Fantasia (1940)

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

Synopsis: Disney's Fantasia takes some of the best classical music from artist such as Bethoven, Paul Dukas, Bach, Tchaikovsky plus more, all lovingly recreated by the Philadelphia Orchestra lead by Leopold Stokowski and then uses this music to bring fantastical animation to life. All of it a special Disney interpretation of what the song is about, the animation features everything from woodland nymphs, fairy's, fireworks and even Mickey Mouse battling living brooms.

The Good:

* Lovers of classical music will really enjoy this, the music is all brilliantly performed and even though I am not a huge fan of classical a few of the songs demanded more than just one or two listens.

* The animation really showcases what Disney was capable of at the time, sure it does look a bit dated now but back in 1940 this must have seemed like pure magic.

The Bad:

* Some of the animation has flickering wavy lines which gave me a massive migraine so people sensitive to that sort of thing may need to be wary.

* If you are not a fan of classical you may not enjoy it all that much as the animation does not always tell a story.

                    IMDB 7.7/10               Rotten Tomatoes 95%          Me 7/10

The Sorcerer's Apprentice, probably the song most people will remember.

How To Train Your Dragon (2010)

Hi fellow animation fans, welcome to my review of How to Train Your Dragon.

Synopsis: Set in a mythical world of sturdy Vikings and untamed dragons, and inspired by Cressida Cowell's book, this action comedy unfolds the tale of Hiccup (Jay Baruchel), a Viking teenager who doesn't quite enjoy his tribe's venerable tradition of heroic dragon slaying. Hiccup's life is upended when he meets a dragon that challenges him and his fellow Vikings to perceive the world from a completely different perspective.

The Good:

* The animation is really slick and shows great facial features on all the characters, but it really shines on the dragon Toothless who is able to show many emotions just with his eyes.

* The story cruises along at a nice pace, mixing action with storytelling elements in such a great way that you don't have time to feel bored at all.

* The comedy in this is really well done, with laughs for adults and children. I can thoroughly recommend watching with kids, their infectious laughter makes a brilliant movie even better, if that's possible.

* It has dragons, enough said really.

The Bad:

* There are a few moments that young children may find frightening, so just be aware of that.

                     IMDB 8.2/10                    Rotten Tomatoes 99%               Me 9.5/10

Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) meeting Toothless.

Batman: The Killing Joke (2016)

Hi fellow animation fans, welcome to my review of Batman: The Killing Joke.

Synopsis: The narrative begins with a 25-minute short story featuring Batman (Kevin Conroy) and Batgirl (Tara Strong) thwarting a mob lord's nephew intent on seizing control of the family empire. Following this segment, the intensity escalates as the Joker (Mark Hamill) breaks free from Arkham Asylum. The Joker's entrance into the plot is explosive, involving the commissioner's daughter, and the film hints at him subjecting her to further degradation. Subsequently, he abducts the commissioner, subjecting him to psychological torment in an attempt to break him. This compels Batman to embark on a mission to rescue the commissioner.

The Good:

* The voice acting is all excellent, especially that of Mark Hamill who you would almost actually believe that he is some kind of psychopath with that beautifully menacing laugh.

* When the main story kicks in and the Joker joins the party, the action seriously kicks up multiple notches and flies along.

* I also found the slightly grainy animation to be perfect, it lent a real lived in dirty look to the gloomy underbelly of Gotham City.

* When actually dealing with the source material the movie is amazing especially that scene near the end.

The Bad:

* I felt that they tried to make more of the relationship between Batman and Batgirl than what is really there, just to up the emotional punch, honestly it did not work for me.

* The first 25 minutes or so, sure it was a fun little Batman story, but it felt like it was something different, just added to make the Barbara Gordon moment more shocking. Even worse it appears to be forgotten after that.

                        IMDB 6.4/10                        Rotten Tomatoes 35%               Me 5/10

Joker (Mark Hamill) facing off with Batman (Kevin Conroy).