The Boy and the Heron: A Review

THE BOY AND THE HERON

There were some who were surprised if not shocked when The Boy and the Heron was announced as the winner for the Best Animated Feature Academy Award. It was a surprise because traditional, hand-drawn animation had usually been shut out. It was a surprise because most prognosticators had tapped the highly praised Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse to be the almost inevitable winner. When you call Across the Spider-Verse "one of the greatest films ever made in the history of cinema", it suggests that it is a hard act to compete with. Those who have seen both Across the Spider-Verse and The Boy and the Heron, I think, will come to the conclusion that the Academy made the right choice. Visually stunning, with an incredibly imaginative story, The Boy and the Heron (originally titled How Do You Live?) is perhaps long but well worth the time.

Near the end of the Second World War, young Mahito Maki (Soma Santoki) survives the firebombing of Tokyo, but he cannot save his mother Hisako, who is at a hospital hit during the bombing. His father, Soichi (Takuya Kimura), who runs an aircraft company, decides to spirit Mahito to the relative safety of the countryside. He also introduces Mahito to his new, pregnant wife Natsuko, who happens to be Hisako's sister. 

Mahito does not adjust well to his new surroundings. He is civil towards his aunt/stepmother, but he still struggles with school and the grief of his mother's death. He is also being pestered by a large grey heron, who eventually begins speaking and taunting him. Mahito gives chase, and finds a mysterious, dilapidated castle once built by his great-uncle. This is a place filled with mystery and magic, which Mahito is warned away from.

However, when Natsuko wanders into the forest where the castle is, Mahito defies those around him to search for her. From there, Mahito and the heron, revealed to have a humanoid being inside, must navigate a strange world made up of cannibal parakeets, fire goddesses and the spirits of those yet to be born, known here as the warawara. Going with them is Kiriko (Ko Shibasaki), one of the old women who serve at the Maki home but who in this world becomes young and forces Mahito and the heron-man to work together. Will Mahito find Natsuko? What of Himi (Aimyon), the fire goddess and warawara protector who has a connection to all of them? Who will live and who will die as they work their way back to Mahito's world?

The Boy and the Heron runs a little over two hours, which might drain the viewer. That is probably the film's only major flaw, for everything else is breathtaking. The animation is astonishing, with moments of visual splendor that leave the viewer mesmerized. Even in the beginning, when Tokyo is being firebombed, somehow the destruction going on is very impressive. Seeing Mahito see his idea of his mother engulfed in flamed is not horrifying but surprisingly moving. Things as large as the march of the villainous parakeet army to as small as the warawara rising to the heavens are beautiful images.

The Boy and the Heron is a showcase for how animation can create these fantastical worlds not bound by logic. Where else but in animation can giant cannibal parakeets or images of women melting into water be seen as possible? One looks at The Boy and the Heron, purely on a visual level, and be swept away by its inventiveness and creativity?   

Story wise, The Boy and the Heron is also wildly impressive. The film is about a young man, traumatized, who at one point in the story harms himself, coming to terms with his grief. The original Japanese title, How Do You Live? comes from a book that his late mother left him to write on. In this, we see how Mahito still carries, metaphorically and perhaps literally, this great grief which his new situation does not help. Could his long journey be, if not a literal dream, a way for him to work through his grief, his loss and confusion to find peace? When he learns who Miri really is, he attempts to warn her of the future. She, however, cheerfully dismisses it, perhaps signaling that we cannot escape our fate for good or ill.

"Forgetting is normal," Mahito is told near the end of the film. The Boy and the Heron is more than just filled with beautiful animation. It is a moving story of loss and resilience. While again perhaps a bit longer than it should be, the viewer will find The Boy and the Heron to be a beautiful piece of work.

DECISION: A-

Moana 2: A Review (Review #1904)

MOANA 2

Unlike Gladiator II: The Next Day, Moana 2 waited a mere eight years to give the first film a return visit. Moana 2 is an acceptable follow-up, with some wonderful animation, pleasant-enough songs but a sometimes-meandering plot. 

Moana (Auli'i Cravalho) is still finding new islands and seeking new people but always returning to her native Motuniu. She has more reason to with her adorable little sister Simea (Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda), who are devoted to each other. On one of her searches, Moana finds a mysterious piece of pottery with symbols, which in an island ceremony grant her a vision of the legendary Tautai Vasa (Gerald Faitala Ramsey), a long-gone way-finder.

His vision tells her of the evil god Nalo, who has sunk the mystical island of Motufetu, which had connected all people together. Moana, the new Master Wayfinder, must raise the island from the sea. For that, she needs a crew to sail with. There is Pua, her pet pig, and Heihei, the very eccentric rooster. As for the humans, Moana recruits three crewmen: blabbermouth handywoman Loto (Rose Matafeo), grumpy farmer Kele (David Fane) and storyteller Moni (Hualalai Chung), the biggest Maui fanboy in the universe.

As for the demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson)? He is being held prisoner by Nalo and his henchwoman, Matangi (Awhimai Fraser), in Nalo's massive lair. Eventually, the two groups meet, thanks in part to the Kakamora, the coconut pirates from the first film. Maui informs them that humans were not meant to be in this world, so they will die even if successful. Encouraged by Matangi to Get Lost, Moana is determined to find another way. Will this motley crew be able to take down the wicked Nalo and raise Motufetu?

Moana 2 is surprisingly shorter than Moana. That is very strange given that Moana 2 has a mid-credit scene hinting that a Moana 3 may take place. Moana 2 has the same virtues and the same flaws as Moana too, so that may color your view on how you look at Moana 2.

You have some elements that teeter on the brink of pushing it down a bit. Some sequences, such as Moana's visions and the fight with a giant sea monster, may make it a bit too intense for younger children. You also have a character briefly die, and while the character does return, I think it ran a bit too long to not cause alarm among the younger set.

Moana 2 also has perhaps too much contemporary elements for its own good. Moni's total fanboy manner with Maui is fine for a while, but it soon becomes slightly eye-rolling.  When the coconut pirates ask him to translate something he's written, he replies, "That is fanfic". Maui makes a comment about Moana perhaps being wrong about hearing a call for her mission. "Unless it's a butt dial," he quips, adding that the reference will make sense in 2,000 years. Just as a "tweet" quip in Moana, this "butt dial" thing might sound funny, but it will date the film in a few years. 

Moana 2 did struggle in putting Maui into the overall story. I think audiences would be waiting for our megalomaniac demigod to pop up; I wonder, however, if Jared Bush and Dana Ledeux Miller's screenplay might have worked better if it had held back Maui's return to build up anticipation. I think it might have been funny to have the group of mortals first come upon Maui literally bound. 

The film also doubled down on some characters that maybe were a bit too much. I liked the coconut pirates from the first film. I do think that in Moana 2, maybe the film relied on them too much. I'm reminded of the aliens from Men in Black. Fine in a small part, perhaps too much when you want to make them to take a more prominent role. 

I also wonder if we needed a mid-credit scene. If we are going to hint that Moana will return, the scene should have been shown sooner. The only reason that I saw it at all was because I was still gathering my things before leaving. Had I been ready, I would have missed this brief bit altogether.

However, there are other elements that keep Moana 2 afloat (no pun intended). The little sister Simea is meant to be adorable and appeal to kids. In that, Simea did what was expected. The bond between "big sister" and "little sister" works very well. The same can be said of the Kakamora coconut pirates. They were meant to be cute in Moana. They are still cute in Moana 2, though perhaps this is a case of less is more. 

Some of the animation is also quite beautiful. In some cases, it is almost life-like. The visions Moana has of Tautai Vasa are quite impressive. I thought well of at least the first two songs in Moana 2. We're Back, the opening song, is a fine way to start our adventure. Beyond, Moana's big power ballad and its version of the first film's How Far I'll Go, works well in expressing her views. I also think Get Lost is not bad, though ironically it gets a bit lost amidst the production design. 

The others were not terrible but not great. What Could Be Better Than This? is to my mind filler but I think kids will find it cute. Johnson's big number, Can I Get a Chee Hoo? is at least mostly talked/rapped than sung, so that is a plus. 

When watching Moana 2, I have to remember the target audience: children and their parents, especially fans of Moana. Will they like Moana 2? I think they will, though at least one child did ask her father near the end of the film, "Is it almost over?". Moana 2 is fine, pleasant enough, neither damaging the original nor adding much to it. I thought it was enough to please those going. Yes, it could have been better, but it was fine and cute enough. I can't fault Moana 2 for being acceptable when that was what it was aiming for. 

DECISION: C+

Moana (2016): A Review

MOANA (2016)

Polynesian myths and legends come to life in Moana, an original tale with South Seas origins. With pleasant songs, some wonderful animation, good voice work and a plucky heroine, Moana is quite a delightful romp. 

Long ago, the goddess Te Fiti brought life to the world. Things were going well until Maui, the demigod of wind and sea, stole Te Fiti's heart. With that, the mother goddess faded and in came Te Ka, demon of earth and fire. In the ensuing battle, the shapeshifting Maui lost both the heart and his magical hook, with all disappearing from history.

Now on the island of Motunui, the chief's daughter Moana (Auli'i Cravalho) has a wanderlust to go beyond the reef. This is firmly opposed by her father, Chief Tui (Temuera Morrison) but quietly encouraged by her beloved Gramma (Rachel House).  Moana has a special connection to the ocean since childhood, which her grandmother knows of. Gramma also has Te Fiti's heart, which she urges Moana to take. 

Motunui soon begins to suffer decay due to Te Fiti's long absence. Before she goes to the spirit world, Gramma urges her granddaughter to see How Far I'll Go. With that, our heiress presumptive sets sail to fulfill her mission. Her task is simple: find Maui and make him return Te Fiti's heart back to the goddess. How hard could that be, especially with her oddball pet rooster Heihei with her?

Obviously, it is not easy, as Maui (Dwayne Johnson) is arrogant and egocentric. He has no desire to help Moana and is interested only in finding his magic hook. Unfortunately, he has no choice and cannot get rid of this girl. With that, first they must find the hook and then go to Te Fiti's island. It will not be without dangers, but also not without encouragement from the spirit of Gramma. With our demigod and princess finding strength they never knew that they had, they face off against Te Ka to save their Polynesian world. 

At a little over an hour and a half, Moana never wears out its welcome, though I would argue that it might actually have been shorter. I say this because I found one or two sections in the journey that seemed to stretch things. Granted, I found the attacking coconuts as cute as Moana initially did and part of me would probably keep them. 

The section where Moana and Maui must find his hook, however, seems a bit longer than I think it should be. It does not help that the villain here, the giant crab Tamatoa (Jemaine Clements) seemed almost as filler for the film.

Add to that how Tamatoa's song, Shiny, is probably the worst number in Moana. I still struggle with Lin-Manuel Miranda's lyrics in Shiny: "Maui, now it's time to kick you in the heinei, ever seen someone so shiny?". I cannot imagine how someone thought rhyming "heinei" (as in "buttocks") with "shiny" was anywhere near good. 

That does lead me into another issue that popped up in my mind while watching Moana. There seems to be a bit too much adult humor in the film. At one point, Moana is attempting to learn about wayfinding from Maui, who teaches her that the warmer the water gets, the closer she is to her desired destination. She puts her hands in the water and comments that it is cold, then how it is suddenly getting warmer. It is quickly established, however, that Maui has helped raise the water's temperature in a way that, even as obliquely as Moana has it, seems a bit tawdry. 

Moana may also be at times too contemporary to be truly mythical. While cute, there is one child dancer clearly meant to echo a young Michael Jackson. In perhaps the worst moment of Jared Bush's screenplay (with story by seven writers), Maui decides to autograph Moana's oar, convinced that she is a fan who has come to meet him. He grabs Heihei to write out his symbols and remarks, "When you use a bird to write with, it's called tweeting". While Moana is only eight years at the time of this writing, this joke now makes it sound dated. 

One particularly off moment is when Moana finally finds Maui. While the cocky and uninhibited egocentricity of our demigod is amusing, I do not know if we needed Dwayne Johnson to belt out a song. There is nothing bad about You're Welcome, a nice and amusing song that reveals Maui's thorough self-aggrandizing worldview. I just wish that Johnson had been dubbed by a professional singer.  

Those seem hiccups and missteps in a film that overall I found myself enchanted by. Moana has some excellent animation sequences that are beautiful to look at. The scene where Gramma returns to encourage our heroine is a wonder to look at. It is also a deeply moving moment that did hit me on an emotional level.

The songs were on the whole good, Shiny notwithstanding. The standout was Moana's How Far I'll Go, the Oscar nominated number that is clearly inspired by big Broadway numbers. Where You Are, describing the world of Motunui, is also good. I could hear Lin-Manuel Miranda's voice coming through in We Know the Way, which speaks of the voyager ancestors. I guess he could not resist a chance to give himself a musical number despite not playing a character in the film. 

The characters are on the whole quite positive and enjoyable. Cravalho is a delight as Moana, a young girl whose love for her family and for wanderlust blends beautifully. She is strong and resourceful but not a Mary Sue. She is also at times unsure, unaware and even fearful. Moana stays within the familiar Disney themes of princess who forges her own path. Cravalho does a wonderful job in the role, making Moana a positive role model for girls while still being flawed in her hesitancy and fears.

Johnson makes Maui into a highly pleasant and comical character. Maui is outwardly arrogant but allows moments of vulnerability to come through. In some ways, Maui reminds me of Prometheus, who also went against the gods to help mankind. 

House's Gramma and Morrison's Chief Tui allow for moments of tenderness and strength from the characters. Their motivations are presented in a rational manner, born out of deep concern for their community and family. Children, I think, will find Heihei and the pet pig Pua delightful and nice comic relief, though I would have liked to have seen more of the latter.  

Moana is a strong family film, filled with some beautiful animation and a pleasant musical score. Moana herself may insist that she is not a princess, but Moana makes the case that she is, and one of Disney's stronger ones. 

DECISION: B-

The Little Mermaid (1989): A Review

THE LITTLE MERMAID

Pre-The Little Mermaid, animation was considered a dying to dead genre. The Disney Company, which had originated the animated feature film, had had a bad run of animated films. It was to where the company gave serious thought to ending the division. The Little Mermaid ushered what was called "the Disney Renaissance", when the company revived both its financial and artistic fortunes. It is also a delightful film, with excellent songs and a compact story that entertains and charms the viewer.

Teen mermaid Princess Ariel (Jodi Benson) dreams of the world above the sea, but her father King Triton (Kenneth Mars) is aghast at the thought. She won't be denied, and one night observes the human Prince Eric (Christopher Daniel Barnes) sailing on a battleship and she falls instantly in love. In desperation, she enlists the help of sea witch Ursula (Pat Carroll), who will give Ariel human legs which will allow her to go to the surface.

There are a couple of catches. First, Ariel must surrender her voice to Ursula. Second, Ariel has three days to have Eric give her true love's kiss, or she will revert to being a mermaid. Ariel has friends to help her in this quest: appropriately crabby but caring sea crab Sebastian (Samuel E. Wright), eager young tropical fish Flounder (Jason Marin) and eccentric seagull Skuttle (Buddy Hackett).

Will Ariel and Eric find true love, or will Ursula win out in her efforts to take over both the mermen and human world?

The most interesting thing for me about The Little Mermaid is how remarkably short the film is. The film manages to tell its entire story, complete with six songs and musical numbers, in 83 minutes. The film never feels rushed. In fact, The Little Mermaid is so well-packed that I would argue that one musical number could have been cut altogether due to being superfluous.

That would be Les Poissons, a number where royal Chef Louis (Rene Auberjonois) sings of his delight in preparing a fish meal, horrifying Sebastian, the latter doing his best to avoid being part of the main course. Having seen the film twice, I keep reaching the same conclusion: that Les Poissons just serves no purpose in The Little Mermaid. It does not advance the plot nor give any insight into a major character (Louis essentially is here for that one scene). I did not find it memorable either. I actually found it similar in style and melodically to Beauty and The Beast's Be Our Guest. The latter worked within its film, but the former stuck out.

The rest of The Little Mermaid's songs, however, are among the best in a musical film. Two of its songs were nominated for Original Song: Kiss the Girl and Under the Sea, with the latter winning. I can see why the latter still delights people. Under the Sea is a great, big, upbeat number filled with a Jamaican flavor (Sebastian has a Jamaican accent). The song is splashy, bright and colorful, but it also expresses Sebastian's view on how the underwater world is much better than the human world. It is a nice, joyful number that works well.

Kiss the Girl, conversely, is quieter and more intimate. Again sung by Sebastian with a chorus, Kiss the Girl is romantic without being schmaltzy.

It is a strange situation that what has become The Little Mermaid's signature song was not nominated for Original Song. I think many would be surprised that Part of Your World was not listed for Oscar consideration. For me, it is the best song in The Little Mermaid and among the best written for a musical film. Starting out slowly, we learn why Ariel is so fascinated with the human world. We also hear how she yearns for something different, for adventure and exploration. Part of Your World rises to a crescendo that is appropriately grand without being bombastic. Part of Your World is a perfect song, complete with spoken sections, expressing Ariel's hopes while advancing the story.

The last major song is a sheer delight. Ursula's Poor Unfortunate Souls is wickedly fun, showing Ursula's gleeful malevolence as she entices Ariel with her own powers. Playful, brazenly insincere and gleefully over-the-top, Poor Unfortunate Souls reveals Ursula's evil while still keeping a tongue somewhat in cheek.

Howard Ashman's lyrics and Alan Menken's music combines to fit every style of song, from the ballad to the big dance number. The Little Mermaid's songbook is practically perfect, where almost every number will express character or moves the plot forward.

The success of The Little Mermaid also hangs on the voice work, and every actor was perfect in their role. Benson brings an innocence mixed with strength as Ariel. She may be young, but she is also full of courage. Barnes' Eric may be a standard Prince, just there to be the object of affection, but he does have a charm whenever trying to upend royal plans his court tries to give him. Wright's Sebastian mixes frustration, snobbery and horror with a caring side. He may be appalled at Ariel's wanderlust and consorting with the sea witch, but he also genuinely loves Ariel and wants to protect her.

Marin's Flounder is a cute figure, the second fiddle to the antics going on around him. Hackett is equally delightful as the well-meaning but clearly addled Skuttle, who gives wild names for human objects he clearly does not know, let alone what their use is for. Mars shows King Triton to be a firm ruler but also a loving father. After he destroys Ariel's collection, the animation shows his genuine pain at causing his daughter to break down in tears. He expresses concern for his wayward daughter, but can also be mischievous, as when he appoints Sebastian to be Ariel's minder. 

Carrol's Ursula is pitch-perfect, and not just in the music. Her take is one of delightful evil: grandiose, egocentric but also frightening in her evil and destructive power. 

If there are any flaws, I would say that the resolution to the crisis is rather quick and the inclusion of Les Poissons, which I think should have been cut altogether. Apart from those minor points, The Little Mermaid is an absolute triumph. 

DECISION: A-

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. A Review (Review #1724)

 

SPIDER-MAN: 

ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE

It is difficult to be the voice of dissent, the one who says, "No", the one who argues against the near-fanatical cries of the majority. I am not a dissenter by choice or desire. I speak what I see. When it comes to the reaction many have towards Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, a line in Akira Kurosawa's RAN comes to mind: "In an mad world, only the mad are sane". 

I am not "mad" in the angry or insane manner (at least I hope not in the latter). However, I probably will be declared as such by those who have proclaimed Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse as "one of the greatest films ever made in the history of cinema" and "peak cinema". Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is not a bad film per se, but it is not this generation's Citizen Kane, not even close.

As a side note, I am curious to know if those declaring Across the Spider-Verse "one of the greatest films ever made in the history of cinema" have ever even heard of either Citizen Kane or RAN, let alone seen them. 

It has been five years since the events of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) is still struggling to balance his life as a Brooklyn teen with being a superhero. His parents Jeff Morales (Bryan Tyree Henry) and Rio (Luna Lauren Velez) worry about what is to become of their distracted son.

If only they knew what he really was up against. Not only is he facing off against a villain he initially dismisses as "the villain of the week" known as The Spot (Jason Schwartzman) but now back from another universe comes Gwen Stacy aka Spider-Woman (Hailee Steinfeld). She has her own issues in her universe, what with her dad Captain Stacy (Shea Whigham) thinking "Spider-Woman" killed Gwen's friend Peter Parker. Gwen, now having left her universe, is part of a special team of Spider-Beings who must prevent anomalies in the various Spider-Verses.

Miles secretly goes to Mumbahattan, where the cocky Indian Spider-Man, Pavitr Pravhakar (Karan Soni) resides. Miles saves Pavitr's girlfriend's father Sergeant Singh, but that begins the collapse of this universe. Whisked away to the Spider-Society HQ, Miles reencounters his unofficial mentor Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson) and Miguel O'Hara/Spider-Man 2099 (Oscar Isaac). Miles' meddling has prevented a "Canon event", something that needed to happen to have that world's Spider-Man be whom he was destined to be.

It is now that Miles learns his "Canon event": the death of his father after he rises from Sergeant to Captain. He is determined to stop it, and if it means fighting off every Spider-Being, he will do so. Even the news that Miles was already an anomaly due to being bitten at all, let alone by the wrong spider, cannot dissuade him from saving future Captain Morales. Unfortunately, Miles ends up in the wrong universe, one where his uncle Aaron (Mahershala Ali) is still alive and works for the supervillain known as The Prowler. In a shocking twist, The Prowler is none other than Miles Morales! Now, a myriad of Spider-Beings must join forces to save the non-Prowler Miles.

That is a lot of plot for what is essentially the second part of a two-part film (the third film Beyond the Spider-Verse scheduled for next year). One element that I found extraordinary was that Across the Spider-Verse is proud to spend so much time on almost anything that does not involve the central plot (Miles attempting to stop his Canon event). The first twenty minutes, which are also the pre-title scenes, revolve around Spider-Gwen. The next twenty to thirty minutes revolve around Miles' domestic issues, down to being late for his parents' party. If my calculations are correct, that means it is almost a full hour in this two-hour twenty-minute film before we get  Gwen and Miles to reunite.

That, in turn, leads to extended sequences involving the Indian Spider-Man which in turn throws in Hobie Brown aka Spider-Punk (Daniel Kaluuya) which leads to finally getting Miles to Spider-Central. I, for my part, cannot be convinced that so much could have been cut or trimmed to move the story forward.

Here though, I imagine the fans who have declared Across the Spider-Verse their generation's Citizen Kane do not care. They are getting a glut of Spider-People, down to the live-action versions via archival footage. However, I found that there can be too much of a thing, good or bad. 

I will grant that the animation itself is quite beautiful. It also, like in Into the Spider-Verse, manages to blend the various styles well, sometimes in the same scene, without being jarring. There are impressive sequences in Across the Spider-Verse that the viewer will enjoy.

However, what apart from the look, or looks, of the film does Across the Spider-Verse offer? There is certainly a lot and I do mean A LOT of spectacle but I cannot find logic to having taken up so much time with unnecessary things. The comedy bits where Miles has to both fight The Spot (who is forgotten for almost the whole movie) and his various encounters with crime that delay him to the school meeting did not work for me. 

I was puzzled over Miles' "Canon event". I thought his was Uncle Aaron's death, not his father's impending one. Wasn't it after Aaron died that Miles adopted his Spider-Man mantle? Moreover, given that his father's last name is "Morales", isn't Jeff already Hispanic? How is Miles "biracial" when from what I can see, both his parents are Latino? I could go with Afro-Latino, but how is he "half-black, half-Puerto Rican" when again, "Morales" is a Hispanic surname and thus, makes his father at least part-Hispanic?

Across the Spider-Verse is at times very frenetic, particularly in the Mumbahattan section as various Spider-People come across, or when Miles is finally at Spider-HQ to meet the intimidating Miguel O'Hara. That perhaps should be expected, as Into the Spider-Verse had that same manner. I just think that in that film, the various reprises to their separate origin stories were more lighthearted. Here, it was just repetitive. 

I figure some scenes were just there to set up characters for Beyond the Spider-Verse (why have a LEGO Spider-Man when he literally added nothing to Across the Spider-Verse), but why not just include them at Spider-HQ? 

At one point in Across the Spider-Verse, I literally wrote in all caps, "THIS IS BORING" and I stand by that. Across the Spider-Verse is not "one of the greatest films ever made in the history of cinema". Not even close. It is a wildly visually arresting film but far too long for being essentially a midpoint in a trilogy. 

DECISION: C-

The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023): A Review

THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE

I never played video games, though Mario Brothers is so dominant in the culture that you just have to play first seven notes of the original game, and everyone recognizes it. This newest film adaptation of the game is pleasant enough: kid-friendly, not deep, but with enough charm to entertain.

Struggling Brooklyn plumbers Mario (Chris Pratt) and his brother Luigi (Charlie Day) are finally breaking out with their new plumbing business when they find themselves swept away into a fantastical universe. Mario ends up in the Mushroom Kingdom, where Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) rules benevolently over the Mushroom Toad people. Luigi, a far more frightened person, ends up in the Dark Lands, ruled by the evil Bowser (Jack Black). 

Bowser, determined to rule this universe and marry Peach, has already taken the all-powerful Super Star as a bargaining chip over Peach. Peach decides to ask for the Kong Kingdom to join in an alliance against Bowser and his Koopas, bringing Mario and Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) with her. King Cranky Kong (Fred Armisen) won't join unless a champion can defeat his son, Donkey Kong (Seth Rogen). Mario, determined to help rescue Luigi, takes the challenge.

Eventually, Bowser arrives at the Mushroom Kingdom to pressure Peach for the marriage. Will Peach be forced to join in this unholy union, or will Mario and Luigi join forces to save both their worlds?

As family films go, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is inoffensive and pleasant. Cute is the best word to describe the film, and there is nothing wrong with that. As I saw the audience, particularly children, I saw that they found the adventures of Mario and Luigi a fun frolic. 

On certain levels, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is not original. It even devolves into some bad cliches. This is the second film this year where Bonnie Tyler's Holding Out for a Hero is played over a montage (Shazam! Fury of the Gods being the other). The film opts for using the soundtrack to fill in whatever passes for plot. Using a-ha's Take On Me and AC/DC's Thunderstruck for montages is a pretty simple way to set mood.

One also wonders about the plotline of Bowser wanting to marry Peach. It might have been funnier if it had come out of nowhere versus being out there from the start. 

The film also puts in plugs for potential sequels, which undercuts the film itself. We get hints about Peach's origins and end with Mario and Luigi going through a drainpipe either to travel to their world from the Mushroom Kingdom or for other adventures. 

Still, as I think on the film itself, I find more positives than negatives. Explanations were given for the lack of Italian accents (it's a promotional gimmick, though to be fair, if the brothers are Brooklyn born-and-raised, why would they have Italian accents to begin with). The voice cast was uniformly good. Pratt was pleasant as Mario, playing the stabs at drama with a wonder at the world he was in. Day brings that nervous, frightened manner to Luigi, and Taylor-Joy brings confidence to Princess Peach without slipping into "girl-boss" mode. Key's Toad will delight kids with his perky manner.

The film is colorful, and even the curious nature of Lumalee, the Luma whose cheerful pessimism is funny in its misery. Forever speaking words so sad with an upbeat voice, the character ends with what sounds like a sad note while still keeping to an almost cute manner. 

The Super Mario Bros. Movie has perhaps one too many slow-motion moments to emphasize the action but given that the film aims for nothing more than to entertain kids and their parents, it can be forgiven. Pleasant, cute and self-aware without winking at the audience, The Super Mario Bros. Movie will entertain the kids when it inevitably finds itself on permanent rotation at your local daycare. 

DECISION: C+

Strange World: A Review

STRANGE WORLD

Before humanity accepted that we are on a massive rock that revolves around one star, people thought all sorts of things about the planet we lived on was. One theory was that the world was being carried on the back of a giant turtle. Strange World draws, intentionally or not, from this idea to create a world that is strange, albeit perhaps not in the way intended. 

Big-time explorer Jaeger Clade (Dennis Quaid) is determined to find what is outside the insurmountable mountains that surround Avalonia. His more squeamish son Searcher (Jake Gyllenhaal) would rather not. During their joint explorations, Searcher notes a strange glowing tree. He is convinced that this plant can provide fuel for Avalonia and that they should concentrate on that. Jaeger would rather keep exploring. Searcher finally refuses to go further, leading to them parting ways. 

A quarter-century later, Searcher lives a humble life as a farmer, though Avalonia hails him as a hero for bringing the plant, now known as Pando, to the world. Pando fuels all their needs, powering their cities and farms. Happily married to Meridian (Gabrielle Union) and with an openly gay son, Ethan (Jaboukie Young-White), things seem to be going well. That is until Avalonian President Callisto Mal (Lucy Liu) flies onto the Clade Farm on her ship, the Venture. 

She informs Searcher that Pando is starting to fail. They have found the literal root of the problem and she asks him to help in this expedition. Ethan and their three-legged dog Legend stowaway on the ship, shortly to be followed by Meridian who was in search of her son. They go into Avalonia's core to find Pando's root. Instead, they find Jaeger, who has made a life here while attempting to cross an acid sea. With the ship now available, the Clades join forces for their own agendas.

It is not until they cross that they make a shocking discovery: Pando is literally killing the creature Avalonia resides on! A conflict between saving the creature and saving Pando means a battle between the Clades and the Venture crew. Ultimately, the right choice is made, and a year later Searcher & Meridian are back on the farm, Ethan and his love interest Diazo (Jonathan Melo) are on their own farm, Jaeger is getting back to civilization and Avalonia discovers new, cleaner alternate fuels.

Despite glowing reviews, Strange World bombed big-time when released. I cannot fathom why the disconnect between my fellow reviewers and the general public, but I can share why I think Strange World failed. There are so many things in Qui Nguyen's screenplay (he co-directs with Don Hall) that are sadly, quite dull. None of the characters are interesting, and some of them are quite horrid. How else to explain Jaeger abandoning his family almost in a pique?

Even the stabs at having cute creatures such as Splat, a big blue rubbery thing, fail. that Splat is both an overt stab at having a cute creature and that it sounds like The Addams Family's Cousin Itt does not help. Over and over again, Strange World wants to have a sense of wonder to it but it has nothing there. Granted, some of the images are pretty, and when the Venture lands on the Clade Farm it does look visually arresting. 

However, the strange world in Strange World has little to offer. There is a sluggish nature to the adventure, throwing characters into things with little interest. What could interest viewers about an Alpha Male, his Beta son and openly gay grandson?

As a side note, it is surprising that Jaeger, who has met his grandson for the first time in his life, has absolutely no issue with said grandson being gay. There's no pushback, no sense of shock, no disappointment that he will have no future heirs to his legacy. Strange World wants us to believe they are bonding, but nothing in the film suggests that either would be interested in the other. 

If we need to touch on the gay element in Strange World, let us do so now. The film congratulates itself on how it has the first openly gay character in a Disney animated film. That is fine, but it does not play a role in Ethan's story apart from flirting with Diazo (who openly flirts with him). I imagine that even now, teens coming out to their family is fraught with concerns. It might be pleasant that it is a non-issue in this world, but if you are going to only mention it, why bother having that at all? Perhaps if Diazo played a role in the story apart from "same-sex love interest", we could have had something.

Instead, Diazo is safely relegated to one scene, where his whole purpose is to be the object of Ethan's affection. It plays no part in the story, so why is he there? I do not know if it is a good or bad thing that no one pushed back. Jaeger, meeting his grandson for the first time ever, accepts his grandson's homosexuality with ease. It seems strange that there is no pushback, no shock, no struggle.

Granted, the guy did abandon his family to pursue his own goals, but it still seems curious that Jaeger wouldn't be surprised by the news. 

People upset about having a gay biracial teen is one thing. Strange World, however, is not subtle at all about its environmental message. Pando can be read as "oil", which suggests that Strange World has a message targeting the kids: abandon oil and go to renewable. Was that the point of Strange World: to promote a particular agenda? That I cannot say, but when your characters say, "This world we live in is a living thing", it opens you up to accusations of being less interested in story and more interested in using the medium to send messages.

Perhaps, though, Strange World had little if anything else to it. The characters weren't interesting, and neither were the performances. I don't think Jake Gyllenhaal has the most distinctive voice, but I quickly figured out who he voiced. Same with Quaid. 

The story was not interesting, a terrible thing for the film. What is meant to be thrilling when they cross the Acid Ocean seemed to be tackled rather easily and quickly, with outside forces conveniently coming in. There was a lot of easy conveniences in Strange World, which takes the adventure out of things.

Strange World has nothing apart from some pretty pictures. The story is not there. The characters are not there. Having a biracial gay teen is not enough to lift a movie that offers no excitement, lurches from one thing to another. I think kids will be bored rather than excited to follow the Clades. 

DECISION: F

Anastasia (1997): A Review

ANASTASIA (1997)

It takes a deft touch to make an animated family musical film whose plot revolves around a political assassination that includes killing teens and children. Anastasia is a film that manages that balancing act exceptionally well, blending fantasy and history with strong musical numbers and even some cute animals.

Narrated in part by the Dowager Empress Marie (the late Angela Lansbury), we first see how beautiful the Czarist Imperial Court was until the evil sorcerer Rasputin (Christopher Lloyd) put a curse on the Romanov family. Soon, the Imperial family is overthrown. In the chaos of the Romanovs fleeing for their lives, kitchen boy Dimitri helps the Dowager Empress and her youngest granddaughter Anastasia escape the palace. Unfortunately, the Dowager Empress loses her favorite granddaughter at the train station.

Ten years later, there's A Rumor in St. Petersburg that while the Romanov family has been executed, one of the daughters may still be alive. Two con artists, Vladimir (Kelsey Grammer) and the now-adult Dimitri (John Cusack) are looking for a young woman who could pass as the Grand Duchess Anastasia. The Dowager Empress, now living in exile in Paris, has offered a massive reward to anyone who could genuinely prove herself as Anastasia.

Into this world comes Anya (Meg Ryan), an orphan who wants adventure and a Journey to the Past, to find her roots and family. She is, to Vladimir and Dimitri, the perfect impostor. However, is she an impostor? Could she be the real Anastasia, whose very name means "resurrection"? Rasputin, trapped in a netherworld, believes so. He, aided by his bat Bartok (Hank Azaria), plots to kill her before she reaches Paris. His plans are for naught, as the group has reached the City of Lights. While the Empress' cousin Sophie (Bernadette Peters) is convinced, will Anya prove herself the true daughter of the Czar? Will Dimitri and Anya admit their feelings? Will Rasputin succeed in his nefarious scheme?

The mind boggles at the idea that a story involving violent revolutions, frauds and wildly ahistorical flights of fancy can make for an almost charming musical. Anastasia, however, proves that it can be done. As Anastasia is geared towards families, we will not have an animated sequence of the Royal Family's execution. 

Instead, co-directors Don Bluth and Gary Goldman blend various elements to create our story. You have the historical elements, but you do not see the more graphic parts. To counterbalance the thoroughly evil Rasputin, you team him up with an almost adorable bat.

Granted, one wonders why Rasputin would rely on a creature like Bartok, but there it is. You also create, through both the animation and Lloyd's performance, a villain that is a mix of serious and silly. Yes, he is attempting to murder a young woman. However, he also is a bit of a bumbler who is quite literally falling apart. 

Anastasia opts to keep most of the focus off the potential fraud and sordid history. It does this by putting more focus on the romance between Anya and Dimitri. As the film continues, we see the shyster and the smart, plucky girl slowly falling in love. Like many a romance, they at first meeting think little of each other. However, we see how close they have grown.

This is aided by a whole slew of excellent songs. Journey to the Past, a lovely and strong number that speaks of Anya's longing for a family, was the one singled out for Oscar consideration. For my part, the slower, more contemplative Once Upon a December sung by Lansbury was the better song. Almost everyone in Anastasia gets a musical number. The big surprise is Rasputin's rock-like In the Dark of the Night, eerie and slightly comic. Purely comic is Paris Hold the Key (To Your Heart), a bouncy upbeat number that Peters sells to full effect.

Anastasia feels like a full-on Broadway musical with its songs, so it is no surprise that there was an actual Anastasia stage musical. The songs work so well and have such distinct styles that they work in moving the story forward.

The voice acting too is excellent. While Anastasia has well-known actors, they all seem perfectly cast for their roles. Ryan brings a plucky yet vulnerable heroine, lost but rising in courage. Cusack too has a shifty but loveable manner to Dimitri. Lansbury is caring but grand as the Dowager Empress, Grammer is likeable as the wise and surprisingly flirtatious Vladimir, and Peters (underused) is delightful as Princess Sophie.

Lloyd and Azaria work well as a double-act, the former's appropriately grandiose but comical wizard and the latter as the almost childlike bat.

Anastasia is an excellent film. Cute enough for kids (down to adorable dogs and bats), it blends fact, fantasy, romance and adventure. With excellent songs and animation, Anastasia is funny, charming and even moving. Despite myself, I did get a little misty-eyed when Empress Marie and Anya reunite. It may not be history, but Anastasia is well-crafted and good for all ages.

1901-1918

DECISION: B+

Minions: The Rise of Gru. A Review (Review #1604)

MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU

The talking twinkies and their "Mini Boss" are back at it again. Minions: The Rise of Gru is silly, frothy fun, with lots of jokes that parents will appreciate and big, bright colors and silliness that kids will like.

In 1976, 11-year-old aspiring super-villain Gru (Steve Carell) is eager to join the Vicious Six, an international criminal gang. Oddly, the group, headed by groovy super-villain Belle Bottom (Taraji P. Henson) scoffs at the idea of a minor replacing White Knuckles (Alan Arkin), whom the Vicious Six has gotten rid of via nefarious means.

However, you can't keep a good, or bad, child villain down. Gru steals a magical medallion from right under the Vicious Six's noses. Unfortunately, Otto, one of the Minions (Gru's yellow, gibberish-spouting henchmen) trades it in for a pet rock. In the confusion, White Knuckles returns from apparent death and abducts Gru as part of his revenge against the Vicious Six. The main Minions now go to San Francisco to rescue Gru, trained by Master Chow (Michelle Yeoh) in the art of kung-fu, while Otto manages to recover the medallion.

In San Fransisco, it is full-on chaos during Chinese New Year as the Minions, Gru and White Knuckles join forces to battle the Vicious Six in an ultimate showdown involving magic and mischief. With Gru triumphant and his mentor making yet another miraculous resurrection, there is no limit to their wickedness.

I was charmed by Minions: The Rise of Gru. This film does not take itself seriously and coming in at a brisk 88 minutes we still get a lot of Minion mayhem. In their strange language and oddball antics, I think the Minions have grown into quite the delightful symbols of playful anarchy. Their efforts to get to San Francisco will be the highlight for the toddler set with their inability to fly an airplane properly.

There are a lot of sight gags that work to elicit laughter. Of particular note is when via Gru's narration we see how the Minions answered a help wanted ad and convinced Gru to hire them by pulling a fast one over him involving the rain. The Rise of Gru has very funny moments that show it is not above being absurd beyond the point of rationality, but I think it knows its target audiences: small kids and their families.

While kids will enjoy the Minions going about their lunacy, the parents will I think appreciate the various visual shout-outs and puns. The opening credits are clearly a spoof of James Bond openings, and the film is not afraid of almost groan-inducing wordplay. The Vicious Six's criminal gang not only includes a person named "Belle Bottom", but another villain named Nun-chuck, who is a literal nun that swings nun chucks. As The Rise of Gru is set firmly in the 1970s, audiences will get a lot of disco music. 

Somehow, the idea of torturing little Gru in a device dubbed the "Disco Inferno" by having him spin on a giant record to Andrea True Connection's More, More, More is hilarious. Granted, it got that song stuck in my head for about two days, but it was a torture I was willing to live with. The feel for the 70s extended to the film's theme Turn Up the Sunshine, helped by having Diana Ross sing the song. We get nods to Tupperware parties and pogo sticks (which I was unaware were big in the 70s), pet rocks and an oddly moving use of The Carpenters.

If anything, The Rise of Gru understood that there had to be something for adults to latch on to.

Curiously, The Rise of Gru managed to evoke memories of more recent films like Everything Everywhere All at Once and even The Black Phone. However, there is nothing in The Rise of Gru that I think would give offense. One or two moments might be a bit intense for really small kids, but the film quickly establishes that things are ultimately all right.

The Rise of Gru is not perfect. The film did not use the voice cast to the best of its abilities. With a cast that had not just Henson but Lucy Lawless, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Julie Andrews voicing various characters, they did not seem that important. However, on the whole I think Minions: The Rise of Gru will please kids who love the Minions and their parents and grandparents who will like hearing the latest offerings from the Criminal Records store. 

Silly, frothy, short enough to keep small ones amused, The Rise of Gru works well enough to be a nice, cute, delightful romp.

DECISION: B-

The Adventures of Prince Achmed: A Review

THE ADVENTURES OF PRINCE ACHMED

Animation has evolved greatly in the nearly hundred years between The Adventures of Prince Achmed and Lightyear, though the latter has shown that story still trumps visuals. The Adventures of Prince Achmed, remarkably short, still gives us some beautiful images even if it can get a touch repetitive.

The film is made up of five Acts. An African sorcerer goes to Bagdad to present his latest creation: a flying horse. The Caliph is impressed but cannot persuade the sorcerer to present it as a gift. For what would the sorcerer sell it for? 

For the beautiful Princess Dinarsade, who is already married to the long-lost Aladdin (though we do not learn that until later in the film). The Caliph is horrified, and her brother Prince Achmed is equally appalled. Nevertheless, the Prince agrees to ride the flying horse.

Bad idea, for the horse takes him far off, away from Court and to the island of Wak-Wak. From here, Achmed falls in love with the beautiful Pari Banu, Queen of Wak-Wak. The sorcerer, however, will not be denied. Magically escaping the Caliph's prison, he finds Achmed and Pari Banu, abducting the latter to sell to the Chinese Emperor.

Achmed now must fly to China and later to other parts of the world, aided by Aladdin and a good witch, to ultimately defeat the sorcerer and save Pari Banu.

The Adventures of Prince Achmed, in a technic sense, is a lost film. The version we have now is put together from surviving elements of the original German film. However, Prince Achmed as it stands now has some beautiful animation. It was a painstaking process, as it is not a hand-drawn animated film, but one made up by silhouettes. I do think that the sequences involving Aladdin's genie are hand-drawn or at least look so visually splendid and original that it puts more recent animated films to shame.

Again, there are some beautiful sequences in Prince Achmed, complimented by Wolfgang Zeller's score. The wizard's duel between the witch and the sorcerer is visually impressive.

As a side note, one can imagine that the makers of The Sword in the Stone drew inspiration from the battle between good and evil.

The color elements, such as blue for night or yellow for China, add more beauty to the film. Granted, perhaps portraying China in yellow could come across as perhaps stereotypical, though I think it was not an intentionally insensitive decision. Perhaps a poor one from today's perspective, but it does not take away from its overall beauty.

Same goes for the African sorcerer. It does look now a bad decision to make the villain African, but again I cannot say for certain that there was any malicious intention. 

The story, while fantastical, at times does feel repetitive. How often can Pari Maru be abducted? There are times that make one wonder if Prince Achmed could be shown to children. When he first arrives in Wak-Wak, Prince Achmed is all but cavorting with a bevy of beauties, all of whom desire to devour him. It's pretty risqué for the times.

Children, I imagine, will also be put off by both the lack of speaking and the German subtitles. I would argue though that Prince Achmed is not made for children. If anything, it would be for families or even adults. 

Fantastical, visually splendid, and with a beautiful score, The Adventures of Prince Achmed should be better known separate from it being the oldest known surviving animated film. Credit to writer/director Lotte Reiniger in crafting this film, blending art and adventure in an elegant package. While the film will probably find more viewers interested in either film history or artistic endeavors, The Adventures of Prince Achmed is still a nice distraction from larger but empty animated films.

DECISION: B+

Lightyear: A Review

LIGHTYEAR

Lightyear, despite what audiences may think, is not really part of the Toy Story universe. Well, it is, in a roundabout way, but then, it isn't, according to those who made it. Confused? Don't worry, you won't get anything out of it.

Buzz Lightyear (Chris Evans) is leading a large ship of travelers in space to a new planet when he sees an uncharted planet. Taking the ship to explore if it is habitable, he and his loyal second-in-command Alisha Hawthorne (Uzo Aduba) quickly find that it is a dangerous world. While they manage to save those aboard the ship, they are now marooned on this planet, now named Takani Prime. 

Making the best of things, the passengers set up a colony. Buzz is determined to finish the mission, but that requires going into hyperspace. After the first test run, Buzz discovers that what to him are mere minutes are really four years on Takani Prime. Nevertheless, he persisted. Approximately 62 years pass, during which Alisha has married a woman named Kiko, given birth to a son, had a granddaughter and died.

Also after 62 years, Buzz's pet cat robot Sox (Peter Sohn) has finally gotten the formula right to get to hyperspace and take everyone off Takani Prime. Buzz, however, has to deal with two problems. One is the invasion of Takani Prime from a mysterious figure named Emperor Zurg (James Brolin). The other is Izzy (Keke Palmer), Alisha's granddaughter, and her two companions: clumsy Mo Morrison (Taika Waititi) and elderly convict Darby Steel (Dale Soules). Forced to join forces with "rookies", Buzz must now fight alongside them to stop Zurg and save the community. Zurg, however, has a shocking secret of his own that ties him to Lightyear, one that could destroy past and future. Buzz now has to make many choices and do the right thing.

Ah, to be so meta. Lightyear wants to have its cake and eat it too. It wants to be simultaneously tied to and untethered to the Toy Story franchise. It wants us to imagine this is a live-action film as well as the big faux-1995 hit that inspired the Buzz Lightyear action figure which Toy Story's Andy so longed for. In fact, Lightyear opens with an almost Star Wars-like opening text saying that Lightyear is the 1995 film Andy saw that made him fall in love with Buzz Lightyear.

If that is the case, one is left wondering why Andy preferred a Buzz Lightyear action figure when a Sox one would have been the more popular one. 

Lightyear is a pretty pointless film. Worse, it is a dull one, with little wit or joy to make one want repeat viewings, let alone inspire a crazed in the Clinton years. The Buzz Lightyear in Lightyear is a pompous nitwit, one who changes little between ineptly putting potentially millions of lives at risk due to his own idiocy and refusing to accept any help.

Perhaps the heights, or depths, of Buzz's intelligence is when he literally tries to stop a falling spacecraft with his own body strength. I am aware the Chris Evans played Captain America, but even for an alleged "it's animated but it's really a live-action film" this is daft. I imagine that if Lightyear had been the live-action film Disney and Pixar insist audiences are supposed to treat it as, they would have either rolled their eyes or howled with laughter at Buzz Lightyear attempting to either slow down or stop a spacecraft with just his own physical strength.

IF we treat Lightyear as this action/drama they'd like us to, I'd have to say that it fails spectacularly. None of the characters are interesting. Buzz is dull, dim and not interesting. The comic relief from Mo Morrison falls flat. Darby is nothing more than a crochety old person (often I was not sure if Darby was a male or female). Worse, she (I think Darby is female) is so uninteresting that both Buzz and I had a hard time remembering her name.

"Nice job, elderly convict," Buzz tells her at one point. It was such a low level of interest that Buzz apparently did not bother to learn her name. I think I heard it once, and I couldn't remember it either, so this was a broken clock being right twice a day deal. 

Izzy and Grandmama Alisha were not interesting either. Izzy helpfully informs us that she has space-phobia, so we know she'll have to confront it later on. Alisha helpfully informs us that she is engaged to a woman named Kiko, whom we never actually hear from or know. 

Lightyear, if it is tied to the Toy Story mythos, now opts to contradict what people have seen before. If my memory of Toy Story 2 serves correct, Emperor Zurg turned out to be Buzz Lightyear's father, an obvious spoof of The Empire Strikes Back. Now, we learn that Zurg is really an older version of Buzz. 

It's as if Lightyear almost went out of its way to upend what audiences were already used to.

The Star Wars connections are fast and furious in Lightyear, to where if Lightyear had actually premiered in 1995, George Lucas would have sued for copyright infringement. You have an explosion that mirrors the destruction of the Death Star. You have a hologram that is inches short of saying, "Help me, Obi-Wan Lightyear. You're my only hope". 

It is one thing to spoof famous moments. It is another to flat-out rip them off and try to pass them off in what is meant as a major franchise starter.

That Lightyear fails so sadly in being fun or interesting makes its naked suggestion for a sequel more sad than hilarious. 

So much of Lightyear is so uninteresting. He is not a hero, but an idiot. He does not seem to either understand or care that rather than work to get people off the planet his incompetence got them there, he keeps losing years. We're supposed to believe it was a robotic cat, and not the scientists, who figured out the hyperspace formula. We're supposed to believe that said robotic cat can run for over 60 years without any kind of maintenance.

Lightyear, to be fair, does have some positives. Michael Giacchino's score is quite good, and some moments are visually arresting. Of particular note is when Izzy has to cross into deep space. However, because Lightyear took itself so seriously, there is no real joy in the project. I get that it is meant to be seen as this great space epic that inspired the toy, not the toy's origin story. However, sometimes people can be too clever by half, making what could have been a fun family film into a self-important, dull one.

Lightyear will not last in the memory by the end of the year, let alone to infinity and beyond.

DECISION: D-

2019 Animated Short Film Oscar Nominees: The Reviews (Review #1345)

The 2019 Animated Short Film Oscar nominees range from a mere 7 minutes to 15 minutes. Here are my reviews of all five nominated animated short films in order of presentation.

I will review the short film first, then give a general overview and end with my rankings.

Hair Love: 7 minutes

The shortest of our nominees, Hair Love is about a little girl who asks her father to arrange her hair. This proves daunting to terrifying for her father, but after a false start and with a little help from a YouTube video, he manages to make his daughter look beautiful before a most important visit.

I absolutely fell in love with Hair Love. I am not ashamed to admit that I shed a few tears at this very moving story, which is essentially a silent film save for the YouTube video narrated by Issa Rae. There were a few twists and turns that didn't surprise but did move me emotionally. The little girl is absolutely adorable and the animation conveyed so much with so little. Hair Love is also a fine example of representation done right, a scenario that is both uniquely African-American and universal. It is a massive credit to show a strong, united black family, one that can have some gentle fun at a father's initial ineptness with female hair but whose love for his daughter comes through. Brief but rich in storytelling, Hair Love gives me the same feel that I got from Paperman, which went on to win Best Animated Short.

DECISION: A+

Dcera (Daughter): 15 minutes

The longest of our nominees, Daughter is a Czech animated film, also silent, that tells of the complex relationship between a father and his daughter told in flashbacks and present day. She longs as a little girl for his comfort, but he stumbles through it. When she gets older, he attempts to be more outgoing with her but she is too sullen to respond to his efforts. As he now lays dying, both are set free.

The animation is Daughter is quite rich and detailed in this stop-motion animation short. It is well-crafted but for me, despite its running time felt a bit rushed. I found it inventive but perhaps a bit too sad. Granted, I know what they were going for and was moved by this story of parents and children attempting to connect. To be fair there is something of a happy ending but perhaps the somber nature of Daughter made it a bit too hard for me. Still, the animation is worthy of recognition.

DECISION: B+

Sister: 8 minutes

The first of two Animated Short Film nominees that has dialogue in voiceover, the Chinese-language Sister is the memories of a young man and his annoying sister. Born in 1991, the sister causes him all sorts of issues large and small. Still, despite this there is a bond between them. Or there would be, if she had actually been born. However, as she in reality was aborted, most likely due to China's one-child policy and the fact that she was a female.

If there is a drawback to Sister, it is the ambiguity of the abortion (and I say this as someone openly pro-life). The film ends with a dedication to all those babies the State forced their mothers to abort, but because some people may not be aware that the Chinese Communist government had such a draconian One-Child Policy, some viewers may be put off by the story. It might be good to see the recent Amazon documentary One Child Nation, which covers this subject. Even if you support abortion, I think there can be agreement that the State forcing abortions on unwilling families is a horror. As for the animation itself, it is effective and almost cute, particularly when the sister grows to a massive size as an infant, reflecting how many older siblings look on the newborns taking so much attention. Sister is sad, especially since there is no hope due to Sister not being alive. However, Sister is also well-animated in its stop-motion work.

DECISION: B+

Memorable: 12 minutes

Memorable, in French, is the only nominated Animated Short Film that has actual dialogue. Here, this story is that of painter Louis, clearly suffering from dementia or Alzheimer's Disease. Reflecting an artistic style not unlike that of Vincent van Gogh, Louis starts having major struggles with objects. He does not know how to operate a cell phone because as he puts it, "It's 1965". He attempts suicide but confuses a hairdryer with a gun. His fish die because he forgot to feed them and puts on an album cover thinking it was the album itself. Louis' children think their mother Michelle is exaggerating his illness, but as they dance one last time, it's clear he does not recognize his metaphorically incomplete wife.

Memorable can best be described as an animated Amour, only perhaps not as depressing and without euthanasia. The stop-motion animation is like the others highly effective though not as beautiful as the others I saw. For me though, I felt a bit removed from Memorable, and it did not hit me emotionally as the others did. Yes, the animation was good and like the others, worthy of recognition, but something about it left me cold. Curiously enough, so did Amour.

DECISION: C+

Kitbull: 9 minutes

Kitbull is about the most unlikely of friends: a street kitten and a pit bull. The kitten makes a home in a junkyard where she spots a dog put outside. She is wary of him, but soon they build up something of a friendship by playing with a bottle cap. Later, on a dark and stormy night, she sees the dog has been heavily injured, clearly forced to participate in dog fighting. He helps her when she gets caught up in some trash, but she in fear ends up attacking him. Regretful for her fearful reaction, she helps him escape. The next day, they come upon a friendly woman who with her husband take both in to start new lives together.

At first, I was wondering why Kitbull had been nominated. The traditional animation, while very pleasant, didn't seem to help a story that seemed to be going nowhere. It wasn't until we saw that far from being the violently aggressive dog of reputation that in reality the pit bull was quite gentle and kind that I began to be moved to Kitbull. I soon saw that Kitbull was playing with ideas about friendship, kindness and the importance of true love. I was emotionally hit by Kitbull, and while I did not cry I did respond to it.

DECISION: B+

The special screening for the 2019 Animated Short Film Oscar nominees included four shorts not nominated: Henrietta Bulkowski (the longest at 16 minutes), The Bird & The Whale (6 minutes), Hors Piste (5 minutes) and Maestro (2 minutes). Quick thoughts on them:

Henrietta Bulkowski: a woman with a hunchback attempts to build an airplane in a junkyard even after a disabled guard finds her. He first tries to stop Henrietta but then ends up helping her in her quest to see what she could not see due to her hunchback, and she finds that said hunchback has its own surprise.

For better or worse I recognized the voices, and I was not charmed or impressed by either the story or the animation. I actually found it a bit creepy.

DECISION: C-

The Bird & The Whale: a small whale searching for his family finds a bird in a cage, lost after a shipwreck. They build a friendship until a storm comes upon them, and while the bird dies she gives the whale a new life and the family he so needed.

I thought well of the score, a duet between the whale (cello) and the bird (flute). Even though it has a hopeful ending, I still found it sad. Still, the animation was quite beautiful.

DECISION: B-

Hors Piste: a pair of intrepid mountain rescuers show that they are more incompetent than intrepid. The poor injured mountain climber can only suffer indignity upon indignity as our bumbling pair, who at times are oblivious to the person they are attempting to rescue.

Hors Piste is the only laugh-out-loud animated short film, nominated or not. It's an amusing story not meant to be taken seriously, particularly when owing to their own idiocy our intrepid mountain rescuers end up in outer space! It's all meant to be amusing, almost endearing. It has an almost 1980's vibe with the music and style.

For better or worse though, seeing Hors Piste come shortly after the helicopter crash that killed NBA superstar Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna as well as John, Kerri and Alyssa Altobelli, Sarah and Payton Chester, Christina Mauser and pilot Ara Zobayan does put a slight damper on the hijinks. That, however, is not the film's fault.

DECISION: B+

Maestro: a surprise forest concert takes place with a squirrel conducting a nightingale, turtles and porcupines in a brief opera performance.

The animation is downright beautiful. It's clever and quick and amusing all at once.

DECISION: A-

CONCLUSIONS

Of the five nominated Animated Short Film there really isn't a bad one in the bunch in terms of animation. Each film is beautifully drawn, though only two (Hair Love and Kitbull) are in traditional animation. The others are all stop-motion. Surprisingly, all of them had a theme of sorts: family. All but Kitbull were exactly about family relationships: between fathers and daughters (Hair Love and Daughter), between siblings natural and adopted (Sister and Kitbull) and between husbands and wives (Memorable). Granted, Kitbull was not exactly about families per se, but it was close enough.

Surprisingly too, three of the nominated shorts were rather sad with little to no sense of hope. Hair Love and Kitbull, the only traditional animated shorts, were the only ones to end on anything close to an optimistic, hopeful ending. The others weren't bad but they were about death both real (Daughter and Sister) or eventual (Memorable).

With the exception of Memorable, which I think could have been replaced by any of the non-nominated shorts shown save Henrietta Bukowski, I thought well of the nominees and think any of them would be worthy. However, out of all the nominated ones, there is only one that I thought was the clear standout.

I predict Hair Love will win Best Animated Short Film.

Here are my rankings in order from Best to Worst (the non-nominated ones in parenthesis):

Hair Love
(Maestro)
Kitbull
(Hors Piste)
Daughter
Sister
(The Bird & The Whale)
Memorable 
(Henrietta Bukowski)