The Garfield Movie (2024)

 Hi fellow animation fans, welcome to my review of The Garfield Movie.

Synopsis: The Monday hating, Lasagna scoffing, indoor cat Garfield (Chris Pratt) has his world turned upside down when he and his pal Odie are kidnapped by the maniacal Jinx (Hannah Waddingham). But the surprise return of his long-lost father Vic (Samuel L. Jackson) sees the trio forced into a heist by Jinx, who is after revenge on Vic.

The Good.

* The start of the movie is brilliant, the short scene where Jon meets Garfield is both cute and hilarious.

* The ending has a nice family friendly message that will appeal to younger children, with a few laughs for added measure.

* The voice actress for Jinx does a great job flipping between calm and calculated one moment, totally maniacal the next.

The Bad:

* Chris Pratt is a great live action actor but when it comes to voice-over work he has very little range and for most of the movie he sounds like he is just reading the lines off of a script, just flat, dull, boring.

* The jokes more often than not fall flat with Garfield's signature sarcasm nowhere to be seen or ruined by Pratt's lack of range, the only saving grace is Odie who more often than not provides the laughs and steals every scene he is in.

* The plot is fairly basic and should be easy to follow but the editing department has done its very best to try and make it as incoherent as possible with scenes jumping from one unrelated moment to the next.

* Garfield eats more pizza than lasagna.

* Constant product placement.

               IMDB 5.7/10            Rotten Tomatoes 36%                Me 4/10

The best part of the whole movie, kitten Garfield.

Frankenweenie (2012)

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

Synopsis: Young Victor Frankenstein (Charlie Tahan) is a bit of a loner, having no friends at school and preferring to do his own thing with his best friend Sparky the dog. But when tragedy strikes the heartbroken Victor uses the idea his science teacher planted in his brain to bring Sparky back to life, the experiment works. When the secret leaks though his classmates are quick to attempt the same thing with disastrous results.

The Good:

* I really like the aesthetic, the stop motion characters in black and white give off an awesome spooky vibe, that works really well to provide older children scares without having to resort to images that may cause nightmares.

* I quite enjoyed all the little references to horror movies from the past, with one of my favorite parts being when the sea monkeys come bubbling out of the swimming pool, it was an awesome reminder of that great Christmas horror classic Gremlins.

* The musical score is really well done and suits the spooky tone of the movie perfectly.

* I think it is a great movie to get kids interested in the horror genre as there is only really one jump scare, but as always watch it first and decide if it is appropriate for your children.

The Bad:

* I found the last quarter of the movie to be a little jarring when it suddenly jumps into a creature-feature action movie, it is fun, but it doesn't fully fit with the first parts of the movie.

* None of the characters are really memorable, or hugely likeable except for Sparky.

* As an adult the movie is very predictable.

                           IMDB 6.9/10                  Rotten Tomatoes 88%            Me 7/10

"He's aliiive".

Arthur Christmas (2011)

 Hi fellow animation fans, welcome to my review of Arthur Christmas.

Synopsis: On Christmas Eve the high-tech operation to deliver presents to every child is underway with Santa (Jim Broadbent) providing the figurehead, while his eldest son and heir apparent, Steve (Hugh Laurie) runs mission control with his youngest son Arthur (James McAvoy) left to sort letters in the mail room. When it is discovered that one child has been missed Santa and Steve are willing to push the mistake under the rug, so Arthur with the aid of Grandsanta (Bill Nighy) sets out to deliver the present before the sun rises. Along the way Arthur helps his family rediscover the meaning of Christmas.

The Good:

* The voice acting is brilliant, the actors have been well chosen and really bring the Claus family to life.

* The jokes are few and far between, but they are surprisingly hilarious, with a dead rodent making me spit out my drink when I laughed out loud, just because it was so unexpected.

* The animation is really well done, my highlight would be when Arthur and Grandsanta get caught stealing a sign and during their escape the reindeer get caught up in a string of lights that spin in a beautifully mesmerizing way.

The Bad:

* There are a few things that may not be suitable for all children, for example Grandsanta talks about the Cuban missile crisis.

* Children who believe in Santa may not like seeing him leave most of the work to the elves.

* I think the worst part though is that the Claus family aren't really likeable at the start, and they don't really do a lot to redeem themselves.

                        IMDB 7.1/10                    Rotten Tomatoes 92%                  Me 8/10

Arthur replying to a letter in the mail room.

The Wind Rises (2013)

 Hi fellow animation fans, welcome to my review of The Wind Rises.

Synopsis: Based very loosely on the early years of Japanese aeronautical engineer Jiro Horikoshi from the time he was a young boy to when he designs and completes the Model Zero fighter airplane. From a young age Jiro (Hideaki Anno) has a dream of flying airplanes, but due to his need for glasses he sets his sights on becoming an aeronautical engineer, which it turns out that he is a bit of a prodigy. He is quickly employed by Mitsubishi motors to work on designing aircraft for the military, along his journey he finds inspiration and love in surprising places.

The Good:

* The animation is of course what you would expect from Studio Ghibli, beautifully designed characters, imaginative machines and stunning hand drawn scenery. 

* The sounds in the movie are a standout, instead of the usual recordings of actual planes or trains the sounds for these are made by human voices and it just works amazingly, especially during the train ride during the Tokyo earthquake.

* Like much of Miyazaki's work the story is open to interpretation, I liked to think the part with his wife and the ending dream was an analogy about war being a horrific disease, but others may see it a different way. 

* The love story was done in a tender and beautiful way that will definitely provoke emotions, I think this is a good thing even if they aren't always happy emotions.

The Bad:

* History buffs probably won't like how much creative license was used.

* Some of the subject matter may distress some viewers.

                         IMDB 7.8/10            Rotten Tomatoes 88%           Me 9/10 

Jiro presenting his design ideas to his team.

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012)

 Hi fellow animation fans, welcome to my review of Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted.

Synopsis: Continuing on from the second movie our four friends, Alex (Ben Stiller), Marty (Chris Rock), Melman (David Schwimmer) and Gloria (Jada Pinkett Smith) follow the penguins to Monte Carlo where they attract the attention of a crazed animal control officer. To escape her gaze, they blend into a travelling circus which is on its way to New York. Will they make is safely and after all these adventures will they really want to go back?

The Good:

* I honestly think this is the best of the three, with pretty much every area seeing improvement in one way or another.

* The story works really well and all new character's blend in quite nicely, with all of them having a reason to be there.

* The slapstick is really well done with quite a few laugh out loud moments for young and old.

* Most of the voice over work has also improved greatly over the previous two movies, with almost everyone sounding as if they are actually having fun this time around.

* The animation is also just that little bit clearer, while still maintaining the colorful characters and scenery that will appeal to children.

The Bad:

* The start is a little bit slow, and they seem to find transport really easily which is strange considering how hard it was shown to be previously.

* The "polka dot, circus afro" song is a total earworm that will get stuck in your head, if the kids aren't running around singing it.

* Ben Stiller just does not seem to have a great ability when it comes to voice over work, Alex sounds like the same bored lion from the first movie.

                       IMDB 6.8/10       Rotten Tomatoes 78%            Me 7/10

The four friends running from animal control.

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008)

 Hi fellow animation fans, welcome to my review of Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa.

Synopsis: Continuing on from the previous movie the four animal friends, Alex the lion (Ben Stiller), Marty the zebra (Chris Rock), Melman the giraffe (David Schwimmer) and Gloria the hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith) are preparing to escape Madagascar for a glorious return to New York. Of course, things do not go as planned and they end up crash landing in an African game reserve, where they meet more of their own kind. This leads to a few confrontations, causing a rift between the friends, but a disaster that threatens to destroy the reserve sees them pulling together and learning some important lessons.

The Good:

* I feel like the story is an improvement over the first movie with the characters showing some real growth, such as Alex who learns where he came from and how to be a better friend.

* The animation is again quite colorful and child friendly, but there are a few moments when many characters are on screen causing a little bit of blurriness.

* The penguins are awesome and steal absolutely every scene that they are in.

* Some of the jokes are amusing.

The Bad:

* Yet again the main characters are outshone by the side characters.

* Even though big-name actors provide the voices there is hardly any chemistry, it really feels like they were all recorded separately and added in when the animation was ready.

* Some of the jokes are re-used from the first movie, for example the Grandma with the "bad kitty" catchphrase.

                     IMDB 6.6/10        Rotten Tomatoes 80% (audience)      Me 5/10

Alex, Marty, Gloria and Melman ready for their New York flight.

Madagascar (2005)

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

Synopsis: In the New York Zoo there are four animals who are the best of friends. There is Alex (Ben Stiller) an attention loving Lion, Marty (Chris Rock) a zebra who dreams of running free, Melman (David Schwimmer) a hypochondriac giraffe and Gloria (Jada Pinkett-Smith) a hippopotamus that tries to keep the group happy. Anyway, on the day of his tenth birthday Marty decides to escape to the wild which of course upsets the New York residents, so the four friends are set for release in Africa. But the boat they are on meets with a little mishap and everyone gets stranded in Madagascar, but freedom isn't always perfect, can the four keep it together and stay friends?

The Good:

* The movie parodies a few older classics, and it is fun trying to spot them all, some are very obvious though.

* The animation is all bright and colorful, which will definitely appeal to the under 10 crowd.

* The penguins and Lemurs are a lot of fun, with the penguins being mysteriously good with machines, while the Lemurs provide the zaniness.

The Bad:

* The jokes are very hit and miss, the slapstick stuff is funny, the parodies are a mixed bag while the subtle jokes aimed at adults are mostly poorly timed and hardly even amusing.

* The four main characters were outshone by the supporting characters.

* The story was very basic with little to no character development.

* It feels like it was aimed at younger children, which makes all the adult-oriented jokes feel out of place and probably explains why most of them aren't funny.

                IMDB 6.9/10              Rotten Tomatoes 55%           Me 4/10

The four friends on their way to Africa.

Song of the Sea (2014)

 Hi fellow animation fans, welcome to my review of Song of the Sea.

Synopsis: A young boy named Ben (David Rawle) lives on a lighthouse island with his dad Conor (Brendan Gleeson) and his sister Saoirse (Lucy O'Connell), who he has bitter sibling rivalry with. But strange things are happening around Saoirse and when she is found on the beach late at night their granny panics and forces the children to go and live with her in the city. Neither child likes this, and both run away home, it is on this journey Ben discovers his sister is the last of the Selkies (people who can turn into seals), and she needs his help to send the fairy's home.

The Good:

* The hand drawn animation has a really ethereal, dreamlike quality to it and is absolutely mesmerizing in parts, making this a movie that you just have to continue watching from start to finish. 

* The music is also perfectly matched to help provoke the dreamlike telling of the story.

* The voice acting from everyone is brilliant.

* The story is easy to follow and has a great messaging about not bottling up your feelings, which is great because the ending is quite emotional, and you may need tissues.

The Bad:

* Some scenes may frighten younger children and some of the folklore concepts may need to be explained.

                   IMDB 8/10                  Rotten Tomatoes 99%                  Me 10/10

Saoirse and Ben.

ParaNorman (2012)

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

Synopsis: Norman (Kodi Smit-Mc-Phee) is a misunderstood, bullied child because he has the ability to see and talk to ghosts. But when his estranged Uncle Prenderghast (John Goodman) meets up with him he learns that his ability is supposed to stop a Witch's curse from destroying the town. Now it's up to Norman to save his town the only way he can.

The Good:

* The stop motion blends really well with the computer-generated imagery really bringing the world to life. 

* The comedy is really good with a blend of slapstick and one-liners. My favorite part that had me laughing out loud was the van chase between Norman, the zombies and a Policewoman.

* The story about not judging a book by its cover is really well done, so much so you end up feeling for the zombies.

The Bad: 

* There are some jokes and scary scenes that may not be suitable for some children.

* I actually found the dad and the people of the village to be unlikeable even though they did change towards Norman eventually.

* Some of the character designs are a bit weird and I couldn't figure out if it was for comedic purposes or for some other reason.

             IMDB 7/10                 Rotten Tomatoes 89%                        Me 7/20

Norman and friends?

Megamind (2010)

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

Synopsis: When two alien babies are sent to Earth one lands in an affluent area, whereas the other lands in a prison yard. These two different upbringings lead these two to become rivals and grow up to be Megaman defender of Metro City and Megamind the greatest supervillain the world has ever known. But when Megamind finally defeats Metroman he discovers that he is bored without a hero to fight, so he creates one, changing his destiny forever.

The Good:

* I love this movie because it is a fun good versus evil movie with evil learning a lesson that children will find entertaining. The main reason though is because the story has real depth to it that you can only really appreciate as an adult, for example Megamind's battle isn't really against Metroman but against himself, the way he was raised, and the expectations people have of him. Seeing him change himself for the better is brilliant storytelling.

* The soundtrack is awesome with some great hits such as Welcome to the Jungle by Guns n Roses and Bad by Michael Jackson.

* The animation is all really nice with no noticeable blur even when hundreds of Megamind's drones are on screen at once.

* The voice acting is brilliant, I have to admit I am not a huge fan of Will Ferrell' live action stuff but his voice over work in this is great.

The Bad:

* There is a little bit of slowdown in the middle of the movie when Megamind is bored of having no hero to fight, so people after nonstop action may be disappointed.

                 IMDB 7.3/10            Rotten Tomatoes 73%            Me 9/10

Megamind doing it in style.