athena

I would argue that Toy Story 3 is one of the few *necessary* sequels to be made. The toys have been asking almost since the first movie, what will become of us when Andy doesn't love us anymore? Will we end up as yard sale material? Will we be thrown away? So for those of us who have followed the journey of Andy's toys from the beginning, Pixar has done a very good job at bringing fans of the series are certain sense of closure.

After 15 years of Pixar movies it's almost redundant to say things like "great animation" or "masterful storytelling" so I'm not going to get into all that. You will laugh. You will cry. In that regard it is everything you would expect from a Pixar movie.

So why the half-star off? Without giving anything away, this movie is "darker" and definitely "more adult" in its themes than either of its predecessors. The toys face real danger at times and I would echo other reviews I've seen saying that very young children may find some of the sequences a bit too intense.

For me... well, it felt a shade too dark at times. In my review of "The Black Cauldron" I talked about how the fluffy sidekick didn't really fit with the walking undead. This had just a smidge of that, but definitely--DEFINITELY--not as extremely as Black Cauldron. I just felt that some of the themes addressed were dealt with on a more even keel in Toy Story 2 than in this one... but again, that call is more a matter of taste than anything else.

Should you see this movie? If you're a fan of the first two movies, I would say absolutely.

Oh, and for those worried about the "3D" factor. Honestly, I didn't even notice and my seat was pretty close to the screen.

My review in four words: "Go see this movie."

I remember having this weird moment in the middle of the film where I actually thought that, when it was over, I would simply walk out, buy another ticket, and walk right back into the next showing. In my humble opinion, it is that good.

The naysayers will probably write that this film is basically "Pocahontas" with dragons or "Avatar" with dragons, but the thing that those film lack this one has in spades. And while this is a film that could give "Avatar" a run for its money in terms of its flying sequences and *well-utilized* 3D, the difference is that I actually care about Hiccup and I care about Toothless.

This film does what many action-adventure movies forget to do--it takes its time. There's no magical moment where boy and dragon instantly bond and everything is sunshine and roses. It's a struggle. These two sides have been at war for generations and each rightfully has fear and trust issues with the other. And yet, the best stuff in this film is that slow but fascinating build up in their relationship. Their struggle as they learn to fly together with a lot of missteps and a lot of crashes in between. Add to that the struggle of a teen who just wants his father's approval--another relationship that's masterfully done with an incredible amount awkwardness and love on both sides--and you've got something really rare and very special.

Thus, by the time you get to the climax, you care about these characters. I was literally on the edge of my seat with my heart in my throat for some of the sequences. It goes to show that you can take your audience just about anywhere if you can make them love those characters. Toothless the dragon in particular is really well animated with this wonderful blend of intelligence while still being very believable as a dangerous beast.

Again, to sum up... go see this movie. Dreamworks finally has something that could rival the best of Pixar.

I don't usually go out for the comic superhero DTV movies and, in truth, the only reason I hunted this one down was because Nathan Fillion (of 'Firefly' and 'Castle' fame) was providing of the voice of Steven Trevor--Wonder Woman's love interest, of sorts. I figured I'd basically be satisfied if I got my Fillion fix and that would be all.

Thus I was genuinely surprised how much I enjoyed this film in its own right. Wonder Woman/Diana is a strong character whose tough Amazonian persona comes through without her coming across an unlikeable, uber-feminist. The supporting cast is solid and features many strong performances. The animation is sharp. The writing is good. The action sequences are gritty and interesting. I think the fact that Wonder Woman has an unusual arsenal of weapons (her cuffs, her lasso and her boomerang crown) really forced the studio to come up with some less traditional fight sequences--although there is still the requisite amount of knocking people through walls.

All in all... if you're a fan of the super hero genre, I think this one is well worth watching.

In the simplest terms, this film suffers from a distinct lack of Robert Downey Jr.

Now I grant you, one does not usually think of the Downey Jr. factor as being essential to an animated film's success, but in the case of Iron Man it is hard for a layperson like myself to watch this without comparing it to the far, FAR superior live-action version.

It's a tricky business to write/play a character like Tony Stark who is one part charming, billionaire playboy and one part action hero. You get that first part wrong and there really isn't much left to sit the rest of the character on.

This DTV's rendition of Iron Man simply felt dull. None of the characters grabbed me. Tony Stark's playboy personality was characterized by a single hot tub scene and walking into board meetings late. Penny Potts was marginally better, although for some reason she reminded me of Janine from the Ghostbusters series. The villains were silly. The fight sequences unimaginative. The integration of the 3D Iron Man suits and villains into the 2D film was not great.

And, most telling of all, I fell asleep while watching it.

Long and short... skip it.

For animation fans, I don't think any one film has been quite so hotly anticipated as The Princess and the Frog. Disney's (we really, really hope) triumphant return to classic 2D animation.

So, the big question is, does this film deliver on all that pent up hype and anticipation?

By and large, I would say it does although perhaps not in ways that audiences expecting a Little Mermaid or Cinderella story might expect. This is not your childhood Disney fairytale, but a tale that brings that fairytale into the modern age.

For one thing, our Disney princess isn't a Snow White singing about how "someday her prince will come" to save her and make all her dreams come true. Tiana has be raised to believe that making wishes on stars isn't enough and that you have to put in some hard work in order to make your dreams come true.

Prince Naveen however is a spoiled rich boy who has grown up in the lap of luxury. He wants nothing more than to dance, sing and paint the town red with a lady on each arm. Yes, that's right, this is a Disney prince who is a bit of a womanizing cad. Believe it or not, this is surprisingly refreshing because it makes Naveen one of the more multi-dimensional Disney princes we've had grace the screen. Naveen is also far funnier than the princes of the past and you can see why even workaholic Tiana could eventually warm up to him.

So right there you've already got a major difference between many of the Disney movies of the past--the proverbial ant paired up with the grasshopper--and the story unfolds from there.

The sidekick characters also weren't half as annoying as I thought they'd be. The cajun firefly, Ray, who I was expecting to hate, turned out to be an intelligent and quite endearing character in large part because he wasn't what I expected.

Animation... well, it almost goes without saying that it was beautiful to watch, although almost too frenetic in places. I came out of the theatre feeling like I really needed to see that movie again just so I could have more of an opportunity to absorb it all.

And finally the music... well, this is honestly where the film lost its half star for me. There was only one or two musical numbers that really stood out for me, and the rest just left me with a bit of a 'meh' kind of feeling. Alas these are not the catchy, toe-tapping, can't get them out of your head songs of yester-year. I think in any other animated musical I wouldn't have noticed, but this is a Disney movie and I expected a bit better.

So is this Disney's triumphant return to 2D? Well honestly, that's ultimately more of a box office question than an artistic one. That said, if this is the kind of movie that we can expect from the revitalized 2D department, then I sincerely hope that this is the first of many films to come.