Brave (2012, U.S.)

This movie was an altogether pleasant surprise. The previews really only give a glimpse of what it's really about (a welcome relief after Dark Shadows). I saw this with my mom, which made it even better because it's really a great mother-daughter movie. While a lot of the story is about girl power and Merida finding her way and being herself, it's also about Merida and the Queen listening to and understanding each other. It was really lovely. I hate to give away more of the plot, because it really was surprising, but suffice is to say there are clever lines, action, unexpected twists, lots of Celtic-ness, and bears!

The music was awesome. It sounded like the type of music you'd expect in an animated family film, but it also sounded very Scottish. It set the perfect tone. I also liked many of the other sound aspects, including the voice actors and effects. You can see little blue things by Merida in the poster; in the movie, they are will-o'-the-wisps that help lead Merida to her destiny. The noise that they made was really impressive—cooing, sweet, eerie, otherworldly. If I ever thought about what a will-o'-the-wisp sounded like, that would be it. Just a slice of how good the sound was. I also liked the animation. Merida's hair was like it's own character, and I loved her horse and little brothers and the bears too. I also thought the scenery, from glens to ancient stone circles, was that balanced blend of realistic and fake that works so perfectly in animated movies.

Obviously, I was impressed. I would recommend it for all ages, and especially for mothers and daughters and Celt-lovers.

Rating: 4.0

Puss in Boots (2011, U.S.)

Soooooooooo cute. I always thought that Puss in Boots was the best character from the Shrek movies, and now that I have two little orange fuzzballs of my own, I have to say I'm even more biased. Of course, the cat jokes were all hilarious to me (and to the friend I saw it with, who is not really a cat person). I laughed out loud several times. Antonio Banderas is such a good voice actor, and the rest of the cast was pretty good too. The plot was definitely weird. It involved Humpty Dumpty, Jack and Jill, the goose that lays the golden eggs, Jack's beanstalk... it was bordering on ridiculous, but somehow it worked. The one negative thing I will say about it is that Humpty Dumpty is just creepy, in his looks, his mannerism, everything. I don't know why, but he made me think of a pedophile. So that was a bit off-putting.

I can't say enough about the main focus of this movie, however. Of course, that's Puss. He's one of those characters like Jack Sparrow who could salvage any movie. (Well okay, that's not a fair comparison, but I thought that was true of good old Jack until POTC4!) Totally worth it for Puss, Banderas, and funny cat jokes.

Rating: 4.0

Tangled (2010, U.S.)

I had heard lots of good things about this movie, and it was cute. The story is the basic Rapunzel story, except she's a whole lot more involved in her fate than in the tale I remember. Her standard Disney animal sidekick is a little chameleon named Pascal, who is absolutely adorable. Her adoptive mother is suitably evil. The prince of the story is replaced with a sort of charismatic highwayman named Flynn Rider, which added a lot to the story since he had his own set of problems to add to hers. (They meet as he flees from palace guards when he and two hulking cronies steal the kidnapped princess's crown from the castle.) The hulking cronies (who turn against Flynn quickly) are perfect specimens of grunting stupidity. Rapunzel is spunky and determined. The animation is bright and fetchingly done. (One element that I absolutely loved were the floating lanterns that the entire royal city released on the anniversary of the princess's birth, which were just breathtakingly beautiful and pure magic, even in animated form.) I liked the first person narration that framed the story with quasi-prologue/epilogues. The plot is pretty strong. The only thing I thought was weak was the songs, which were just okay, but they were no Aladdin or Little Mermaid or even Enchanted. Otherwise, good stuff.

Adventure, humor, romance, and a happy ending... It's typical Disney fare and enjoyable as these things go. A fun twist (or tangle) on a classic story.

Rating: 3.5

Metropia (2009, Sweden)

I have to copy the plot summary from imdb to make this make sense: In the near future, oil reserves are nearly depleted and Europe is connected by a series of underground tunnels. While navigating these tunnels, Roger hears a voice in his head. Seeking a way to rid himself of the voice only leads Roger deeper into a bizarre conspiracy of control at the highest reaches of government.

This is rather oversimplifying, but it's difficult to explain. As you can see from the poster, this had the most interesting animation style I've ever seen. I couldn't quite decide whether it was 2-D or 3-D. The correlation between voice actors and characters was interesting as well. Roger looked vaguely like Vicent Gallo, while Stefan looked even more like Alexander Skarsgård. Yet these two characters also looked like each other a bit (which is a part of the story, not coincidence). So that was all pretty neat.

The world that they created in this dystopian future Europe was fascinating. The superior public transportation system, which is such a positive aspect of European life now, becomes the symbol of the worst parts of life in the future. Consumerism (and objectifying a specific woman in commercials for a specific product) gives the corrupted leaders a means of control over the populace. The colors are mostly black and gray, and only a few things stand out. Most noticeably Roger's dull red jacket, the model's brilliant blond hair, and the bright blue color of the shampoo she's advertising.

I can't fully do this film justice. The concept, the mood, the animation, the voice acting—all were superb. I highly recommend it, especially if you like something a little different every now and then.

Rating: 3.5

Despicable Me (2010, U.S.)

Despicable Me was a very strange movie. A super villain named Gru loses his place as the world's worst villain, replaced by a nerdy kid who goes by Vector, smart smart but not world-smart. To break into his arch-enemy's lair, he adopts three girls from an orphanage that sells cookies so that they can infiltrate Vector's fortress.

I wish they had focused more on Gru doing despicable things at the beginning. I loved watching him waltz into Starbucks and using a freeze gun to cut in front of everyone in line. I guess this was the kind of movie that's made for plot rather than character development, but with such a good lead character, it's a shame they didn't spend more time on him. (Side note: why are villains always eastern European? What stereotyping!) I also loved his minions, who were adorable and hilarious.

I don't often notice sets unless they're really out of the ordinary, but the "sets" in this were awesome, especially in the two villains' lairs. The furniture, technology, built-in shark tanks, weapon systems, and more were really cool. This definitely couldn't have been pulled this off in a live-action film. Gru's big dark house in an otherwise cookie cutter neighborhood also gave me a laugh.

The use of Pharrell Williams as a composer was an interesting addition to the movie. It varied in feel from serious spy to goofy and then a combination of the two, plus some weirdly unexpected R&B. The title song, "Despicable Me," was awesome. So awesome that I want to download it and make it my personal theme song.

Rating: 3.5

Toy Story 3 (2010, U.S.)

This was the first ever movie I've seen in 3-D. I don't know if I really liked that aspect of it. Mostly it just gave me a headache.

The movie, on the other hand, was great. I didn't think they'd be able to pull another story out of these characters, but they did. Andy's heading off to college and getting rid of his toys; the gang is donated to daycare, and it's a living hell.

Two big highlights were Buzz being set to Spanish-language Buzz, Barbie meeting (a very clothes-obsessed and shallow) Ken, and the aliens from the claw machine following around the Potato Heads ("You have saved our lives, we are eternally grateful!").

I was kind of back and forth about the ending. On one hand it was sweet and on the other hand it was way too sad and disappointing. Overall, it was the mix of funny and touching you'd expect from a Toy Story movie.

Rating: 4.0

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009, U.S.)

I can essentially judge this one for itself and not by its book, since I barely remember the picture book.

Basically Flint thinks he's a genius inventor, but something goes wrong with all of his inventions. Sam wants to be a weather reporter but needs a scoop for her career to take off. When the island of Swallow Falls loses its main industry (sardines), Flint's invention that turns water into food takes off, Flint gets the recognition he wants, Sam gets her scoop, and Swallow Falls gets on the map.

This was a cute movie, but it wasn't the funniest animated movie I've ever seen. Some of it was a little over the top, some of it was gross funny (not my kind of funny), and some of it was actually funny. So overall, not bad.

Rating: 3.0

Shrek Forever After (2010, U.S.)

I was kind of surprised how complicated this plot was for a family movie. Shrek is having a mid-life crisis (in itself a rather strange plot for a kid flick). He is constantly surrounded by his his wife, three children, best friend, and best friend's three children. It gets monotonous, and he misses being a real ogre. So he makes a deal with Rumplestilskin to go back to being a real ogre for today. In exchange, he gives Rumplestilskin one day of his past. Rumple is a tricky bugger and he takes the day Shrek was born. This somehow results in the King and Queen signing Far Far Away over to Rumple as well.

In the alternate universe, Fiona was never saved from the tower and she is the leader of an ogre resistance against Rumple. Rumple has a witch army, and they're pretty amusing, as is Rumple. (He has a business wig and an angry wig, for starters.) But the plot was convoluted and hard to follow, and the jokes were few and far between. It was okay, but not nearly as good as the first, second, or third Shreks. The score wasn't too bad, and it reused some themes from the earlier movies, which lent some continuity.

And then we wait for true love's kiss, yadda yadda. Eh. Perhaps it didn't help that I was crammed into a theater full of kids.

Rating: 3.0

Enchanted (2007, U.S.)

I wasn't expecting too much from this one, but I actually ended up liking it. A mixed live action and animated film is always risky, but I think it worked in this case. Amy Adams is a fairytale princess who is sent to New York City in the real world by an evil queen. Princess Giselle begins to change her views on life and love after meeting a handsome lawyer played by Patrick Dempsey.

Patrick Dempsey was just an unfortunate casting choice. The man is not a great actor, or even that attractive. Thankfully, Amy Adams is so vivacious she takes over the screen, and everyone else pales in comparison anyway. (Also, casting Idina Menzel in a minor, non-singing sort of role is really unfortunate.) Anyway, plus Susan Sarandon as the evil witch, and this was pretty engaging for a kids' flick.

As for music, wow. This was Disney at its best, especially Princess Giselle's house cleaning song. I was almost tempted to download the soundtrack!

Rating: 3.5

Kung Fu Panda (2008, U.S.)

Po, a panda voiced by Jack Black, is chosen as the Dragon Warrior (the protector or the village), even though he's overweight, has no skill at martial arts, and is completely hopeless.

For a kids' film, it was pretty good. There was actually quite a bit of laugh-out-loud parts, and the voice talent was undoubtedly good. It also had a sweet message about being able to do whatever you put your mind to. Good movie for kids.

Rating: 3.5

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008, U.S.)

This is going to be short and sweet. Of all the Pixar-esque films in the worlds, I have to say that DreamWorks Animation takes the cake with the Madagascar movies. Luckily, they didn't wear out the material in this sequel—there was old mixed with new in the perfect quantities. The voice talent is incredible. They are absolutely hilarious. They were written by adults for children and are good for children but also have jokes for adults. The scores are composed by the brilliant Hans Zimmer.

Oh yeah, and those penguins!

This is what we call laugh-out-loud funny.

Rating: 4.0

Up (2009, U.S.)

I really, really liked this film. It was funny, sad, beautiful, touching, engaging, lovely. A man who misses his wife decides to go on a journey to South America that they'd always planned together, and he travels by house, attached to a zillion balloons. The possibilities are truly endless here, aren't they?

The animation was awesome. The voice talent was spot-on. Good jokes. Suitable for small children but probably even more enjoyable for their parents. What more can I say?

There were a few parts that were just a bit too much for me, such as the ridiculous talking dogs. Still, the good stuff outweighed these goofy bits enough to make it a really enjoyable movie.

Oh, and the short played before the film, about clouds making babies for storks to deliver to earth, was priceless.

Rating: 4.0

The Tale of Despereaux (2008, U.S.)

I went to see this one with my mom, who teaches fourth grade and loves this book. It's hard to look at a kids' movie objectively, because what engages the young mind and what engages the adult mind are two entirely different things. However, I can say that as kids' movies go, this one was probably up there.

The voice talent was definitely great. Ciarán Hinds, Robbie Coltrane, and Emma Watson were all great choices. I would say that Dustin Hoffman was born to be a voice actor. Matthew Broderick (Despereaux, ironically) I could have lived without. I've never been a huge fan of his. Also, it is very strange to have an adult man's voice coming out of a mouse who is supposed to be a kid.

Perhaps I look down on children too much, but it seemed like the plot was fairly complex for the genre, thought I appreciated this aspect. I loved how the lives of three main characters were tied together, how there was a bit of mystery and suspense, how the princess was just a supporting role. One interesting thing was that Despereaux was almost nauseatingly moralistic; I wish the lessons could have been more subtle. Still, they were good lessons—even the smallest person can have the stoutest heart, doing the right thing, the importance of family, being oneself.

Since I clearly don't have a very structured opinion of this movie, I'll just toss in a few more random, un-review-like comments. First, it is incredible to me how many chidlren's stories revolve around soup. Second, what is with this need to animate inanimate objects? When you already have talking mice and rats, do you really need to have a random collection of vegetables and other culinary debris turn into a genie sidekick? But then, what do I know? Maybe kids love that stuff.

Rating: 3.0

Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World (1998, U.S.)

So today I was babysitting my friend's 4-year-old daughter, Krisna, and I was lucky enough to get to see Pocahontas II... right. Now, I loved the first Pocahontas when it came out. I was in 5th grade, and my class saw it on a field trip. I was already a bit of a history nut in those days, and Virginia history was my favorite. I read every book about Pocahontas I could get my hands on. Even at that tender age, I recognized the historical inaccuracies of the movie, but I liked it. My friend Tanvi and I sang "Colors of the Wind" for our fifth grade talent show.

But enough reminiscing. The second Pocahontas was even more liberal with history than the first, I thought. Still, for a kids' movie, it was okay. Pretty intense stuff though -- bear baiting, John Smith and John Rolfe breaking Pocahontas out of the Tower of London... Oh, and Shakespeare randomly appearing in the street. Too strange. Also, the songs weren't as good as the first one. "In 1607, we sailed the open sea / For glory, God, and gold, and the Virginia Company!" Can't beat that. Also, I've always been a John Smith fan, and not so fond of John Rolfe. So kind of hard to like the one where she falls in love with him.

Also, I knew, I knew, that John Rolfe sounded like Billy Zane. Turns out it was Billy Zane. Really, I think he's a great actor, although he's been in some pretty awful films. He was, of course, amazing in Titanic. Then a year later, he's doing voices for a not-so-great, straight-to-video, Disney movie. There's just no explanation.

Rating: 2.5