Rango (2011)

Hi fellow animation fans, welcome to my review of Rango.

Synopsis: Rango (Johnny Depp), a sheltered chameleon accustomed to life as an ordinary family pet, inadvertently finds himself in the rough-and-tumble town of Dirt, a lawless haven inhabited by the desert's craftiest and most eccentric creatures, he discovers that he's conspicuous rather than inconspicuous. Embraced as the savior, the townsfolk have been longing for, Rango, reluctantly becomes the new sheriff, now he must find the courage within to fulfil his new role.

The Good:

* I quite liked all the weird and eccentric critters that inhabited the town of Dirt, their character designs were quite imaginative and all really well animated, especially the desert scenes that almost look as if the movie was actually filmed out in the wild west

* The voice acting is really well done, with some nice timing for the one-liners, plus Johnny Depp totally hams it up, making Rango a delight to watch.

* I really enjoyed the little nods to other films the actors had been in such as Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, plus there is even a nod to Star Wars.

* I also enjoyed the way they were able to fit humor into what is essentially a morally complex Western.

The Bad:

* There are a few scenes that will definitely scare younger children, plus a few jokes that are a bit more risqué than you would expect in a children's feature, so something to be aware of. 

* The story feels a little simple at times, even though it feels like the movie is more geared towards adults than children.

                         IMDB 7.3/10              Rotten Tomatoes 88%                 Me 8/10

Rango (Johnny Depp) doing the quintessential Western pose.

Aloha: Scooby Doo (2005)

Hi fellow animation fans, welcome to my review of Aloha: Scooby Doo.

Synopsis: When Daphne is given the chance to design clothes in Hanahuna, Hawaii the whole gang leap at the chance to join her. As they are exploring Hawaii, they notice people leaving Hanahuna, but a man stops to warn them that there are evil spirits on the island, the gang find this hard to believe. Arriving in Hanahuna they find themselves just in time for the Big Kahuna of Hanahuna Surfing Contest, which had previously been for locals only, but this year the mayor opened the contest to all, even the mainlanders. This of course appears to have angered the evil spirit the Wiki Tiki who has kidnapped the previous winner's girlfriend, now it is up to the Scooby Gang to solve the mystery and save the contest.

The Good: 

* There are a few really funny moments provided by the gang but surprisingly Shaggy (Casey Kasem) and Scooby (Frank Welker) aren't used as much for comedy as they usually are though, which actually makes for a pleasant change.

* The animation is bright colorful and easy on the eyes, perfect to hold children's attention.

* The voice acting is pretty good and features some well-known names in a few smaller roles, see if you can pick who Adam West is voicing.

The Bad:

* They make picking the bad guy at the start really easy, younger kids might miss it, but most people won't.

* Once you picked the bad guy out, the whole thing becomes rather predictable.

* Maybe because it was spoiled at the start, but unlike previous movies this one had very little suspense and the story seemed to plod along, felt like it ran for a long time even though it has a very slim 71-minute run-time.

                    IMDB 6.3/10                  Rotten Tomatoes 62% (audience)        Me 6/10

Shaggy informing the team, again that he doesn't want a mystery.

The Lion King (1994)

Hi fellow animation fans, welcome to my review of The Lion King.

Synopsis: In the deep heart of Africa at a place called Pride Rock the King Mufasa (James Earl Jones) and his Queen, Sarabi (Madge Sinclair) welcome the birth of their son Simba (Jonathon Taylor Thomas as the young Simba), much to the disgust of the king's brother Scar (Jeremy Irons). Simba of course is a very inquisitive cub who likes to push the boundaries, so Scar uses this to enact a dastardly plan with the help of his hyena friends, this sees him obtain the position of king and has Simba running away thinking that he is an outcast. On the verge of death Simba is saved by a warthog named Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella) and a meerkat called Timon (Nathan Lane), together they raise him with their 'no worries' values. When he obtains adulthood, Simba (Matthew Broderick) is found by his old childhood friend Nala (Moira Kelly) who tells him how Scar has ruined Pride Rock and begs him to come back. Now it's up to Simba, will he keep running or fight to claim his rightful place as King.

The Good:

* For the age of the movie the animation is still amazing, with bright colors, beautiful landscapes and well-designed animals.

* The voice acting is brilliant, as to be expected considering the cast, but my highlights would have to be Rowan Atkinson as Zazu and Cheech Marin as Banzai, both of them were hilarious in their roles, Rowan Atkinson even has a surprisingly good singing voice.

* The music is brilliant with catchy song after catchy song, all of which are great fun to sing along with.

* The story is really well done and at no point does it get boring, even after multiple watches.

The Bad:

* There are some themes that may not be suitable for all audiences.

                       IMDB 8.5/10                Rotten Tomatoes 92%             Me 9/10

Simba being presented to the animals of Pride Rock.

The Adventures of Tintin (2011)

Hi fellow animation fans, welcome to my review of The Adventures of Tintin.

Synopsis: While at an outdoor market, the young reporter Tintin (Jamie Bell), with his loyal dog Snowy, purchase a realistic model of an ancient sailing ship known as the Unicorn. A mysterious man Sakharine (Daniel Craig), and an American, Barnaby (Joe Starr), attempt to acquire the model from him, but Tintin declines. Then quite by accident he finds out that the ship holds a clue to a concealed treasure. So, jumping on a ship to go find it, Tintin runs into trouble when Sakharine bribes the crew to revolt against the inebriated Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis). Escaping this trap Tintin, Snowy and Captain Haddock set out on a grand adventure to find the secret of the Unicorn together.

The Good:

* I honestly loved this strange style of motion captured animation, it just looks so clean and smooth.

* The story is a lot of fun, the adventure starts a little slow but then Spielberg sticks the throttle in, and it takes off on a bumpy rollercoaster all the way to the end, keeping you glued to the seat.
* As I fan of the original comics, I feel the movie hit exactly the right tone, with comedy, action, mystery and intrigue in a near perfect balance.

* I am also glad that they stuck to the comics and didn't try and give Tintin a back story or an over-the-top personality, while that may sound strange it fits in perfectly with what the comics portray, Tintin is a reporter that's why he has these adventures, even though we never see him doing any actual reporter like work.

The Bad:

* The movie feels like it is made for an older audience but quite a few of the jokes, especially those using Snowy feel like they were aimed at children, it's a tiny bit jarring.

* When they do find the treasure, it feels a bit anticlimactic.

                            IMDB 7.3/10              Rotten Tomatoes 75%                    Me 8/10

Tintin (Jamie Bell) holding up a likeness that comic fans will instantly recognize.

The Nut Job (2014)

Hi fellow animation fans, welcome to my review of The Nut Job.

Synopsis: In a city park, Surly the Squirrel (Will Arnett) has overstepped with his latest scheme, resulting in the destruction of the animal community's winter food supply. Now banished, Surly and his rat companion Buddy (Robert Tinkler) stumble upon a nut shop to plunder after a harrowing night on the streets.

Meanwhile, the valiant squirrel Andie (Katherine Heigl) and the flamboyant Grayson (Brendan Fraser) are tasked by Raccoon (Liam Neeson) to secure a new food source. Andie eventually encounters Surly and, out of necessity, agrees to assist in his heist for the benefit of the colony.

Yet, the nut shop is a facade for bank robbers, and Raccoon has his own schemes to maintain control. Amidst the ensuing chaos, Surly is confronted with challenges he never anticipated and uncovers the true reward to be cherished in this adventure.

The Good:

* The animation is really well done, it is colorful, bright and some of the woodland creatures even have facial features that slightly resemble their voice actors. The standout though is the backgrounds which perfectly show off the era in which the movie is set, the late 1950s.

* The voice acting was all pretty well done with Maya Rudolph as Precious sounding positively excited and bubbly, even Jeff Dunham, better known as a comedian, does really well. 

* Quite a few of the jokes will leave children giggling.

The Bad:

* The story is not brilliant and with two heists going on beside each other it's a little too easy for children to get lost and start asking what is happening, not a good thing when it is aimed towards children.

* Adults won't find many laughs, with many of the jokes aimed at kids and others being very juvenile potty humor.

* The action and story really slows down when they human mobsters are on screen.

* The story mostly revolves around Surly, but they made his selfishness really unlikeable, even though he comes to understand that this is not a good thing and makes a change at the end, it just doesn't feel like enough to redeem him.

                            IMDB 5.7/10                   Rotten Tomatoes 13%                    Me 6/10

Surly (Will Arnett) standing in front of his biggest mistake yet.

Harlock: Space Pirate (2013)

Hi fellow animation fans, welcome to my review of Harlock: Space Pirate.

Synopsis: In the future, humanity has mastered faster-than-light travel and established colonies on myriad planets. As human existence wanes and the universe's resources diminish, half a trillion humans embark on the arduous journey home. This sparks the Home Coming War, driven by the desire to repopulate Earth, until the Gaia Sanction, an authoritarian universal government, proclaims Earth sacred and off-limits to humans. Amidst this decaying cosmos, the space pirate Captain Harlock (Shun Oguri), commands the formidable flagship Arcadia on a mission shrouded in secrecy.  Yama (Haruma Miura), sibling to Fleet Commander Isora (Toshiyuki Morikawa), is tasked with infiltrating the Arcadia to unveil the pirate captain's enigmatic agenda.

The Good: 

* The animation is amazing, from the steampunk styled space craft to the vast vistas of space it looks almost perfect.

* The battle sequences are a whole lot of fun to watch, both colorful and spectacular.

* The voice acting across the board is pretty solid and well done.

* The design of the Arkadia (Harlock's ship) is amazing, with that large shiny skull at the front it just oozes menace, and the inside has a really nice blend of steampunk mixed with high end modern electronics.

The Bad:

* The script is all over the place especially near the end, it is possible it may have been edited for English audiences but there's a definite time skip where something has happened or even been mis-translated so the ending feels a bit garbled.

* The overall story is a little shallow compared to the source material.

                     IMDB 6.4/10            Rotten Tomatoes 54% (audience)        Me 6/10

The titular Captain Harlock (Shun Oguri).

Planes (2013)

Hi fellow animation fans, welcome to my review of Planes.

Synopsis: Dusty Crophopper (Dane Cook) is a crop duster who is bored with his lot in life, but he has a dream to compete in the Wings Around the Globe aerial race. So, with the aid of his friends Chug (Brad Garrett), Dottie (Teri Hatcher) and the gruff old fighter Skipper (Stacy Keach), Dusty wins his way into the race. But there are just 2 little problems the current champion Ripslinger does not want to lose to a crop duster and Dusty is just a little bit afraid of heights, will he be able to overcome these obstacles and finish the race or will he surprise us all and win?

The Good:

* The animation is bright, colorful and is bound to appeal to children.

* The message about trying hard and you can achieve anything is well done.

* The voice acting is all fairly solid.

The Bad:

* The plot feels like a lot of other Disney movies that preceded this making it extremely predictable.

* The comedy actors just weren't well used, even John Cleese as the stuffy British plane only really raised a smile.

* The villain of the story is just bland, his whole personality revolves around winning at any cost and he barely uses any imagination to achieve this goal.

* It doesn't really feel like a family movie, it feels more like it was designed for the under 10 crowd and even then, unless they really love planes, I feel many of them will get bored.

                          IMDB 5.7/10       Rotten Tomatoes 26%             Me 5/10          

Dusty and Ishani flying together.