We all know history repeats itself thanks to the ongoing presence of human being in the process who alas have shown a freakish propensity for making the same mistakes over and over and over again, but did 2021 really have to ape 2020 so completely and absolutely? I think we Continue Reading
Animation
Christmas classic review: Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol
There is no doubting the universal appeal of Charles Dickens’ 1843 A Christmas Carol. Interpreted by just about franchise going, including the Muppets, and even run in reverse by the likes of Blackadder and Scrooged, A Christmas Carol appeals because it maintains with exuberant moral certainty that the hopes and Continue Reading
Sneaking into #Christmas with Robin Robin: All warm mousey feelings, family and magic shiny wishing stars(review)
It honestly seems like Aardman Animation can do no wrong. Whether it’s the cheese-saturated domestic adventures of Wallace and Gromit or the hilarious mischievous of Shaun the Sheep, Aardman, known chiefly for their inspired stop-motion animation storytelling, have a gift, like Pixar, their spiritual narrative-shapers across the Atlantic, have a Continue Reading
A terrific trio of TV trailers: As We See It, HALO and Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock
As we race to the end of 2021, exhausted, if even we have enjoyed them ( and we have) by the sheer volume of shows now available on streaming services, which are breeding like digital, high-resolution, it’s becoming excitingly clear that 2022 has a lot of great things to take Continue Reading
The short and the short of it: The touching wonder of Louis’ Shoes
SNAPSHOTLouis, 8-and-a-half years old, is autistic. He arrives at his new school and is about to introduce himself. Louis’ Shoes, originally known as Les Chaussures de Louis in French, is co-directed by a selection of talented animation filmmakers: Marion Philippe, Kayu Leung, Theo Jamin, Jean Geraud Blanc – students at Continue Reading
Five Disney classics told by one classic storyteller: The hilarious narrative-spinning of Olaf Presents
If ever there was a breakout character from Frozen, the Disney animated juggernaut that bestrode the world when it first came out in 2013, it is the very much alive garrulously exuberant to a fault snowman Olaf (voiced with a boisterous of childlike wonder by Josh Gad) whose sheer presence Continue Reading
Growing up is a beast: New trailer for Pixar’s Turning Red
SNAPSHOTDisney and Pixar’s Turning Red introduces Mei Lee (voice of Rosalie Chiang), a confident, dorky 13-year-old torn between staying her mother’s dutiful daughter and the chaos of adolescence. Her protective, if not slightly overbearing mother, Ming (voice of Sandra Oh), is never far from her daughter—an unfortunate reality for the Continue Reading
Going back a century! Pixar gives Monsters Inc. the silent film treatment
SNAPSHOTPixar has remixed their wonderfully heartwarming CGI classic Monsters, Inc. into an amusing silent, four-minute, black-and-white animation with such vintage cinematic tricks as intertitles, exaggerated jump scares, and an old-timey piano rag playing in the background. (synopsis (c) Laughing Squid) What a delight! As if Monsters Inc. was already a Continue Reading
They go together like pasta and pesto: The heartfelt Luca redux of Ciao Alberto + Baymax! series trailer
Whatever your thinking about the merits of streaming platforms or production studios holding big, bold splashy all-day events to herald their upcoming shows and movies – crass commercialism or a tantalising glimpse into an eagerly awaited future? – the just-staged inaugural Disney+ Day 2021 was worth its existence alone for Continue Reading
Weekend movie poster art: Encanto and the magical gift on finding yourself
SNAPSHOTWalt Disney Animation Studios’ upcoming feature film Encanto tells the tale of the Madrigals, an extraordinary family who live in a wondrous, charmed place called an Encanto. Each child has been blessed with a magic gift unique to them—each child except Mirabel. But when the family’s home is threatened, Mirabel Continue Reading