Please stop thinking animated films are just for kids. Yes, they are a perfect way to entertain, amuse and inform children and thank goodness for them during school holidays, long car trips and inordinate waits anywhere. But these gems of cinema also beautifully entertain adults too, and not just the Continue Reading
Animation
Festive preview: The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland
(courtesy IMDb) SNAPSHOTIn the film, St Nick (voiced by Gerard Butler) receives a delayed letter on Christmas Eve from the Princess of Hearts. He and his dedicated team of reindeer set off to Wonderland, where they’re greeted by the mean and miserable Queen of Hearts, who hates all things Christmas… Continue Reading
We laughed and laughed and … Star Trek: Lower Decks S5, E1-3, Shrinking S2, E3-5 and Frasier S2, E7-8 + further thoughts on E6 (reviews)
(courtesy IMP Awards) STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS S5, E1-3 How marvellous is this animated Star Trek show? It’s cleverly written, managing to adroitly balance sparklingly full characterisation, imaginative plots and balancing affectionate parody of the franchise with some serious sci-fi cred. The only downer in this whole heady mix of Continue Reading
Velma: This halloween needs to be more special! … and thoughts on seasons 1 and 2
(courtesy IMP Awards) VELMA 2024 HALLOWEEN SPECIAL SNAPSHOTWith just 24 hours to bring Velma back, the friends search for a dark spellbook while trying to avoid the wrath of a vengeful spirit. But as the annual Sexy Halloween party nears, Velma and the gang must face their biggest fears… if Continue Reading
Scary haha! Triple animated Halloween specials review – Family Guy, Sing and Bad Guys
(via Shutterstock) Get ready to be scared! Or amused! Or both? Being animated specials aimed mostly, but not exclusively – see special #1 for example – at kids, the scares, such as they are, are lighthearted and funny, the perfect way to celebrate Halloween if, like this reviewer, you are Continue Reading
New friends, old enemies … first trailer drops for Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
(courtesy IMP Awards) SNAPSHOTGromit’s concern that Wallace is becoming too dependent on his inventions proves justified, when Wallace invents a “smart” gnome that seems to develop a mind of its own. When it emerges that a vengeful figure from the past might be masterminding things, it falls to Gromit to Continue Reading
An adventure five years in the making: Trailer released for Star Trek: Lower Decks final season
(courtesy IMP Awards) SNAPSHOTIn season five of ‘Star Trek: Lower Decks,’ the crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos is tasked with closing ‘space potholes’ – subspace rifts which are causing chaos in the Alpha Quadrant. Pothole duty would be easy for Jr. Officers Mariner, Boimler, Tendi and Rutherford…if they didn’t also Continue Reading
“It’s bigger than us!” Take a “special look” at Moana 2 (new trailer)
(courtesy IMP Awards) SNAPSHOTAfter receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana (voiced by Aulixʻi Cravalho) journeys to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she has ever faced. Disney’s Moana 2 is written and directed by animation filmmaker Dave Derrick Continue Reading
Happy 10th birthday to The Boxtrolls! To celebrate, here’s a brand-new trailer …
(courtesy IMP Awards) SNAPSHOTThe Boxtrolls are monsters living below the streets of Cheesebridge, who crawl out of the sewers at night to steal what the townspeople hold most dear: their children and their cheeses. Or so the townspeople have always believed… In truth, the Boxtrolls are just a community of Continue Reading
Movie review: Memoir of a Snail
(courtesy IMP Awards) You could be forgiven for wondering if life has any redeeming features at all in master stopmotion animator Adam Elliot’s lates feature-length triumph, Memoir of a Snail. That’s not because the writer-producer-director is some kind of irredeemable pessimist; he is in fact wonderfully optimistic in the face Continue Reading