SNAPSHOTWakiki island is in peril by the destructive powers of the evil tiki god Tori, only one turtle is brave enough to stop him: Speedy the Turtle! (synopsis courtesy YouTube) What is it with Big Bads and their love of world-enslaving bling? They crave the stuff and it’s always up Continue Reading
Animation
“I wish I knew how to quit you”: Iconic movie lines get animated in the funniest of ways
At the heart of every great movie sits a sparkling, literate, narratively-rich screenplay. It’s not the only thing that at play, of course, but a movie without inspired writing might look flashy and beautifully-produced but will always feel more than a little hollow and insubstantial. Proof of how important superbly-rendered Continue Reading
At Home #COVID19 French Film Festival: 5 delightful shorts incl. Oktapodi, Stuffed, The Pocketman, After the Rain and Sam’s Dream
Animated short films are a delight in so many ways. They demand of their creators an elegant economy of storytelling, a knack for near-instant fully-realised characterisation and a visual style which can set the scene quickly and keep building until a not-far-off finale. These five French animated shorts, accessed via Continue Reading
What’s up Doc?! 80 new Looney Tunes cartoons that’s what!
SNAPSHOTBugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and the rest of the Looney Tunes gang are set to make their Porky Pig-like entrance back onto our screens starting May 27 … [via] all-new animated shorts series Looney Tunes Cartoons. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation and featuring a talented group of voice cast members Continue Reading
The short and the short of it: The Orchestra and a world filled with beautiful music
SNAPSHOTImagine a world where a band of tiny musicians follow you and play a soundtrack for your life – communicating your emotions, fears and hopes. In this world lives elderly Vernon; a lonely man whose crippling shyness causes his orchestral musicians to perform terribly out of tune. When Vernon and Continue Reading
Movie review: The Willoughbys
You may not think that a story of horrifically neglectful parents, starving children (emotionally and physically) and gothic hilarity told through vividly manic animation where the colours and sheer force of imagination are in perfect sync would be a good idea or come even remotely close to working, but it Continue Reading
What makes Chewbacca tick? Looper entertainingly explores his backstory this Star Wars Day #Maythe4thBeWithYou
SNAPSHOTWhy is his weapon so different from almost everyone else’s? Why does he talk like that when he clearly understands different languages? Is Chewbacca his actual given name? We took a deep dive into Star Wars lore to find what makes this Wookiee tick. (synopsis via Laughing Squid) Poor Chewie. Continue Reading
Movie review: Onward
If there is one thing that animation powerhouse Pixar is justifiably famous for, it’s the ability to invest its animated features with a metric ton of meaning and emotion in every frame. Films like the Toy Story franchise, UP, Inside Out are so well-loved and highly-regarded not just because they Continue Reading
COVID-19 retro movie festival: The Croods #MovieReview
With COVID-19 cutting a swathe through just about everything worldwide, it’s no surprise that cinema is being as affected as anything else. In just one day, one of my favourite cinema chains temporarily closed, the Sydney Film Festival was cancelled, the French Film Festival was postponed and my other favourite Continue Reading
The short and the short of it: The raw, aching longing of Raymonde or the Vertical Escape
SNAPSHOT“Raymonde is really fed up with peas, aphids, dirty panties and her kitchen garden to dig. After all, she would prefer sex, and love, and the immensity of the sky…” Raymonde or the Vertical Escape (also titled Raymonde ou l’évasion verticale originally in French) is a stop-motion animated short film Continue Reading