ASTRO BOY suffers a surfeit of sentiment. Sweet, sappy, and exhibiting only the briefest waftings of whimsy, the chipper boy-bot icon of Japanese manga and cheesy television fame is brought to animated life in a script that clips along briskly enough to keep kids engaged, but will leave adults twiddling their thumbs while being disappointed… Read More »
OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL
It is a bold move to revisit a classic film, even if it is to make a prequel to it. Particularly when the studio involved, Disney, had tried, and failed, once before to produce the WIZARD OF OZ. That was in the early part of the last century, before MGM got hold of it in… Read More »
CORPSE BRIDE
Tim Burton’s latest animated film, CORPSE BRIDE,is a whimsical bit of the macabre, gussied up with the rapture of first love in both its full flowering and something more sinister. It’s Petit Guignol as light and fluffy as a corner full of cobwebs and, once you get used to the talking maggots, the rotting flesh… Read More »
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON
There will not be a better film this year, animated or other, than HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON. It’s a rip-snorting story flawlessly animated on every level that seamlessly blends humor, both subtle and broad but never gross, with heart. Lots of heart. Translated from Cressida Cowells novel of the same name, the filmmakers show… Read More »