need a bit of training like this last movie The Croods? Let's find out
