animated film

How do you make formulaic plots and stories attractive and vital? It’s a question director/co-writer Jared Stern and co-writer John Whittington have answered with DC League of Super-Pets, their cinematic spin on the “disparate characters come together to defeat evil” children’s film chestnut. Focusing on a ragged team of pet store rejects who suddenly find […]

A children’s animated film which captures the snappy cool and dash of Steven Soderbergh’s Out of Sight and his Ocean’s Trilogy? I’m a sucker for heist films, so it’s not a question of “Sign me up,” but more “Give it to me. Now.” The Bad Guys – based on a series of children’s books by […]

The Spine of Night is a film that lives in the animated sequences of Panos Cosmatos’ Mandy. Very dark, brooding, mythic, violent, colorful, and nastily unforgiving. The good do not flourish here; only those with power stand a chance at existing in this world. Even more so when said power comes from a supernatural plant, […]

There are so many things to admire about the emotionally-charged Onward, Disney/Pixar’s latest offering. Themes of grief, single parenthood, sibling relationships, and broken families trying to put things back together accompany a sharp social commentary about how much of our world we take for granted every day. The nimble voice cast and vivid animation more […]

Abominable, the latest offering from DreamWorks Animation, has a lot going on in its 97 minutes. It also requires you to sit through every one of those 97 minutes due to photos included in the end credits. Yet the film doesn’t make you feel like it’s an obligation to do so; instead, you want to […]

It’s been a pleasure watching Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III (Jay Baruchel) grow. Formerly the awkward, misfit son of a village chieftain, he’s found his place in their little Viking microcosm of Berk as a dragon master. As life evolves for him, he’s constantly thrown into different roles with little time to react or find sure […]