(Disney Animated Movie Review #13 ) Finding Dory 2016 9 out of 10

Finding Dory 2016  9 out of 10

It took 13 years for a sequel for Finding Nemo to get made.    Finding Dory hit the box office waters at just the right time.  In about a month at the US box office it has already made over 445  Million dollars at the box office and is already the number 1 Animated Movie of All time at the Domestic box office.   It is the biggest US release of the year passing Captain America: Civil War.   The sequel's story is derivative of the original film in that it involves a search for family.  This time around however Dory the blue fish with short term memory loss actually starts to remember her family which kick starts an adventure to find them.   It is covering familiar ground –but the addition of new characters and a new setting keeps things fresh.  

The Setting

The setting of the original was the Great Barrier Reef.   This time around we get to visit the Californian coastline (I know these little fish taking the EAC with the Sea Turtles all the way across the ocean is ridiculous just go with it) and the Monterey Marine Park.   The setting is terrific.  The Marine Park gives the film a bunch of great environments to play around in.  The scene where the Ocean Seas exhibit is revealed is a stunning piece of animation.  The film looks gorgeous.

The Story

Dory with the help of an Octopus named Hank tries to remember where exactly she is from in search of her parents.    Meanwhile Marlin and Nemo are trying to find her after she is taken to the aquarium by some humans.   The story –just like in Finding Nemo is about family and the willingness to do anything for family.   Dory faces challenges in order to find her long lost folks.  Marlin and Nemo risk their lives to make sure Dory is okay –because they consider her family.  Finding Dory is an action packed fun adventure that has funny moments and sentimental moments that the entire family will enjoy.  

The Characters

The returning characters are great of course.  I was a big fan of the original film Finding Nemo.  It is one of my favorite Pixar films.  The chemistry between Albert Brooks as Marlin and Ellen as Dory was excellent in the original film.   This movie is all about Dory and her character is once again great.  Baby Dory has to be one of the cutest characters ever.    Crush one of my favorite characters had a small scene –but was excellent again as well (check out Turtle Talk with Crush at the Disney parks for more of Crush).    The introduction of Hank the Octopus (voiced by Ed O’Neill) was also terrific.  Some other new characters that add a new flare to the adventure include a couple of Seal Lions and a Whale Shark and Beluga Whale. 

The Visuals

The visuals were absolutely incredible.  Pixar somehow always finds a new way to step up its game and again they absolutely knocked it out of the park again.  

In Summary:   If you liked Finding Nemo then you will like Finding Dory.   It is more of the same and it has been long enough, just that like the Force Awakens where although it touched on similar themes.

It is a great family film.

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(Disney Animated Movie Review #11 ) Pixar's Inside Out 2015 9+ out of 10

Inside Out 2015  9+ out of 10

Pixar strikes again:  Inside Out takes a high concept idea taken to the next level.  As I mentioned in a previous blog about it's box office success, Inside Out takes concepts covered in an old Disney World War 2 cartoon,  an old Epcot attraction called Cranium Command and the TV show Herman's Head  and creates an incredible new universe.    What Tron did for the computer Inside Out does with the human brain.

The Story

The story follows a young girl named Riley whose life has been completely happy until her family moves from their home in Minnesota to San Francisco.   We get to follow how this dramatic life change effects Riley from the point of life of her emotions.   Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness are the emotions that control Riley's mind in what is called Headquarters.  These anamorphic creatures help to guide Riley through life and the film focuses on how they deal with this new drastic change.   Things get a little out of control as the emotions take on this new challenge,  which is where all the fun begins.   This simple sounding story is taken to creative and imaginative places.  There is definitely world building going on in this universe and I could see additional stories being told in this world --whether that be animated shorts of sequels.  I love where they took this concept.

The Cast

The casting of the emotions was great:   Amy Poehler plays the main character of Joy (who has basically been in charge until the life change happens) and totally nails the role.  Phyllis Smith  (Phyllis from the Office) personifies sadness and Lewis Black is an absolute blast as Anger. I would love to see an animated short based on Anger being in control the whole time.  He is a tour de force and the fact that the movie touches on the emotions in other people's head leaves so many possibilities open.   An argument between Lewis Black and Gilbert Gottfried (as someone else's Anger)  --would be epic. 

Emotional Ride

This movie succeeds in not just showing you the emotions that Riley goes through --but actually takes you on an emotional ride along with some of those emotions.  The movie makes you laugh and makes you emotional as well. The journey that Joy and Sadness go on together drags you along with them.  The movie may connect with you on levels an average animated film does not.  In the same way the Toy Story pulled on your emotions when Jessie's owner that once loved her leaves her behind in a box the character of Bing Bong may make you miss your childhood.   The movie deals with the loss of innocence in a similar way and may effect the emotions of both child and adult alike.  The movie just hits all the right notes and ends with a hiliarious montage of the emotions in the heads of many other people.  It left the kids cracking up with laughter , which was a great way for a movie that can actually make you think sending you out of the theater.

I would definitely recommend Inside Out to anyone.  Especially after seeing the trailer for some upcoming animated movies that will soon hit the theaters.  I'd rather watch  take a deep and thoughtful movie like Inside Out over babbling  fart joke Minions anyday.

Dream Productions a great concept.

I just had to mention Dream Productions because I love that concept and about 7 years ago had a concept myself (which I'm sure hundreds of creative  people have considered before me) about an entire movie based on your dream world.   I had about 5 very different concepts for movies based on dreams and the dream world --but one centered on your dreams being run by a Hollywood movie company putting them on for you each night.   This movie is the first movie that really touched on that.  I can see an entire movie based on this concept.  Pixar is the perfect place for this idea and this movie touches the surface of what could be an entire movie --where Dream Central (in my concept) gets a budget for your dream and the whole movie deals with the chaos of trying to put on that production as writers keep changing the script as the dream goes on.  I loved how they dipped into this concept and I would love to see a movie about this like what I had imagined previously.   Do or do Not Pixar  "Dream Productions" would make a great movie.

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(Disney Animated Movie Review #8 ) Brave 2012 6 out of 10

Brave  2012   6 out of 10

It didn’t see Brave in the theaters - making it one of the only Pixar films that I missed on the big screen.   The family saw it one day that I was at work and not being overly impressed themselves, I just never really got around to seeing it.  It aired for the first time on the Disney channel the other night and so I decided to sit down with my step daughter and finally watch it.    It is a good film –but probably my least favorite Pixar movie so far.   The story was too derivative of Disney’s own Brother Bear that I couldn’t help but compare it too that movie throughout and in that comparison it lost out.  It just felt like it was covering too much of the same ground in a less interesting way.

Animation:

Pixar’s CGI animation is top notch –yet I loved the 2-D animation of Brother Bear much better and felt like a series of beautiful painting.

The Story:

  Brave is the story of a Princess(that is great at archery)  that challenges the customs of her kingdom, because she wants the choice of who she marries.  Angry at her mother she wishes her to change not knowing this wish would turn her mother into a bear.  Brother Bear which came before it was about a hunter that after killing a bear is magically changed into a bear himself

The story is so similiar in many ways that it just left me feeling like I had seen it done better before and I didn't really connect with the main character at all.  The story in Brother Bear was stronger and made me feel like I went on an actual journey with the characters.

The Humor:

There were funny moments in Brave –but again the humor in Brother Bear was much stronger.   With Rick Moraines and Dave Thomas as the voice of the two Moose characters.

The Music:

The soundtrack for Brother Bear was from one of my favorite artists Phill Collins and I can recall music from that movie instantly –where as I can’t even remember the music from Brave –after I just saw it.

So it was a just ok .  It wasn’t a memorable one for me.   Almost all of the other Pixar movies I’ve seem are very memorable –and this one just wasn’t.   Pretty much the only movie from Pixar that I would call a miss in the Studios history.

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Disney Animated Movie Review: #3 Monsters University 9 out 10

Monsters University  2013    9 out of 10

The Monsters are back and they are scaring up some big numbers at the box office.  In a world where sequels happen whether there is a demand or story for them based solely or how much money the original makes sometimes it is worth it.   Monsters INC was a complete story when it came out with a good conclusion that didn't necessarily lend itself to a sequel,  but the world of the Monsters lived in was so interesting that it was definitely worth revisiting at some point.    Pixar waited over a decade before they did revisit this world again and they found the right story to tell to bring us back into the world of Monsters.   Monsters University is a prequel that tells us how Mike and Sully became friends while going to scare school.   This college setting made for a colorful monster filled universe beyond what we saw in the original.   Borrowing from the Revenge of the Nerds plot it shows us how Mike and Sully eventually became friends after originally being  each others nemesis in school.   After their competitive nature leads them both to be kicked out of he scaring program,  they must band together with a bunch of misfit monsters to try and win the Scare Games in order to get back into the scare program.   This leads to a bunch of fun and silly scenes and a movie screen filled with a plethora of  cool and interesting monsters.   The monsters world is fun and vibrant and the film was a blast.   It didn't have the same emotional punch as Monsters Inc.  in that Sully's care for the little human child was missing, but it was a great story nonetheless.

Here is the trailer for Monsters  University