The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) - A Fun and Decent Quality Movie by Illumination

2023 was not a bad year for animated movies, I mean it had Nimona and Across the Spider-Verse as big releases, it couldn't be bad. The thing is, it was just kind of a... quiet year? It was very clear that the pandemic projects were starting to wrap up and if anything began work during 2020 or 2021, this was the last year we would see any of that. 2022 was just absolutely full of releases that everyone was going crazy over, and 2023 definitely had a lot of those as well, by comparison it felt much quieter, of course 2024 was also quiet by comparison so we'll have to see what 2025 brings us. I think doing my best list of 2023 was largely easy to do, because the top five was comprised of two movies I really loved, two movies I liked a lot, and one movie I really respected. There was, however, one movie I did not put on that list, and one might wonder why. Was it simply because I hate the studio that made it? Was it because it was not actually that good? Was it for any other reason other than that I wanted to give a shoutout to Elemental? Well, let's take a look; This is my review of The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

The plot follows Mario as he and Luigi are sucked into the Mushroom Kingdom via a pipe they found while secretly fixing the Brooklyn Water System. Luigi gets dropped in the lands under the control of Bowser, who has stolen a power star in order to get Princess Peach to marry him, but Mario has teamed up with the Princess and a brave little Toad to gather the Kong army to fight back against Bowser and save Luigi. I think the best thing about this plot is that it very much is in spirit of the video games. I could very easily imagine a Super Mario game that is a lot like this movie's plot, something akin to Super Mario World, Super Mario Bros. 3D World, and maybe a reverse of Mario is Missing. I think the big fault of many video game movies is that they can often deviate too much from the initial video games in spirit, but I feel this movie manages to within the spirit of the Mario games.

I think most of the characters are the same, close in spirit to the games. Luigi is still your scared of everything coward, Bowser is still your lovesick villain, of course Mario did not have much of a personality in the games, other than that guy who will always help out with a smile on his face because that is what he likes to do. They definitely fleshed out Mario a lot more here, and I like it. They also took a lot of influence from other sources for Peach, she reminds me a lot of the Super Mario Adventures comics that were originally published in Nintendo Power. Overall, the characters are good, the ones that are similar to their game counterparts are well-done, and the ones who do deviate are still recognizable. However, I think the voice cast is the biggest part of these characters, specifically one Chris Pratt. Honestly, I think we are so used to Mario's cartoony Italian voice that we probably would not have been too accepting of any voice actor in his role, though there probably had to be picks we would be more accepting of than Chris Pratt. I dunno, my biggest issue with Pratt is that he's just given roles he is not best suited for, but I think he does an okay job here.

The rest of the voice cast are definitely much better cast, Anya Taylor-Joy captures the determination, excitability and authoritativeness of Princess Peach (those were a lot of big words), Charlie Day definitely captures that timid nature of Luigi, and I don't think there could have been any better casting for Donkey Kong than Seth Rogen. My biggest criticism for the voice acting, as I've said before, goes to Jack Black as Bowser. He does a fine job, but his singing voice is too close to his normal singing voice for me to separate the two, and later in the movie he sounds more like Jim Cummings as Pete, I like Jack Black, the Kung Fu Panda movies I think are some of his finest work, so I think this was more of a direction thing than an actor thing. However, one place I can give credit to is the voice cameos, everyone talks about Charles Martinet's roles, a character who represents the original Mario design, and Mario's father, and those are very fitting roles for him. I also noticed Scott Menville in one scene, and it's always difficult for me to hear him voice anyone, because the first thing I immediately think when I hear him is Robin from Teen Titans.

Before I forget, I did like the music of the movie. You will hear a lot of classic Mario tunes integrated into the movie's score, and I was one of the many people who cheered when they heard the DK Rap in the movie.

When it comes to animation, I'll be honest... I think Illumination was the best studio to make this movie. I know how that sounds, but Pixar and DreamWorks both have this very noticeable and recognizable style, both of which are more focused on realistic movement and texturing. I think the cartoony world of the Super Mario Bros. games truly did benefit from a studio that is more known for Cartoony and Stylized looking animation. It might sound weird, or look weird, that I'm praising Illumination, but my gripes with them were never about animation, mostly. I was always eyeing them for their stories and that they never seemed to really reach for much with their movies. I don't think they make entirely bad movies, but by the same token I don't think they make entirely great movies either. Animation wise, sure they started off kind of basic, but I do think they've gotten better, and my biggest example of that? The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which is bright, colourful, expressive and full of life. So, is this Illumination's lone "Great" Movie?

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is good, absolutely. The story is good, the characters are good, the animation is good, what is holding it back? I think a lot of it is that the movie is simple and only really takes risks as a product and not as a movie. It's kind of hard to really love a movie like this unless it is really damn good, Transformers One was really good, but it also came out in a bit of a dead year for animated cinema. I don't think it really is the fault of the movie that I can't say that it's one of the best animated movies ever, I think it's more the year it came out and the track record of the studio behind it. It's easy to be the best when everything around you doesn't try. That being said, I do think The Super Mario Bros. Movie is good, Illumination's animation style does suit the Mario world perfectly, the casting is pretty good, and frankly, it was just nice to get a good movie with Mario in it, so for what it's worth, I do think this movie warrants a viewing, if only for being one of the few, if not only, Illumination movies I can say is better than alright.

Despicable Me (2010) - A Standard, but Endlessly Charming Movie

 

So... There is a fourth Despicable Me movie out. Honestly, I'm kinda shocked they even made a second one, but that was the 2010s, I was younger, dumber and not really in a good place. I never actually watched any of the Despicable Me movies until I saw Minions: The Rise of Gru, and that movies was... I mean it wasn't awful. I have been curious about Despicable Me, it is kind of a big thing in animated cinema and I have been meaning to check it out, but it has never been very high on my list because... I hate Illumination studios, but there's the fourth movie out now and it was available on streaming for me so why not?

Despicable Me follows Gru, a super-villain, as he plans to steal a shrink ray in a plot to steal the Moon, however another villain by name of Vector steals the ray from him, and Gru enlists the help of three orphaned girls to get in back, but he finds he gets more than the Shrink Ray. I'm going to be honest, I can't really say this is a great movie story-wise, like it hits familiar beats and you know what direction it's gonna go. Like, you just know that there is going to be something important on the same day he needs to do his moon heist, you know there is going to be a third act break-up, like it's all fairly straight forward. Despicable Me does get away with it though, firstly because this is Illuminations first feature production, but mostly because it is just so charming. People might scoff at the idea of "charm" taking something far, but the entire point of the entertainment industry is to primarily be entertaining, and charm can be a major part of entertainment value.

A lot of it is down to the characters, and the found family trope that I am realizing I am much more of a sucker for than I initially thought. Gru and the girls are just charming characters to watch, I want to see them interact, I want to see them be a family, I even want to see the turmoil of Gru trying to choose between villainy and fatherhood, I think if the characters weren't as charming and didn't work as well off of each other, the movie would have suffered a lot more. Side characters are also amusing, I guess with the only exception being Vector, not that he's a bad character or even a bad antagonist, but I think I wanted to punch him in the face more than I enjoyed seeing him on screen, and I get that is the main idea, we want to be on Gru's side, but I don't think making him a nepo-baby dork was the right idea. Of course, with Despicable Me, we have to talk about the giant yellow Tic Tacs in the room, the Minions. The Minions have been cited as one of the worst things to ever happen in animation, with constant overexposure and worthless knock-offs in other movies have made the Minions into one of the more disliked aspects of the franchise. Honestly, that's kind of a shame because I actually thought they were tolerable in this movie. Actually, that's not entirely right, the Minions had moments I actually thought were funny, they kind of harkened back to an era of classic slapstick cartoons, and even when I didn't think they were really funny, they were still kind of a cute and charming funny. I think if the Minions hadn't become the mascot for Illumination they might be more accepted.

I do have to give props to the voice cast too, Jason Segel was almost unrecognizable as Vector, Steve Carell was good, and I will always love a Julie Andrews cameo. Plus, I never would have guessed Miranda Cosgrove would translate well in the voice acting booth.

Speaking of the comedy, the movie is kind of mixed. Some jokes I knew were coming, and some did fall flat. That being said, there were some gags that I actually did like, one of my favourites was actually towards the start of the movie where Gru revealed he stole a Jumbotron, I totally expected the screen behind him to show footage of the theft, but then I realized that the screen was the Jumbotron, I don't know why but that gag really caught me off guard. Again though, even when the comedy wasn't laugh-out loud funny, it still had a charm to it. I think my only really complaints with this movie are with the animation and music, not that either is bad, but both are just kind of... standard. I can give some leeway to the animation, again this was their first animated feature, so it's not like I'm expecting Pixar quality right off the bat, but it didn't really have much to it, it was mostly just "This is what we need, don't animate anything else", just getting the job done but not really going above and beyond, which isn't really a criticism that goes away with Illumination, but to be fair they do improve in future movies. As with the music, I just don't think Pharrell Williams was the best choice to sing the theme, like I dunno, I just didn't think his voice was the right fit, but that might just be me.

I have to say, I'm honestly impressed with Despicable Me, I was fully expecting a bog standard, average at best, mediocre at worst family film, but what I got was a genuinely charming film. I don't think I can really call it a great movie, honestly I don't know if I'd even call it "good", but I would be a liar if I said it didn't have its charm. The characters were charming, the story was charming, the comedy had a charm to it, I can't think of many movies I can recommend just on how charming I think they are. I can see why this became a flagship franchise for Illumination. Do I recommend it? Yes, but I think I'll go Slight Recommendation on this one, mostly because charm only does get you so far, but I genuinely think that Illumination made a decent family film here. If only they could do it again.

Dr. Seuss' The Grinch (2018) - A Harmless, if too Safe, Retelling of the Classic Story

When it comes to Christmas specials, I think one that everyone loves is the 1966 classic, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, it's Dr. Seuss, Chuck Jones and Boris Karloff, we love the characters, message and music. It really is one of the most perfect holiday specials there is, and while I would love to talk about it, at 25 minutes, it does not qualify as a feature. However, there were two attempts to make a feature film of the 50 page children's book, one in 2000s with Jim Carey, which was live-action so it's not on my table, and one in 2018 by Illumination. Oh boy, Illumination, my least favourite animation studio, I would say that I was not expecting anything great when this movie was announced, but let's be fair here, nobody was. I don't think there was one single person who watched this movie that expected it to be great, honestly I doubt half of the people who watched it thought it was gonna be good. It seemed like another Illumination movie that was harmless but not much else. Well, it's Christmas, so I may as well give it a watch.

The story follows the basic premise of the book, all the Whos who live in Whoville really love Christmas, but the Grinch does not. So, one night he decides that he's gonna steal Christmas, the gifts, the lights, the lot. To flesh and pad things out, they want to give The Grinch a reason he hates the holiday, but it's glossed over, to the point where it probably could've been cut out. I do appreciate they wanted to show the actual planning of the holiday heist, but the movie is still pretty... meh? I can't say it's really weak, because the only thing that makes it weak is how they handle the scene where the Grinch's heart grows. In the original, him pulling up the massive sled is symbolic of the power of the true spirit of the Holiday, but here, he gets outside help. However, I will concede that maybe, they wanted to try a different theme with this interpretation, a theme about love, kindness and friendship. Okay, I'm not against that on principle, I just don't think it's done all that well. I should also mention the B-Plot with Cindy Lou Who, which is... okay. I admire it tackles he subject of overworked parents, which is especially rough around the holiday, but it doesn't really get solved. Cindy blames herself for Christmas being stolen, but the actual issue is not really addressed, at no point does she tell her mom that she thinks she's overworked.

The characters are mostly just there, not really the most memorable, not really leaving a massive impact. The Grinch's characterization in this version does leave some people a little frustrated I think, because, what was just a sour, grumpy, mean jerk, has his edges sanded down and became much softer. On principle, I'm not against this change, one of my issues with the original story is that The Grinch just goes from mean to nice with no real transition. I remember Cellspex calling this version of The Grinch a "Tsundere", and honestly I think Cellspex covers why this version of The Grinch just doesn't work as a character the best. The rest of the cast is... fine, I guess. I didn't hate them, but I was not eager to see more of them. The voice acting isn't bad though, we've got an Angela Lansbury cameo, which is always pleasant, and most of the cast like Kenan Thompson, Cameron Seely and Rashida Jones do a good job, Benedict Cumberbatch is... okay, he does just kinda sound like that generic nasal voice anyone can do, like Herman from The Simpsons, and Pharrell Williams as the Narrator is wholly unnecessary. The original had narration because it was 25 minutes, this is over an hour, it did not need narration.

The animation is... trying. It really wants to look like a colourful Christmas movie with all the lights and stuff, but the actual colour is kind of washed out, and what we're left with is a lot of white, blue and brown tones, I think spectacles like the lit up town at night, and the lighting of the tree were meant to look really colourful and festive, but they just don't, they look faded and the actual colour gets over taken by other bright lighting. The actual animation is fine, it moves nicely and I didn't notice any obvious flubs, but it really isn't that visually appealing. Plus it puts a lot of scenes full of nothing but "thrilling" movement, and again it's just unnecessary, I'd take less of unfunny slapstick and chase scenes, and more character development scenes, or a scene where Cindy Lou's story actually gets some kind of resolution, and I mean a real resolution.

I think the sad thing about this movie is, I can't say it's bad. It tried, it tried to be something, which... I think is worth something. I'd rather a movie try and fail, than not try. Like is this movie "good"? I can't say that, but is it better than something like Duck Duck Goose or Open Season? Definitely, yeah. I think the big problem is that, they wanted to carve their own identity in something that is already iconic, it's like that version of A Christmas Carol on Netflix from 2022, I enjoyed that movie, but it had the same basic idea. The Grinch and A Christmas Carol are iconic stories, and putting ones own spin on them is a risky venture, sometimes we'll get a Muppet Christmas Carol, but other times we'll get a 2009 Christmas Carol. Do I recommend this movie? That's a difficult one, because I don't want to say it isn't worth seeing, it's not, but like I can see really young kids getting into this movie. It's these kinds of movies that are toughest to rate for me, because what good is a movie that only one specific audience can enjoy? But on the other hand, that does mean someone still enjoys it. Plus, it's not like this movie is straight up harmful or anything, so... I'm going to go Slight Recommendation on this one. If you have really little kids, they might like it, but this is a "If it's on streaming and you want something easy" recommendation.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) - A Surprisingly Fantastic Action-Adventure Movie

 

I have made my opinion on 2022 as a year for animated movies abundantly clear. However, I will say this about the year which I believe I have only implied, 2022 was an interesting year... in concept. By that I mean, if you just look at the kinds of films that were released last year, it is actually quite fascinating. So many visual styles, and different attempts to tell their stories. The problem simply was that a lot of it just just felt formulaic and didn't really add much new, at least they didn't feel like they did. That is a big reason why my top five favourite animated movies turned out the way it did. I bring all of this up because, in late 2022 I was getting a bit burnt out, I was just looking forward to my January off and was kind of planning to only do one movie review in December, and because of that, I didn't end up writing a First Impressions for the new Puss in Boots movie, in fact I didn't see it in theatres at all, and from all of the buzz around this movie, apparently I missed out. So, let's change that, lets give a look to Puss In Boots: The Last Wish.

The story follows our favourite Feline Spaniard Puss in Boots, as he gets down to his final of nine lives. With Death stalking him, literally, he lies low until Goldilocks and the Three Bears Crime Family try to find him to help them steal the map to the Wishing Star, a fallen star that can grant one wish. The one problem, the map is in the hands of Jack Horner. Puss in Boots, plus Kitty Softpaws and a new Dog friend, travel through the Dark Wood to reach the Star before anyone else can reach it, or Death can reach Puss in Boots. I think my favourite thing about this plot is that it avoids using a lot of traditional clichés, I remember seeing people talk about this movie and "What if this character got their wish" and I thought to myself, "Okay, the dog character gets killed and Puss wishes him back finally learning the value of one life", but no, that doesn't happen. Heck, even when they do a third act split up, it's done for an understandable reason. We understand where Puss in Boots is coming from, we understand his anxieties and fears. I mean, the plot is smooth as butter on its own, but avoiding using the fake out death cliché, I love it already.

And yeah, the characters are all delightful. The relationships each character has is so believable that you almost forget you're watching a movie with talking cats, dogs and bears. You genuinely believe that Kitty has a deep sense of betrayal, that Goldie and the bears are a genuine family, that Jack Horner is... unredeemable and pure evil, God I missed having villains like this. Not that I don't love more three-dimensional and deep villains like John Silver from Treasure Planet or The Gorgs from Fraggle Rock, but sometimes you do just want a villain that is just plain evil. Speaking of villains, let's talk about Death, because yeah, I totally get why everyone latched onto this character. Effortlessly intimidating, that whistle sent chills down my spine, and his voice is just right, maybe a bit on the plain side though. I mean, I don't need, or want him to sound like Christian Bale's Batman, but I could have gone with a bit more of a sinister voice, then again, Death having such a standard, every-day voice might actually make him much scarier. Genuinely, I think this is one of the most terrifying performances in an animated movie.

2022 will be the year I pegged as animated movies trying more styles, and compared to some of the other movies that came out in 2022, this movie does look a little standard, but this movie did not need stylized animation because this movie looked so good. The beautiful colours, the wonderful transitions that used the characters fading out, and the character designs, I liked the stylized look of films like The Bad Guys and Wendell & Wild, but sometimes, a really good non-stylized movie can still look fantastic. That isn't to say there is no stylization, some of the action scenes were definitely inspired by the look of the more stylized animated movies, like Into the Spider-Verse and The Bad Guys, and it does feel a little out of place, but that is just nitpicking, the animation of this movie is fantastic. Really, it is a shame I didn't see this one in theatres, because hot damn, this is a theatre movie done beautifully. Some films only ever look impressive on giant screens in dark rooms, but this movie is one of those that would look great on a dinky laptop in the summer sun.

So yeah, this was a really good movie. I kind of thought I could skip this one since... I mean it's a Puss in Boots movie, did anyone even care about the first one? I mean, I doubt it's a bad movie, but it feels like it would be such an inessential movie, so how good could the sequel really be? Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is a reminder that when you give something a chance, you can be surprised. Giving movies a chance is a big reason I started this blog. This is a movie I missed out on and am really glad I decided to watch, it is a fantastic movie and easily one of the best of 2022. Where would it rank on my list? Honestly, it probably ranks over Wendell & Wild, yeah it is that good. Which does in fact mean, that this movie is a High Recommendation from me. Then again, considering it's accolades, you've probably already seen it.

First Impressions: The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)

I'm going to be honest, I hate Illumination Studios. I have not seen all of their movies, and I doubt they're all terrible movies. However, Illumination is easily the poster boy for "Safe" movies. The kind of movies that are so inoffensive and non-threatening that they straight up annoy me. So, I was actually kind of excited for The Super Mario Bros. Movie, as surprising as that sounds, because the trailers and screen-shots of the movie made it look so much different and more unique from the rest of Illumination's output. So I waited with anticipation and high, but reasonable expectations. I was not expecting something like a Secret of NIMH or a Felidae here, honestly if Illumination made a movie on par with either of those, I'd would be beyond amazed, but I was kind of expecting Illumination to take a risk, be bold and raise their bar by a lot, and did they accomplish that?

Truthfully, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is... somewhat what I expected. By Illumination's standards it is a very risky movie, but that is by Illumination standards, which is a bar so low it's practically in the Earth's outer core. Secret Life of Pets 2 and Minions: The Rise of Gru were not awful movies, but they were fairly safe and formulaic. Not that this movie is not formulaic at all, but it isn't as predictable as Minions 2 was. Minions 2 had the recognizable pattern of the standard family film, the third act break-up that is meant to be emotional only to bring everyone together in the end because "Hey, I didn't really mean what I said". There is a bit of a third act break-up here, but it isn't played with a misunderstanding or a emotional low point... sort of. It was more a consequence of the action. Plot wise, I do think Illumination stepped out on a limb here, a baby step maybe, but still a step.

Of course, no discussion of this movie is complete without talking about the voice cast, namely one Pratt by name of Chris. Chris Pratt is the voice of Mario and... he's fine. Yes, it would have been nice if we got Charles Martinet as the voice, but Chris Pratt does fine. Charles Martinet is not forgotten in this movie, being the voice of Mario's Dad, which is a nice touch. Honestly, my biggest issues with the voice actors lay with Cranky Kong and Bowser. Cranky Kong's actor was fine, but he sounded way too young for this role, I always imagine Cranky with a Red Green kind of voice, old and grizzled without a hint of wisdom. as for Bowser, for the most part he's actually fine, great even, but when he sings he often slips into Jack Black's regular voice, and that is just distracting. I love Jack Black, and I do think he was a good casting choice for Bowser, but moments like that did pull me out of the movie a bit.

Honestly though, those were my only complaints. Everything else is fairly good. The animation is colourful and does its job pretty well, the story moved at a good pace, and the characters were pretty well written. Avid Mario fans are also going to enjoy spotting references all over the place, with things like Pauline's cameo, Foreman Spike and his hat saying Wrecking Crew, the Dragon Coin from Super Mario World and the shop from Mario Odyssey, plus references to other Nintendo properties like Punch-Out and Kid Icarus. Some references I would have loved to see would have been mostly characters that could appear in a potential sequel (Wink wink) such as Wario, Waluigi, Daisy, Rosalina and Toadsworth, who relly should have been on the council of Toads, but I digress.

On Twitter, Crimson Mayhem put forth the question about Illumination making a movie based on The Legend of Zelda. Honestly, I will still need a tad bit more convincing for that. Not that I don't think Illumination can pull it off, but they really should get some more experience with video game adaptations before I'm fully on board. Honestly, I think now would be the best time for a Zelda movie, since video game adaptations are finally getting quality releases, with the Sonic movies being enjoyed by games fans and general audiences, and this movie being pretty solid. Is it the big risky move I was expecting from Illumination? Not really, but to be fair, I was kind of expecting a lot there, wasn't I? The fact that this movie is better than "Watchable" is quite frankly astounding on its own. I'm hoping this isn't just a fluke, but I doubt it's a sign of things to come. I can say this movie gets a solid Recommendation from me.

First Impressions: Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022)

The Minions, one of the more infamous creations from the minds of animators. Even though I have never seen a Despicable Me movie prior to this, I was fully aware of the Minions in everything from advertisements to parodies to out right rip offs. For whatever reason, the Minions were to Illumination what the Looney Tunes are to Warner Bros. Despite their annoyingness, their beyond minimalistic design, and the fact that whenever we get a cruddy knock off it always drags down any good things that the Minions may have had. So, to be blunt, I was not looking forward to Minions: The Rise of Gru, and with a lot of the "Anti-Woke" crowd heralding it, I was even less excited to see it. However, I do have a job to do, so I took my friend to see it with me, if I was gonna suffer, I'd rather have a friend to ease the pain.

After paying for the tickets, sitting through the Pre-Show and the trailers, getting popcorn stuck in my teeth, quite frankly this movie is absolutely and completely, okay. Yeah, it's okay. It wasn't an unpleasant experience, but I wouldn't say it's fantastic. I mean, I can see why people may like it, don't really see why it's being heralded as one of the best movies of the year, but then again I don't get the "Anti-Woke" crowd, so, whatever. This movie is okay.

It is so okay that I probably would have written this blog if something wasn't nagging at the back of my mind about it, and no, it's not the "Anti-Woke" crowd heralding it, well it is partially that, but it ties into a bigger picture. Minions: The Rise of Gru is an okay movie, and quite frankly, I'm done with okay.

Really think about it, what were some other animated kids movies released this year? The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild, Turning Red, The Bad Guys, Lightyear, and this one, among others I'm missing, but this is a good enough sample size. Out of all of these movies, you know which one really wowed me with the story and characters? Not a single one, not that these were all bad movies, but none of these movies were at the level of quality as some of the other movies I've talked about here, movies that were sometimes made for a younger audience. I'm not talking about South Park or Felidae here, I mean movies like Blue's Big Musical Movie, like DuckTales The Movie, like Disney's Cinderella, those movies are for the same, if not a younger audience, and are still really good movies. Movies that are more emotionally complex, movies with some harsh and scary moments, movies that can be exciting and thrilling but also pause and breathe.

By contrast, most kids movies now follow a very recognizable formula. It's almost like a road map, and it is most notable in the emotional low point. These low points always end up being before the climax, usually have some characters breaking apart only to reunite in the actual climax, and are only really emotional to the young children watching it because they've never sat through What's Opera, Doc? or any other genuinely emotional moments in their favourite cartoons or movies. Isn't that strange, as television cartoons become a lot more for older kids, kids movies just seem to stay in this bit of stagnation where the quality of the movie rests more on the entertainment value rather than the quality value of the story and characters.

To put it bluntly, I do not see The Bad Guys in a plot akin to The Secret of NIMH, I can not see The Minions in a movie like The Lion King, Buck Wild would have absolutely destroyed the surprising depth of the original Ice Age movie. In fact, Ice Age is kind of the perfect example of this. The first movie was surprisingly good, much more emotional than I initially remembered, but then we got sequels that took away the emotional parts and replaced them with more characters and zanier plots. Illumination really reminds me of Blue Sky, and the Blue Sky studios that actually was and not the one people remember after being axed by Disney. Remember, Blue Sky did a lot of similar kinds of safe looking movies, nothing that would really challenge the audience, but then they did Spies in Disguise, a surprisingly good movie that seemed to be able to set them on the right path, but this blog isn't about Blue Sky.

My point is, we're getting a lot of safe movies for kids, and yes, we are getting movies like Isle of Dogs, The Lego Movie 2 and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. However we're also getting a lot of movies like UglyDolls, Playmobil, Wonder Park, Secret Life of Pets 2, Arctic Dogs, Scoob, even some of the good movies like Abominable and Klaus, great movies, but I wouldn't say their plot and characters were anything special. We aren't getting a lot of movies like The Land Before Time, Treasure Planet, Spirited Away, in fact I'd argue that The Care Bears Movie from 1985 was much riskier than most of the kids movies we're getting today, and that is a Care Bears movie.

Why are movies getting safer? Well, that's an easy answer, money. Safer movies make a lot of money. Say what you will about The Lion King 2019, it made a lot of money, and from what I am seeing, this movie is making a lot of money, more than Lightyear. Lightyear is a bit of a riskier movie than Minions, but Minions is making more money. Parents don't really want to spend the theatre money on a movie that their kids are probably going to be scared of, cry at or just not know how to feel about, they'd rather take them to something that looks like a good time. So of course we're going to get less Secret of NIMH or Raggedy Ann and Andy movies, because those kinds of movies are just riskier to make. However, something a lot of companies never seem to realize is that, movies can pay off in the long term. Look at Nightmare Before Christmas or Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure, those movies didn't so do hot at the box office, weren't critical darlings and seemed like they wouldn't make much of an impact on pop culture. Tell me Nightmare Before Christmas isn't a huge part of Pop Culture today, that it isn't one of Disney's biggest properties, and from all the videos about it on YouTube, I'd say that the Raggedy Ann and Andy is becoming more of a cult classic.

Minions: The Rise of Gru is an okay movie, it is absolutely safe, not a lot of risks taken here. That is why I can't say this movie is harmless for kids, it is, but if you're just keeping them in a bubble, they're going to miss out on so much. Sometimes risks don't pay off, but one risk that pays off in the long run is better than ten safe bets that pay off in the short term, and Illumination is the epitome of safe bets paying off in the short term. I wouldn't recommend this movie normally, but as a movie, it's okay. Just, maybe grab a copy of The Secret of NIMH or The Prince of Egypt next time you're movie shopping.

Also, I find it way too weird that the "Anti-woke" crowd is heralding a movie where a black person is the villain, that just does not seem like a coincidence to me.

Cats (2019) - A Mediocre Adaptation of the Energetic Musical

 

There are a lot of movies I could have done for this special effects movie marathon. However, these first three films I was set on talking about. King Kong was the film that pioneered a lot of special effect techniques, so I felt obligated to start with that one. Avatar was one of the biggest movies of the time, and it is getting a sequel, and Cats was one of the first times I've been privy to the discussion of Special Effects Films versus Fully Animated Films. I've probably heard the argument that movies like this should be completely animated pop up before, I mean this came out the same year as that awful Lion King remake, but my only reaction to takes like that was always to just shrug it off. I'm of the opinion that not everything that works in live-action will work in animation, especially a show that is as acrobatic and reliant on the performers as Cats is. If you've seen the 1998 version of Cats, you would know that Cats is a show that is very reliant on spectacle, lots of complicated dancing, tight choreography and high energy. You aren't watching Cats for the same reason you'd watch Les Misérables or Hamilton, you're watching Cats because it is a show, not just a performance.

I'll admit, I really liked the 1998 version of Cats, I like the music and I love the performances. So I was curious to go back to the 2019 version, as this was my introduction to the musical. I've seen references to the musical here and there, but until the movie came out I never actually watched any version of Cats. So, I decided to take this chance to watch this movie again and see if my initial impressions hold up. If I knew I was gonna write a review for this movie back when I first saw it, I would have done a first impressions. Actually, note to self, plan a review for Wonder Park in the future.

For any fans of the musical, or haters for that matter, this is unmistakably the story of Cats, sort of. The original musical does not really have much of a story, so the movie makes a few changes. They make Victoria the central focus character, which is both odd, but also makes some sense. Victoria is a minor character in the musical, I don’t think she is even named directly in the show, so it’s odd but it does give the filmmakers something of a clear slate to work with. We watch as Victoria gets introduced the the Jellicle Cats as they begin their Jellicle Ball, where Old Deuteronomy selects a Jellicle to be reborn. However, one Cat named Macavity is determined to be chosen and kidnaps the other contestants and eventually Old Deuteronomy, in this version played by Judi Dench, not a bad choice considering she is Cats alumni, but I do admit I like Ken Page in the '98 version better. The plot is weird because it is at its core, still the musical, but with some changes. Firstly, wasn't the idea that the audience was meant to be the focal point character? The one who was experiencing all of the action and being told about the different cats? I feel like they could have had some fun with this concept in the movie, like a Wayne's World or Deadpool kind of thing where they are always breaking the fourth wall and addressing the audience. They also add a bit of meat to the bones by giving each cat a reason they'd want to be chosen to start a new life, sort of, it's not really all that detailed and isn't even present in some cases, and they also try to make Macavity more of a threat by having him be more active in the story. They also add in a plot point where it is Victoria who convinces Grizabella to sing at the Jellicle Ball, which is an interesting interpretation of the original scene. Overall, I can't be too hard on the plot because the original musical is fairly bare in terms of plot. The plot of Cats is vague enough to really be open to interpretation, I've heard takes about it as a fable of sorts, about it being metaphorical and allegorical of human society, and about it just being a showy musical. They tried to add more meat to these bones, but the end result is... mixed.

A part of me really thinks, and I know I'm not alone on this, that the writers did not really understand the characters all that well. They made Jennyanydots, who in the musical seemed good natured and sort of motherly into a cat pun spewing fat joke. Bustopher Jones seemed more regal and respected in the musical where in this movie we just get another clownish fat joke. I'll give Jason DeRulo credit, he tried with Rum Tum Tugger, but this character in the musical is just effortlessly cool and Jason DeRulo just does not emit that kind of coolness, and I don't believe that Bombalurina was meant to be a part of Macavity's posse. However, all of them got off lightly, unlike my favourite character Mr. Mistoffelees. Who was hands down the coolest character in the musical just became a nervous and shy mess. The Cat that was so cool, Rum Tum Tugger, the Cat that breathes, oozes and gyrates coolness had respect for him, is barely recognizable here. On top of all of that, it was actually kind of hard to tell which cat was which, they all kind of looked the same. Yes, they had different coloured fur, but they all had similar patterns, similar levels of fluffiness, no real discernable features on any of them. I could barely tell that Munkustrap was supposed to be Munkustrap. Seriously, look at the 1998 version, you can see that there is variety to their coats and accessories, where in this movie, you can really only tell them apart because of the clothes they wear. It also doesn't help that the movie is dark, muddy and grungy, but to be fair, the '98 version was also somewhat dirty too, it's just they didn't have brown gels over the lights.

But again, plot and characters are not why you're seeing Cats, you are seeing Cats because it is a show, it is full of amazingly tight choreography and high energy music. Something I really admire of the musical is that they incorporated some rock elements into the musical score, which perfectly captured the mood of the songs. In this movie, they add a lot of Techno elements to some of the songs, which I don't actually think work. On top of that I feel like some of the performances are off, and part of this is because there is a noticeable difference between the way one performs on stage and the way one performs on screen, so getting a bunch of screen actors and record singers rather than stage performers just won't deliver the same kind of performance. Then again, it is possible that the timing of their delivery is just off, listening to "Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer" in this movie just did not sound right to me, and I don't know how to explain it since I am not music savvy at all. I will give credit that there were some things about the music I liked, like in "Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats" towards the end where they start listing all the kinds of cats, they only have like one to two or so cats sing each part and I thought that was a cool idea, and there were some lyric changes I was fine with. "I might mention, Mungojerrie, Rumpleteazer, and Grittlebone."

As for the animation and choreography, well my impression of Cats was that it was always uncanny valley looking, so I kind of brushed that criticism off. Looking at this movie again, yeah the CG can be a bit weird looking. It is mostly noticeable with the mice and cockroaches, but sometimes the cats also look really fake, which kind of diminishes the value to the choreography. Because the cats are literally coated in CG I can't really tell if these moves were done by real people or done in CG, which begs the question why this wasn't entirely animated, like one incarnation of the film was meant to be, but then all the moves would be animated, which may actually take away from the experience, as part of the spectacle of Cats is the choreography, and because these actors already look completely animated, and probably were in some shots, I can't really be impressed by the movement. It also doesn't help that some of the more complicated moves, like in Mr. Mistoffelees' number, aren't present, so most of the song numbers are the Cats running around rather than doing any of the synchronized moves like in the musical. I really should try to let this movie stand on its own merits, but what does it really offer?

It offers subpar music, an attempt at a more fleshed out plot with mixed results, not very good visuals or choreography and all in all just a lot to be desired. So, this movie really sucks, eh? Like, worst picture of 2019 Razzie award winning sucks? In 2019? The year of The Lion King remake? The movie that took a beautiful and visually large movie, set in a beautiful and visually large part of the world and made it look muddy and unimpressive? The movie that actually took away things from the original but actually made the run time longer? You're seriously going to sit there and tell me that a mediocre at worst adaptation of a musical that not everybody even likes is worse than a movie that actively slapped the faces of animation fans and the people who worked on it? I hate The Lion King remake so much, but Cats 2019? Honestly, it doesn't make me as mad. I feel like they tried something, what they tried I have no idea, but they tried something. Sure, the CG is a bit uncanny, but I'll take awful CG in a mediocre movie than mediocre CG in an awful movie, and looking at the entire package, I wouldn't say this movie is awful. I will grant Cats this, when I first saw it, it did make me want to check out the original musical, so forgive me if I think the Razzies are about as full of trash as the Oscars. No, this is not a good movie, but I would be lying if I said it was one of the worst movies I've seen, really it's biggest crime is being a mediocre adaptation. It's not the Plan 9 From Outer Space kind of entertainingly bad, and it's not the Lion King 2019 kind of infuriatingly bad, it's just a mediocre kind of bad. I guess it also hurts a little that this was directed by Tom Hooper, who directed The King's Speech, which is my favourite movie of all time. So, while I don't recommend this, I can't say it's as bad as its reputation says. Take that for what it's worth.

First Impressions: The Bad Guys (2022)

 

2022 Has so far been an... interesting year for animated movies. The first notable release was The House, which was an anthology film, then there was that new Ice Age atrocity, then there was all the bad takes on Turning Red (including one which I think has quite frankly gotten enough attention) and then two movies from the last year made more notable this year, and that only truly applies to one of the two. I don't think this has been a bad year so far, there are two movies this month I still have yet to see, but so far not many movies have really been amazing, and the ones that could have been are being released next year. So, with the opportunity to see the latest theatrical animated movie, one that actually was meant to come out this year, of course I'd have to do a First Impressions on this one.

Going into this film, I did not have a lot of expectations, I expected a cute and entertaining family film and I got a cute and entertaining family film. It is not a bad movie, I'd say it's pretty good, but I would not say it was great.

So, what did I like about this movie? Well, for starters the animation and art-style was excellent. DreamWorks does not usually attempt different art styles in their movies, so this was an interesting looking film in their catalogue. The cel shaded feel gives this movie a unique look as most movies don't typically opt for this style of CG. The cel shaded look is typically reserved for video games more often than not. Sure we did see something like it in Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, but that was stylized to look like a comic book. I am interested in seeing what the influence of both of these movies will be, whether or not we'll be seeing more movies with a similar look or not.

The acting is fine too, there aren't a whole lot of ultra-recognizable names in this movie, there's Sam Rockwell and Awkwafina, I also recognized the voice of Richard Ayoade of The IT Crowd and there was also Alex Borstein, most notable for voicing Lois Griffin on Family Guy. That being said, everyone did a good job with their roles and there weren't any bad line reads, so all-in-all the acting gets a pass from me.

Where the movie doesn't win me over is the plot. It is not a bad plot, but a rather predictable one. I saw this movie with some friends and after a while me and one of my friends just kind of figured who the true villain was gonna be, and then the characters are in prison and there is this ultra awesome black masked warrior that shows up and kicks all of the police officer's butts. I kind of figured which character was behind the mask immediately after they showed up. Ultimately, there is not going to be a whole lot about this movie's plot that will wholly surprise you, but that doesn't really take away from the rest of the movie's strengths.

As a whole, the movie was an entertaining time. I'd put it with the Sonic the Hedgehog movies or Angry Birds 2. I don't think it will be regarded as one of the best movies of the time, animated or otherwise, but it is still an entertaining enough watch. I've watched a fair number of movies this year, and a lot of them were dark, The House, The Batman, Studio 666, Everything Everywhere All at Once, okay that one wasn't dark, but it was weird and a bit obtuse, either way there is nothing wrong with watching a more basic, but entertaining movie every now and again. If there happens to be a sequel to this movie, I wouldn't mind checking it out. I can't say this is a very high recommendation, but I definitely do recommend it. No real surprises for avid movie-goers, but it's fun and entertaining, not bad at all.