The Other Side of Animation 283: Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio Review

(If you like what you see, you can go to camseyeview.biz to see more of my work on video game reviews, editorials, lists, Kickstarters, developer interviews, and review/talk about animated films. If you would like, consider contributing to my Patreon at patreon.com/camseyeview. It would help support my work, and keep the website up. Thanks for checking out my work, and I hope you like this review!)

Guillermo Del Toro is one of the most recognizable and beloved filmmakers in the film industry. Anytime he makes a new film, you know you are going to be in for a whimsically crafted experience of mature tones and a wonder that you won’t find with any other filmmaker. Who else could jump between genres crafting films like Pacific Rim, Mimic, The Devil’s Backbone, Pan’s Labyrinth, Nightmare Alley, The Shape of Water, Blade II, Hellboy, and Crimson Peak? Every film he has created has resulted in one that is distinct and could not be mistaken for any other filmmaker’s work. He has such a passion for what he loves, and there is a reason why so many have fallen head over heels for his films. Of course, to me, it’s no shock that he has a love for animation and not just because he has produced the hit Netflix series Trollhunter or was a producer on films like Rise of the Guardians. Del Toro probably loves animation and the art of the medium more than most fans, including myself. You have probably seen the clips of him speaking to a late-night host or someone and calling out the entertainment industry’s lack of respect for the medium and how it’s not just for kids. Sure, films and shows might be aimed at kids, but the best filmmakers make films and series that kids and adults will enjoy. This is how the best directors and studios stick around, and that’s no different here with Guillermo Del Toro throwing his newest directorial effort, an animated film, at us on Netflix called Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio. 

This lovingly-created stop-motion feature is directed by Guillermo Del Toro and Mark Gustafson, written by Del Toro and Patrick McHale, and produced by Double Dare You! Productions, ShadowMachine, and The Jim Henson Company. This iteration of the famous story by Carlo Collodi takes place during World War I, where we follow Geppetto, voiced by David Bradley, a wood carver that lives with his son in Italy. After working on a cross for the church, the town in which Geppetto and his son live gets hit by a bombing raid, and his son named Carlo is killed when a bomb hits the church. In his grief, for years on end, Geppetto drinks his days away in front of the grave where his son is buried. In his anger and depression, Geppetto cuts down the tree that they planted and crafts a wooden boy that just happens to have a talking cricket inside named Sebastian J Cricket, voiced by Ewan McGregor, who is also the narrator of our story. That night as Geppetto falls asleep, a blue fairy arrives voiced by Tilda Swinton, and brings the boy to life and makes a deal with Cricket for him to guide this wooden boy in the right way. The next morning, the boy comes to life and is named Pinocchio, voiced by Gregory Mann. Can Geppetto and Pinocchio bond as father and son together? 

We have had an absurd number of animated films based on Pinocchio this year, the Lionsgate DTV film, another Russian-animated Pinocchio film that’s entirely different, and then the Disney remake. To no shock, they all lost the core reason why the story is so beloved and therefore have no real reason to be watched. Del Toro and Patrick McHale’s focus on actual character and story leads this adaptation miles and leagues above other adaptations. Setting it during 1930 Italy while changing the setting to a degree, doesn’t actually change much from the original story or if you have seen the classic Disney version. Instead of dealing with a walking talking fox, his cat compatriot, and the carnie that takes Pinocchio on his traveling puppet show, we get those three wrapped up into the duo of Spazzatura, voiced by Cate Blanchett, and Count Volpe, voiced by Christoph Waltz. They may have changed the island where the boys get turned into donkeys and sold to mining, but instead, we get Podesta, voiced by Ron Pearlman, who takes his son Candlewick, voiced by Finn Wolfhard and Pinocchio to a youth camp that trains boys to become soldiers. As you can tell, not much has changed and it fits into the overarching themes of the film. 

This iteration tackles themes of the disconnect between generations, dealing with loss, growing up, and dealing with and defying a world full of hate via nationalistic extremes. Yeah, with this taking place in 1930 Italy, expect this film’s story to take an entirely different side of mature tones with Pinocchio discovering how fascist the country is. Also, alongside Titina, this is the second film this year that has brutal jokes and jabs at Mussolini and fascist extremists. Just a fun observation of recurring themes or gags against horrible human beings across multiple films. It even makes a poop joke work when those would normally be the lowest-hanging fruit of humor. It’s not all doom and gloom, but a lot of the journey is of Geppetto and Pinocchio’s broken relationship as Geppeto deals with the fact that he has a son, but can’t get let go of his sadness for the gift of life and having a second chance of being a father to our wooden lead. Pinocchio’s arc is more or less invincible when revealed by Death, and is also voiced by Tilda Swinton. Pinocchio’s arc then becomes learning how important and precious life is and how we can only do our best to find happiness in this life. It’s a compelling and deep story that still finds ways to be funny, heartwarming, intense, and fantastical. It’s something that only Del Toro and his team could craft into existence. 

The animation is breathtaking. With the combination of ShadowMachine and The Jim Henson Company, Del Toro and his team of artists were able to craft an unbelievable visual treat. The way the characters look has this wooden doll/figure look to everyone, but are flooded with personality as you can tell what kind of people they are by their designs alone. They find ways to make things that would be unsettling to be full of whimsy. The reveal of Pinocchio is a good example of that. The craft on screen might not be as polished as you see in Aardman and Laika productions, but keeping the imperfections the same way Wendell & Wild does bring more charm than being overly polished with their animation. The lush backgrounds, the lived feeling of the world, the fact that parts of the world they live in does change with wear and tear make this one of the most fully realized worlds seen in film and animation. The voice cast is delightful. One of those most perfect ways to use a mixture of both named voice actors, character actors, and big names. It has some of its recurring Del Toro regulars like Ron Pearlman and Burn Gorman, but with the previously mentioned actors, they have Tom Kenny, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, and Finn Wolfhard. Though it is great that in the credits, the animators are listed first over the celebrities, which should be a normal thing required by every animated film. The music is composed by Alexandre Desplat of The Shape of Water, Isle of Dogs, and The Grand Budapest Hotel fame. So you know he has a way of finding fantastical tunes and combinations that help elevate the moments in the entire run. Now, this movie is a musical with songs written by Del Toro, Desplat, and Roeban Katz, and while they aren’t the most memorable tunes, they grow on you and have their own charm to them with some great singing by our cast. They also add to the story and don’t detract from them. 

Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio is a miracle of filmmaking. A beautifully crafted adaptation of a classic story that adapts and changes some of the elements most people know about from the original tale, but loses none of the heart and soul of the journey from beginning to end. Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio is what can be considered a perfect film. A fabulous journey through the trials and hurdles of a father and son’s journey through loss, grief, acceptance, and overcoming adversity for being different, while also criticizing religious and nationalistic extremists. A film that doesn’t sugarcoat the flaws in our characters, and still leads you on one of the most satisfying journeys of storytelling in 2022. A film that not only tops the best animated films of 2022, but also the best film of 2022. It’s a reminder that animation is indeed film, and one needs to remember and accept that. Treat animation with respect. Now then, here is hoping we get a Criterion release of this film because it sorely needs a physical release alongside other animated films Netflix is keeping locked up on their service. For now, let’s go on a journey to Christmas time in London and talk about Scrooge: A Christmas Carol Netflix didn’t do a great job at letting you know existed. Anyway, see ya next time! 

Rating: Essentials!

The Other Side of Animation 279: Wendell & Wild Review

(If you like what you see, you can go to camseyeview.biz to see more of my work on video game reviews, editorials, lists, Kickstarters, developer interviews, and review/talk about animated films. If you would like, consider contributing to my Patreon at patreon.com/camseyeview. It would help support my work, and keep the website up. Thanks for checking out my work, and I hope you like this review!)

When you look at 2022, it has been a positively popping year for stop-motion animated features. Even if I didn’t personally enjoy every single one of them, 2022 has shown how diverse and different the medium of stop-motion can be. Oink, Mad God, The House, Marcel: The Shell With Shoes On, and the upcoming Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio. When was the last time we saw so much from this side of the medium? It’s rather depressing how poorly they have done in the past because people chose to see something else. Once again, if audience members want to see something different, unique, and in this case, made with stop-motion, then they actually, you know, need to see the films! Whether they show up in wide release, limited release, or on streaming, whatever hang-ups you have about where movies show up, you have to get over them. Seeing more of what you want means you need to actually support it when it comes out. That means that whether you saw it in its limited theatrical release or its soon-to-be home on Netflix, then you need to watch Wendell & Wild. 

Directed by Henry Selick and co-written by Selick and Jordan Peele, this new stop-motion feature from the master himself tells the story of a teenager named Kat Elliot, voiced by Lyric Ross. After losing her family at a young age, she has been having one heck of a life that ends up with her going to a boarding school called RBC Girls which is run by a priest named Father Bests, voiced by James Hong. While this is all going on, two demon brothers are stuck making new haircare products for their father named Wendell and Wild, voiced by the iconic Keegan Michael Key and Jordan Peele. They one day find out that they are essentially connected by magic and blood with Kat and find a way to use her to get their plans set in motion. Can Kat reconcile the emotional baggage she has been carrying with her while saving the day and not letting her personal demons have their way with bringing something to fruition? However, Kat’s demons may not be the only monsters with whom she is going to deal. 

One of the best elements in this film is how we see an entirely different set of character dynamics than in most animated fare, which is probably due to the fantastic writing combo of Selick and Jordan Peele. For one thing, the lead character doesn’t end up with a romance option with anyone. While there is debate about the whole romance or no romance option of lead characters going on right now due to comments made about the upcoming live-action Snow White remake, it is nice to see two of our leads just be good friends or accomplices to the antics without having to deal with ‘will they or won’t they’ story beats. The main goal of our lead Kat is to find a way to bring back her parents and deal with whatever is going on with the school she is living in. Our two demonic brothers bring in a distinct take of the magical entities that team up with a human story trope. They do trick her, and in the end, get redeemed not only in the eyes of Kat and their father, but they do act like demons. They lie and take advantage of Kat’s emotional luggage, they do things behind her back, and they are mischievous. You still care for them and are intensely entertaining characters, but they aren’t 100% good, which makes sense due to them being demons. Everyone from the adults to the other students all have layers to them that make this entire cast some of the more complex character lineups in 2022. Rarely does this film let any of the characters fall to the wayside and feel undercooked. With the exception maybe being the two friends of Siobhan’s friends Sweetie and Sloane, what they lack with multi-dimensional personalities, are picked up by characters like Sam Zelaya’s Raul, who is one of the most fun characters in animation this year. Seriously, there is so much personality shoved into this film, that there will be a chance that everyone watching this will result in rewinding or pausing to see all of the details or small character beats that you will definitely want to catch while on your second or third time through.  It’s going to be a bit bumpy because it’s tackling themes of death, family connections, grief, loss, and how shady, powerful, and metaphorically demonic individuals take what sounds like hopeful ideas/ideals and use them for their own greed and desires ala what is going on with the school Kat attends. Sure, it can feel a bit stuffed at 105 minutes, and I agree to a certain degree that it was a lot to juggle, but the strong character dynamics and themes were keeping this animation fan glued to the screen during Animation is Film when it was on the big screen. Even stuff with the hair cream has symbolic meaning to the overarching story, and its details like that and how you can see Wendell and Wild have different facial animations while in hell and in the human world makes films like this special. 

The animation, to no surprise, is amazing. Instead of tightly polishing the stop-motion elements as other studios would do, Henry Selick made sure to keep the imperfections that make stop-motion extremely special. It would be boring if they just edited out the different lines for the separate face pieces. Plus, like Anomalisa, you can take the little line you see on Father Bests’ face and spin it as a metaphorical mask he puts on for the students that hide his true intentions until he is around the others. Every character has either circular or angular designs that all have such punch and flair to them that is helped by the fact Selick hired a caricature artist to do the designs for this film. It results in some of the most distinct characters you see this year. As I referenced, Wendell and Wild themselves have what looks like two different facial movements when they are in different locations and little touches like that along with other small details like the janitor’s feet give you that Henry Selick punch that we all know and love. The voice cast is diverse, and they all play their respective roles well. Of course, you have the duo Keegan Michael Key and Jordan Peele, but you also have Lyric Ross, Angela Bassett, James Hong, Ving Rhames, Sam Zelaya, Tamara Smart, Seema Virdi, Ramona Young, Michele Mariana, Natalie Martinez, Tantoo Cardinal, Igal Naor, Gary Gatewood, Gabrielle Dennis, David Harewood, and Maxine Peake that round up a satisfying cast of distinct characters. Bruno Coulais was the composer behind this film, and he brings all the quirky, scary, and macabre that you would want for what is essentially a horror comedy. If his name sounds familiar, it’s because he also helped out with films like 2014’s Mune: Guardian of the Moon, Song of the Sea, 2018’s White Fang, and 2020’s Wolfwalkers, which makes all of the sense when you really think about his musical talents and sounds that he likes to deliver to the table. It pairs well with the amazing afropunk soundtrack that gives the horror a special rock edge.

Hollywood needs to stop beating around the bush and stop getting hung up on how much stop-motion animated features cost. The execs in the major studios sure as heck like spending money on massive tentpoles and pre-existing IPs that they are running into the ground when they don’t need to. Just cut a blank check to Henry Selick and let him make whatever films he wants. Wendell & Wild is a fantastic film, and it’s not just one of the best films in the medium of animation in 2022, but one of the best films in general of 2022. If you can, just find time to watch it when it hits Netflix, because I can absolutely see this becoming an instant classic in the world of film. Hopefully, a company like Criterion can put it out on a nice blu-ray with a ton of features. It’s amazing how fantastic 2022 has been in general with animation, especially with stop-motion showing how vibrant the medium is. Now then, next time, well, you are going to have to wait and see. 

Rating: Essentials

The Other Side of Animation 278: Oni – Thunder God’s Tale Review

(If you like what you see, you can go to camseyeview.biz to see more of my work on video game reviews, editorials, lists, Kickstarters, developer interviews, and review/talk about animated films. If you would like, consider contributing to my Patreon at patreon.com/camseyeview. It would help support my work, and keep the website up. Thanks for checking out my work, and I hope you like this review!)

2022 has been an extremely chaotic year for animation. Starting with Netflix trying to put out a forest fire as big as Texas, they canceled mostly all of their diverse shows and a mass majority of their animation projects. Not to be outdone, the awful Warner Bros. Discovery pretty much canceled 90% finished projects and screwed over every known talent in the entertainment and animation industry, and that’s not even counting everything else. Seriously, on top of all of this, we are now seeing the anime demand bubble pop via the struggle to keep a healthy group of animators working in a consistently awful work environment, and English dub actors getting screwed over via the Mob Psycho 100 incident. The overall animation industry is also getting scapegoated by inept greedy number-crunching executives that are putting more and more of their hopes and dreams on IP-driven work. It’s heartbreaking to see such an industry use a vibrant medium of storytelling as a bad faith argument of what people actually want to see. Because sooner or later, those pieces of art that are more focused on preserving popular brands are going to die out. Now more than ever, you need to support original projects, and you do that by ignoring and not taking part in the discussion/discourse of whatever new based-on-an-IP thing is out right now, and instead, giving your support to new and original projects like Oni: Thunder God’s Tale. 

Directed and created by Daisuke Tsutsumi, written by Mari Okada, and produced by a collaborative effort by Tonko House, Megalis VFX, Dwarf Studios, and Marza Animation Planet, this four-episode limited series is about a young girl named Onari, voiced by Momona Tamada. She lives in a village full of Kami with her father Naridon, voiced by Craig Robinson. She is training to bring out her true powers along with her fellow friends who are being taught by Mr. Tengu, voiced by George Takei. As Onari discovers her true powers and who she is, things start to unfold as they have to protect the village from a group of monsters. Can Onari and Naridon save the day? What exactly is up outside of the village? Are the monsters actually threats? What is the true connection between Onari and Naridon? 

Let’s start with the animation. The visuals and delightful designs are drop-dead gorgeous. This is mostly stylized CGI that is animated like stop-motion. That’s wildly impressive, because the sets they use, the designs, the textures, and what have you, look so darn good! It almost looks like real stop-motion. Yes, they aren’t fluidly animated in their movements, but you can still get the point across about their expressions and actions. It’s not like what they are thinking isn’t readable, because it is. The entire look of the show is a pleasing gift for the eyes as we see heavy uses of lighting, shadows, mixed-media elements, and how it just looks like you could reach in and touch the characters themselves. You can tell that the studios involved with bringing life to this limited series were all working with a cohesive goal in mind in how they wanted this to all look. The designs are all adorable, and all have very distinct personalities and diverse ways of movement. Even the designs of what the monsters turn out to be are handled well and don’t clash with the designs of the kami, which is very helpful when you craft up a consistent look and feel for the show. You never want to see a character that absolutely doesn’t match up with other designs in the show or film. 

The voice cast is stellar. The one that left this writer impressed, outside of Momona Tanada’s powerful performance as the excitable yet vulnerable Onari, is Craig Robinson as Naridon. When you usually see Craig, he’s typically playing a version of himself or a more cartoony version of himself that we see most of the time he shows up. Not to say that’s bad, because it isn’t. What’s so fascinating about watching this show is how Naridon doesn’t say a single word, but his movements, grunts and noises, and facial expressions tell you everything. It’s all through visual storytelling and that’s so cool that they went with that for one of the show’s main characters. The other characters are also likable, funny, quirky, and have fun little visual gags that are attached to them. The rest of the cast includes some heavy hitters like Omar Benson Miller, who is just killing it in the voice-acting game right now, Archie Yates, George Takei, Tantoo Cardinal, Yuki Matsuzaki, Brittany Ishibashi, Anna Akana, Charlet Chung, Seth Carr, and Robert Kando rounding out an incredible cast. It’s also an interesting twist on some of these actors who are having to play something fairly different than what they usually get cast in. It’s refreshing to see how much certain actors show that they actually have range. 

Now, as for the story, it’s a very sweet tale that tackles themes of found family, discrimination, the power of fearmongering, and how to become strong to overcome your fears. It looks like a very child-friendly show, but it finds a way through the four episodes to weave in more complex moments, emotionally complicated moments, and quiet moments to let the characters breathe, and allow you to become enveloped in this show’s atmosphere and world, due to how amazing the animation is.  It’s a show that joins the current generation trend of animated entertainment by being made for everyone. That’s because, as we really need to jab and ram into every executive’s head, animation is not a genre, it’s not just for kids, and it can be made for everyone and not just one side or the other. Oni: Thunder God’s Tale is one of those entities that is able to be there for everyone. Young kids will enjoy the cute designs and visuals, whereas everyone else can spot some fantastic visual gags and absorb the themes and commentary that are being told and shown throughout the show. It’s the power of animation, it is for everyone. 

In a year where we have had some rather impressive feats of animated storytelling with stuff like Lost Ollie, The Legend of Vox Machina, Inu-Oh, Bee and Puppy Cat, and Entergalactic, we are still not done with this year as we are about to get a string of fantastic-looking films, and with this limited series that Daisuke Tsutsumi has crafted with their team with Oni: Thunder God’s Tale. It’s four episodes full of charm, wit, laughs, and themes about family, discrimination, saving the environment, and finding your inner strength to take down the fears that are inside all of us. It’s a beautifully crafted world with some of the year’s most distinct and visually stunning and unique animation with its combination of stop-motion, CGI, and some 2D elements as well. It’s on Netflix, and while Netflix has been making some very frustrating and questionable decisions, they still let Daisuke Tsutsumi craft a beautiful story about a big ol’ goofy ogre and his daughter. It maybe could have had one more episode to pace everything out a bit more, but if that’s the only criticism that can come out of this writer’s brain that is essentially saying “I want more of this”, then that’s saying something. Definitely give this incredible series a watch. It’s one of 2022’s best new shows/event series. Now then, next time, we will be taking a trip through devilish punk rock vibes and encounter everyone’s new favorite mortician magicians and their human cohort in the next review. 

Rating: Essential! 

The Other Side of Animation 250: The House Review

(If you like what you see, you can go to camseyeview.biz to see more of my work on video game reviews, editorials, lists, Kickstarters, developer interviews, and review/talk about animated films. If you would like, consider contributing to my Patreon at patreon.com/camseyeview. It would help support my work, and keeps the website up. Thanks for checking out my work, and I hope you like this review!)

It’s 2022, and we are still in January, which is a noted dump month for a bunch of films that eitherHollywood doesn’t mind losing money on, or are hoping that they can offer something to moviegoers who aren’t interested in the award season fodder that gets released. Thankfully, with the advent of streaming and streaming services that are more willing to be experimental and offer distinct experiences, January is no longer the worst month of the year. Granted, bad movies are still going to get dumped into January, and that’s not going to change anytime soon. Luckily, we have something like the incredible anthology film that they originally marketed as a limited series with Netflix’s The House. 

The three shorts are directed by three sets of directors. The first short, And heard within, a lie is spun, is directed by  Marc James Roels & Emma De Swaef. It’s about a family who lives in a small humble home where the dad is tired of being judged for being poor. One dark night, he meets a client who is willing to offer him and his family a nice fancy house with no real hang-ups. Well, at first. The second short, Then lost is truth that can’t be won, which is directed by Niki Lindroth Von Bahr, it’s about a mouse that is trying to sell a house that he is refurbishing. Nothing is looking great until he catches the attention of a fairly odd couple. The final short, Listen again and seek the sun, is directed by Paloma Baeza, and is about a cat who owns the titular house in a world that has been flooded and is trying to refurbish it while the water is rising and to soon engulf the house. On top of tenants that don’t properly pay, a new arrival to the house sets things up for something life-changing. 

One of the fun aspects of seeing this anthology film is how distinct it is from other horror films. We have seen anthology films in horror and live-action, but when do we ever get horror animated features that aren’t Halloween specials made for families? It’s one of the few examples of animation that is aimed at adults that isn’t hyper-violent. Now, before walking into this film that was for some reason marketed as a limited series, there is something you should know. This is not a traditional horror film with jumpscares or hyper-violence. Some have said that this would be a stop-motion horror film by the ways of what A24 likes to distribute, and, well, that’s not wrong. The horror here does have some genuine scares, but consider this the category of scares that get under your skin and are more metaphorical. The stories deal with obsession, depression, abandonment, gentrification, and other themes that are woven throughout the three stories, and each one is consistently unnerving to sit through. It gets you in the same way the paranoia in John Carpenter’s The Thing or Ari Aster’s Midsommar hits you when you realize something is extremely off about the situations in each of the stories. Why did this family get such a nice house? Who is the odd couple interested in buying the house? What is really going on with the landlord of the house? What mysteries are there in this setting? If that’s the type of horror for you, then this film will absolutely click with you. It can even be somewhat funny and extremely heartwarming at times. It depends on the story you are watching, of course. 

Animation-wise, it’s stop motion! It’s extremely fun and impressive to see studios and teams still making films with an art style that is costly and time-consuming, which is what most studios are allergic to. The first short uses the duo director’s iconic use of felt-like humans with very round heads and tiny faces. Even with such distinct designs, the horror and atmosphere doesn’t feel distracting. The other two use fur and designs that will be familiar to viewers who have seen the stop-motion short The Burden, or if you have seen any Wes Anderson stop-motion films. The voice cast is also rather good with a few big names, but it was never a huge marketing point. You do have Helena  Bonham Carter, Mathew Goode, Paul Kaye, Claudie Blakley, Mia Goth, Mark Heap, Miranda Richardson, Josh McGuire, Stephanie Cole, Jarvis Cocker, Dizzee Rascal, Yvonne Lombard, Sven Wollter, Tommy Hibbits, Ayesha Antoine, Susie Wokoma, and Will Sharpe. The music by Gustavo Santaolalla is delightfully creepy, unsetting, but also ethereal and emotional. He also helped compose the music for The Book of Life, Narcos: Mexico, The Last of Us Part 1 and Part 2, Finch, and Maya and The Three. 

Despite being a sort of “you have to be in this mood” horror film, and the confusion as to why they marketed this as a limited series rather than a film has never been fully explained, The House is 2022’s first big animated hit. It’s an incredible experience that if you are a fan of animation, you should absolutely check out this film! Granted, this is absolutely not for kids. Not to say they probably couldn’t handle it, but they will either be terrified or really bored. If you like horror films that are more akin to the A24-distributed types, then you will love this film. If you are more akin to the Blumhouse or more mainstream crowd-pleasing horror, then you will also probably like it! There is room for both hyper-violent and jump-scare-driven horror and more methodical horror. At the end of the day, it all comes down with how you execute it. Now then, next time, we will be looking at the best animated film of 2021 with Mamoru Hosoda’s Belle. 

Thanks for reading the review! I hope you all enjoyed reading it! If you would like to support my work, make sure to share it out, and if you want to become a Patreon supporter, then you can go to patreon.com/camseyeview. I will see you all next time!

Rating: Go See It!

The Other Side of Animation 248: Bob Spit: We Do Not Like People Review

(If you like what you see, you can go to camseyeview.biz to see more of my work on video game reviews, editorials, lists, Kickstarters, developer interviews, and review/talk about animated films. If you would like, consider contributing to my Patreon at patreon.com/camseyeview. It would help support my work, and keeps the website up. Thanks for checking out my work, and I hope you like this review!)

Heads up: I was able to watch this film via a screener sent to me. I got no other form of monetization other than the screener. Thank you Kelly Hargraves for this opportunity.

Do you know what’s a bummer of a review? It’s reviewing a film you are mixed on. Some critics have cited that films they found boring or middling are tougher to write about. You try to wring out any thoughts or personal observations from said boring experience, but there is a dose of anger with a film. Your experience was almost incredible, and yet, something or a couple of things about the film drags the overall enjoyment down, and that’s not fun to watch in real-time. Not to say that the film is terrible, but you always hope for a film to be good from start to finish. This is the journey and the outcome of watching a truly distinct and unique film like Bob Spit: We Do Not Like People. 

This movie is based on the comics and characters by famed Brazilian comic book artist Angeli. It’s directed by Cesar Cabral and written by Angeli and Cesar. The story follows Angeli as he is being interviewed about his career and his approach to his art, where he reveals and talks about the characters he famously killed off. This includes the notorious punk rock green humanoid Bob Spit. In another realm, Bob Spit finds himself in a completely abandoned wasteland full of survivors watching something off special orbs, small demonic critters that look like Elton John’s version of Critters. When he finds out his creator is going to kill him, he goes on an adventure and journey to find his creator and stay alive. Because, as Bob Spit says, “Punk is not dead!”

This is a very fascinating film, and you love to see these very distinct films in the animation scene. Sure, you may not be able to see this one in a readily available way, but hopefully, that will change in the future. This is partly an interview with the real-life artist talking about his life via his personal ongoings and how he approaches his characters and art. There are other scenes seen throughout the experience of other individuals in the lead’s life that influenced his personal life or his work. The film takes up a majority of the 90-minute runtime to really focus on the artist who is also his own character within the film, and exploring his current mindset of where he is right now, being all retrospective of his career. Now, how does the Bob Spit’s arc fit into all of this? Well, when a specific line is said about the art having a life of its own, well, you can probably put two and two together with how that unfolds, as Bob then goes on an existential journey about him and his world’s own existence. There is even a pinch of commentary about the evolution of music, with the slow demise of punk and the rise of pop. There are some action set pieces and brief nudity, but it’s more of a story-driven experience that’s more of the creator’s retrospective look at his life and his art than some stop-motion Mad Max action flick. 

Animation-wise, the stop-motion quality is top-notch. If you need a companion piece in terms of similar-looking stop-motion films, then the film’s animation is close to 2015’s Anomalisa. It even does a surreal sequence where part of the artist’s face slides off to show the puppet inside when he is whacked by Bob Spit. It might not have the cinematic feel of Aardman or Laika stop-motion film, but when we live in a world where very few stop-motion films are being made, you take what you can get. Still, the designs translate well to stop-motion and the action is well executed. The acting is also splendid, and even the real-life artist is in the film as his own character. The music is also rather punk and full of rock and roll tunes, as you would expect of an artist and his creation from a very specific time period. 

The only real downside is that the film is very slow-paced. You wouldn’t expect that from the 90-minute runtime, but the pacing itself can be slogging at points. It might be due to how quiet the overall film is. The third act also feels like the film is trudging to get to the finish line. Granted, the finale is satisfying, but it was easily the weakest part of this experience. 

Bob Spit might not catch and entice everyone with its punk rock aesthetic and surreal storyline, but it’s a film that animation fans and animation critics should feel happy exists. It’s another adult-focused animated film that doesn’t fully rely on the adult animation tropes that most adult animation suffers from. It’s a distinct experience that comes highly recommended to check out if possible. You may like it more than others, but as Bob Spit would say, “Punk is not dead!” And neither is this movie’s experience. Now then, next time, we will look at the awards darling of 2021 with Flee. 

Thanks for reading the review! I hope you all enjoyed reading it! If you would like to support my work, make sure to share it out, and if you want to become a Patreon supporter, then you can go to patreon.com/camseyeview. I will see you all next time!

Rating: Rent It!

The Other Side of Animation 242: Robin Robin Review

(If you like what you see, you can go to camseyeview.biz to see more of my work on video game reviews, editorials, lists, Kickstarters, developer interviews, and review/talk about animated films. If you would like, consider contributing to my Patreon at patreon.com/camseyeview. It would help support my work, and keeps the website up. Thanks for checking out my work, and I hope you like this review!)

Heads up: I was able to watch this series before its recent release via a screener sent to me by Netflix. I got no other form of monetization other than the screener. Thank you, Netflix.

Aardman is one of the most prolific animation studios known to the world of animation. With their high-quality award-winning stop-motion shorts, shows, and films that have spanned multiple generations of viewers, which shouldn’t be shocking due to their multiple classic films including the Wallace & Gromit series of shorts, Chicken Run, Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Shaun the Sheep, and the underrated Early Man. Sadly, as much as we would all like to say everything they make rakes in the bank, that sure as heck isn’t what happens with the box office returns for their more recent outings. As much love as this studio and their work gets, no one seems to show up for them. It’s been said time and time again that if you want to see stop-motion films in theaters, then you need to actually show up! Granted, it didn’t help when Early Man was released right next to Black Panther, but the point remains that many moviegoers simply don’t want to see stop-motion on the big screen, and that is why Aardman has buddied up with Netflix here in the states. They get more mileage from streaming than they have had with recent theatrical success. Unless everyone puts their money where their mouths are, this is the direction where stop-motion is going to head. Now then, with a new lifeline for Aardman, and some progressive changes made behind the scenes, let’s see how they handle a new visual style for their stop-motion work where they move from plasticine to felt with their Christmas Special, Robin Robin. 

Directed by Daniel Ojara and Mikey Please, this charming little tale is about a Robin named, well, Robin, voiced by Bronte Carmichael, who is raised by a family of mice led by a father mouse voiced by Adeel Akhtar. After failing another heist of getting crumbs and food for the mice, Robin is feeling complacent about her place in the mouse family and sets off on an adventure to try to get something for them while maybe learning who she is along the way. As this journey progresses, we run into a crow that loves shiny things voiced by Richard E. Grant, and a predatory cat voiced by Gillian Anderson. 

One of the new changes to their animation style this time around is the much-talked-about felt-like designs of the characters. They look like dolls or Christmas tree ornaments from a bygone era with there being very few details to show the seams or however they truly put together these character models. Stop-motion is a backbreaking and brutal form of art and animation, and that’s why it’s always so impressive to see it done, no matter who the studio is. Even with this change in designs and visuals, it still looks like an Aardman joint due to the designs themselves. You even see some smaller details like pupils that change size and other little details shown throughout the 30-minute runtime. Even how it makes snow, wind, and environment is constantly awe-inspiring, and how they tell the story of the backyard that this all takes place in through environmental storytelling is incredible. Some of it even looks like the ruins of an ancient civilization. I mean, the giant statues you see are just garden gnomes, but still. Due to this taking place during the holidays, there are a ton of warm and cozy colors that give you the feeling of being with your family or by the fireplace. They even let you know who the characters are by how they move. You can tell what’s going to happen with Robin even before the characters go into the house. 

With the 30-minute runtime, the special itself was able to tell a charming and compelling story about different family situations, identity, fitting in. It’s all wrapped up in a special that doesn’t overstay its welcome, and the only sign of wanting it to be longer is because of how utterly charming the overall world and story is. It’s an all-killer no-filler-style special, and it was able to fit in so much of that iconic Aardman charm and wit. In addition, there are plenty of clever jokes via the dialogue and background gags to go around. 

Of course, everything is held together by a splendid voice cast that includes the names mentioned above, with Richard E. Grant being as sly and fun as ever with whatever role he is taking part in. Gillian Anderson is quiet, tactical, and always a threat as the cat, and pulls in some real 90s-era Disney villain vibes. Adeel Akhtar, while not having a lot of time on screen, is warm and loving as the father mouse. The true standout performer though is Bronte Carmichael as Robin. She brings a lovable innocence to her performance, and you do feel for her wanting to do everything to make her adopted family and her friends happy.  The music flows from the dialogue sequences, and as such, they feel natural. It’s never distracting when they move through each song, and it’s impressive to see them not take a moment to pause everything to go full-on Broadway musical. The story is constantly moving forward and so is the music. 

Robin Robin is an absolutely sweet and wholesome special that becomes another knockout classic from the famed UK studio. It’s on Netflix, so unless you don’t have it, you have no reason to not put this on your Holiday rotation alongside the amazing Klaus. If you want something extremely full of what the holiday spirit should be, then you will love Robin Robin. Next time, we will be covering the French epic, The Summit of The Gods. 

Thanks for reading the review! I hope you all enjoyed reading it! If you would like to support my work, make sure to share it out, and if you want to become a Patreon supporter, then you can go to patreon.com/camseyeview. I will see you all next time!

Rating: Essential

Worst to Best Animated Films of 2019 Part 3

(If you like what you see, you can go to camseyeview.biz to see more of my work on video game reviews, editorials, lists, Kickstarters, developer interviews, and review/talk about animated films. If you would like, consider contributing to my Patreon at patreon.com/camseyeview. It would help support my work, and keeps the website up. Thanks for checking out my work, and I hope you like this review!)

Welcome back! Now, it’s time to get into the films that I enjoyed! This is the long part as we count down from 27 to 11! If you have yet to see the first two parts, make sure to use the tags in this editorial to get to Part 1 and Part 2. Now then, let’s keep counting down!

27. Son of the White Mare

While this is a film from a few decades ago, it was never fully or officially released in the states until last year and will be coming out on Blu-ray this year. That’s a bloody shame, because this movie is awesome. The visuals are striking; the storytelling is straight-forward, but really, you watch this movie to see the amazing visual experience that it offers. Otherwise, it’s a simple fairy-tale-style story that relies way more on its abstract visuals to comment on certain topics. However, sometimes, you want to sit back and take in a film that offers outstanding visuals and enjoy the ride! I can’t wait until more people see Son of the White Mare.

26. This Magnificent Cake

I honestly contemplated whether I would include this film on the list. Not because it doesn’t count as one, but I just find it odd that a 45-minute or as it’s called, a mid-length feature, is a film. Still, outside of that personal opinion, this is a very poignant and very dark piece about colonialism in the Congo. It obviously could have used a longer running time for everything to be a bit more impactful, and the ending fizzles out into abstract weirdness that is symbolic and meaningful, but it’s still one of the most unique experiences you can find in animation. I can understand why Barry Jenkins loved this film.

25. Abominable 

It’s always a gamble nowadays on whether a DreamWorks release will be good or not, and that’s a shame because when they release something like Abominable, it shows why people still support them. Sure, it might not have the strongest characters or the beefiest story, but Jill Culton and her team were able to still bring a solid story with some gorgeous visuals to life with a way more interesting villain and tone that you don’t see a whole lot from the studio. I still have my issues with this studio, but Abominable shows that they still have a better sense of talent and storytelling than most animation studios.

24. Teen Titans Go! vs Teen Titans

While I’m not a huge hater on the current iteration of the teen superhero team, I’m starting to get a little tired of it all now. It’s still a delightfully funny experience, the action is decent, and they were able to make the chemistry between the two different versions of the characters work. It’s always funny to see the same voice actor play two different versions of the same character. This iteration of the franchise might be losing its steam now, but if you enjoyed 2018’s Teen Titans Go! To the Movies, then you will find a lot to enjoy in this one.

23. Aya of Yop City 

Produced by the director of 2013’s The Rabbi’s Cat, and directed by the creator of the comic series it’s based on, Aya of Yop City is easily one of the hidden gems of foreign animation. Not only is it one of the few animated films I have encountered that star an all African cast of characters, but isn’t about any of the major turmoils that are set in that country in a manipulative way. It’s more of a slice-of-life story, as Aya and her family and friends go through the challenges of relationships, love, jobs, and life. It can be surprisingly funny, endearing, and has a great visual look. It’s a shame that it wasn’t released until this year. Sadly, the story flounders in the end, and Aya herself is not the most interesting character, but people should still really check out this film. Just be ready to experience a film that doesn’t have a traditional story.

22. Wonder Woman: Bloodlines

It’s rather sad that we finally got a second animated feature after 10 years, but the wait was worth it. The drama between Wonder Woman and one of the villains was compelling, the action was stellar, and it was nice to see a superhero film with a mostly female-lead cast. It’s also a bummer that there are a few moments where you can tell a guy directed the film, and the final act falls into generic action fare, but for a direct-to-video DC animated film, I enjoyed this one!

21. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

It might be the weakest of the three DreamWorks Dragon films, and it 100% shows that DreamWorks doesn’t know how to handle its side characters, but it’s still a pretty stellar finale with downright stupidly good-looking animation, fantastic scenes with Hiccup and Toothless, and it shows how to somewhat properly cap off an incredible franchise.

20. I Lost My Body

This shouldn’t be a big shock. Yes, I was not as huge of a fan as everyone else in the world with this multi-festival winning film. I didn’t think the film balanced out both stories well, I found the humans to be the biggest issue with the film, and I felt like other films should have been nominated. With all that said, this is easily one of 2019’s most unique films. It’s ethereal and mesmerizing watching the sequences with the hand and how the story unfolds. It also has a unique visual style that no other film in 2019 can copy. While I do not have the same love and support of it, I still found the experience to be enthralling from beginning to end.

19. Batman versus TMNT

It seems like that my love for the DC animated films that go direct-to-video always leans to the non-Action 52-style storyline going on right now. I adored the art direction, the action was thrilling, and due to the two properties getting combined into one movie, the story goes bonkers with some sequences. It’s 2019’s Batman Ninja, and I am all here for it.

18. Frozen II

The first film was lightning in a bottle, and Frozen II was going to have to go through some hurdles to overcome the giant challenge of trying to be as good or better than the first film. To a degree, I do like Frozen II better. I like the songs better, I like the tone, I like the commentary, and the film still does show why Anna and Elsa are great. It’s also a film that feels like the last act got changed due to probably being too dark. I don’t know if I’ll ever know what exactly happened with the third act that rubbed me and others the wrong way, and how Sven got the short end of the stick in terms of plots, but despite the rough spots, I still enjoyed my time with Frozen II.

17. Spies in Disguise

It’s rather refreshing to sit here and type out the fact that I absolutely loved a Blue Sky Studios film. Seriously, outside of The Peanuts Movie and to an extent Robots and Ferdinand, Spies in Disguise feels like Blue Sky’s most cohesive film. The animation, the lighting, the designs, the characters, and the themes it tackles with how it handles aggressive and defensive tactics in spy work is rather ambitious for a film from a studio that has a mixed reputation. It doesn’t do it perfectly, and certain casting choices are distracting/bad, but overall, I would absolutely watch Spies in Disguise again in the future.

16. Mai Mai Miracle

Don’t worry, this is the last of the “we didn’t get this movie until now” films on the list. Honestly, it is shocking that it took until 2019 to get one of the more charming animated features from Japan. It’s very much a film in the same vein as My Neighbor Totoro or the director’s recent work, In This Corner of the World. The story is about two girls from different financial classes enjoying and exploring the countryside post-World-War II. It has the same kind of problem as with the other films listed, where it seems like they had to have some kind of conflict, but if you love films like My Neighbor Totoro, you will love Mai Mai Miracle.

15. Okko’s Inn

Technically, I saw this film two years ago at Animation is Film, and I still stand by my opinion that it is easily one of 2019’s hidden gems to check out. It’s a delightfully low-key coming-of-age drama that despite having a more simplistic art style, was able to really invest you into Okko’s trials of losing her parents. It also has some set pieces that are a wonder to the eye to see unfold with the power of animation.

14. I Want to Eat Your Pancreas

I perfectly get why people would absolutely be on the fence with this one. It’s another one of those teen dramas that has one of the teens with a deadly disease and, yeah, sometimes it milks it a bit too much, and the film is a touch too long, and the designs aren’t all that memorable. However, In terms of these types of films, it’s easily one of the best versions of it. The animation is great, the characters have actual chemistry, and I was able to be fully sucked into the drama and romance. Your reception to this film will vary, but one thing we can all agree on is that this film costs way too much to purchase, Aniplex! Lower the blu-ray’s price!

13. Penguin Highway

For a first time directing gig, Penguin Highway is a smart and creative coming-of-age story about a boy going through puberty and wondering about the world around him. Granted, I don’t know if your journey through growing up included a random infestation of penguins, but still. It overstays its welcome a tiny bit, and I can understand people having an issue with the boy’s fixation on an older woman character, but other than that, I really enjoyed it. I can’t wait to check out Studio Colorido’s future projects.

12. The LEGO Movie 2

It’s truly a shame WB decided to burn through too much of the LEGO IP and it’s understandable as to why this film underperformed. I think it deserved to do better because it’s still a fantastic film with a great theme of boy vs girl mentalities, toxic masculinity, and identity. It’s still lighting quick with its wit, highly enjoyable comedy, and the characters are still strong, and I would argue are better than the first film. It might not have that lightning in a bottle hype the first film got, but overall, this film deserved to have done better.

11. Toy Story 4

While I disagree with its Oscar win for Best Animated Feature due to it being the safest bet of the films nominated, and it runs into the DreamWorks situation of not being able to do anything with its side characters that aren’t the new ones, Toy Story 4 is still a stellar film in probably the most consistently high-quality franchise in animation. It might be an epilogue for Woody’s story, and Buzz gets short-changed, but the story is still strong, the characters are likable, the jokes are funny, and it still has a lot of that Pixar love that people adore about the studio.

Thanks for reading the editorial/list! I hope you all enjoyed reading it! If you would like to support my work, make sure to share it out, and if you want to become a Patreon supporter, then you can go to patreon.com/camseyeview. I will see you all next time!

The Other Side of Animation 181: Shaun the Sheep: Farmageddon Review

(If you like what you see, you can go to camseyeview.biz to see more of my work on video game reviews, editorials, lists, Kickstarters, developer interviews, and review/talk about animated films. If you would like, consider contributing to my Patreon at patreon.com/camseyeview. It would help support my work, and keeps the website up. Thanks for checking out my work, and I hope you like this review!)

Listen, what I’m about to say may sound silly and ridiculous, but I think if stop-motion animated features want to be around, they need to stop being in theaters. Let’s face it, the film-going community and the casual audience have failed to keep stop-motion alive in theaters, and while some of the blame should be put on the marketing teams and release strategies, you have to go see these films in theaters for them to make money. If you want to see them in theaters in the future, then you should have made sure Early Man, Missing Link, Kubo and the Two Strings, The Shaun the Sheep Movie, and other stop-motion films that weren’t Coraline made money in theaters, and not just afterward by renting or buying the Blu-ray. That’s why I thought it was smart when Netflix picked up and released Aardman’s recent animated outing, Shaun the Sheep: Farmageddon.

Directed by Will Becher and Richard Phelan, this is a sequel to the previous Shaun the Sheep film and series, but you can simply watch this film without having seen the first film or the series. It helps that this series is as basic as can be in all of the right ways possible. So, what do I think about the newest Aardman film? Well, let’s find the crop circles in the fields and check it out.

The story revolves around our lovable shenanigans-driven sheep Shaun. After getting into more trouble with the farmer and Bitzer, Shaun encounters an odd new addition to the farm in the form of an alien! This spacey individual landed on the outskirts of the town, and is trying to get back home. That won’t be easy for Shaun, since not only does he have to take care of an alien that’s a child, but the Ministry of Alien Detection, also known as M.A.D, is on the lookout for it as well. Can Shaun help out his new alien friend while also learning to become more responsible?

So, let’s talk about the story as a whole because unlike the previous film, this one is focusing on Shaun himself. The rest of the cast is there, including the other sheep, Bitzer, and the farmer, but until a little later on for Bitzer, everyone else gets relegated to a side story. The main theme and arc for Shaun in this film is for him to be an adult and to take responsibility in life. It’s not a complex theme, but it is something you see throughout the entire film, as Shaun and the alien explore the town and avoid the hands of M.A.D. You can tell that Shaun is characterized more as a teen, while the alien is the kid as you see him try to keep the alien kid out of trouble and to mature throughout the story. Despite there being no dialogue in the film, the chemistry among the characters is relatively strong. I’m sure anyone watching this can relate to Shaun on some level as he acts like a big brother or sibling to the alien. Another step up from the previous film is that the villain is more interesting. Yes, it’s a generic FBI/Area 51 organization, but the leader of the group is way more interesting than the animal control person from the first film. It also helps that her goons and the little robot assistant are also given a lot of personality. Like I said a second ago, there is no spoken dialogue, so you have to rely on the performances of the characters, main and secondary, to give the individual characters personality and life.

Animation-wise, it’s Aardman, and their stop-motion work is always top-notch. It might not reach the impeccable work that Laika does with their stop-motion, but the animators at Aardman are still masters of the craft. Every single character is so easily identifiable in who they are as characters. Even down to the most minor of characters, you can tell who they are by their movements. Like the previous film and the two TV series, the physical comedy and the visual gags are always funny. Sure, this film has some slightly childish humor, but it’s executed well, so it’s not as distracting as the fart joke in Early Man or the juvenile humor seen in Ne-Zha.

My only real complaint is how the film handles the side characters with the farmer and the other sheep. Due to the fact that the story focuses on Shaun, the side story of the farmer wanting to bank on the alien phenomenon isn’t as great. Or, at the very least, it takes a little too long for the payoff to be funny. It feels like a sequel problem that they have all of your favorite characters from the series, but they have nothing to do. Don’t get me wrong, there are still some very funny visual gags with the sheep, but I missed their presence through a lot of the film. It even takes to about the halfway point for Bitzer to have more to do with the main story. I will say that at least the payoff with the side story colliding with the main story is very entertaining, and leads to a much more endearing and enjoyable third act than the first film.

While I don’t think it has the same charm and heart as the first film, I still loved Shaun the Sheep: Farmageddon. I wish this had a chance in theaters, but knowing how everyone has turned on stop-motion films in theaters, it’s for the best that it ended up on Netflix. They actually care to have different animated films with varied and creative animation styles. Since we are all under lockdown until further notice, I highly recommend watching this film, and the new Shaun the Sheep series on Netflix, Shaun the Sheep: Adventures from Mossy Bottom. It’s another feather in Aardman’s cap, and I can’t wait to see what they do next. Now then, it’s time to play a little catch-up before Trolls: World Tour and The Willoughbys, so let’s check out a film that I have needed to review for a while. Next time, we will be looking at Sword of the Stranger.

Thanks for reading the review! I hope you all enjoyed reading it! If you would like to support my work, make sure to share it out, and if you want to become a Patreon supporter, then you can go to patreon.com/camseyeview. I will see you all next time!

Rating: Go See It!

Animation Tidbits: Blackheads Review

If you like what you see, you can go to camseyeview.biz to see more of my work on video game reviews, editorials, lists, Kickstarters, developer interviews, and review/talk about animated films. If you would like, consider contributing to my Patreon at patreon.com/camseyeview. It would help support my work, and keeps the website up. Thanks for checking out my work, and I hope you like this review!)

With the recent virus outbreak going around, multiple smaller filmmakers are getting the short stick if the festival they were planning on showing their film at was canceled. This is the current case with the South By Southwest cancellation. Multiple filmmakers who were able to get into the festival are now left in the cold, and if they want to try again at other festivals in the fall, they are dealing with the big studio award-season fodder.

It’s not a good year for smaller filmmakers, but if streaming services and critics can help out these hopeful filmmakers, then that would be stellar. That’s what I did. I put out on Twitter that any animation individuals were showing a film or short film at South By Southwest, I would be happy to help with reviews for their films, and an animation filmmaker got in contact with me. So, with all that said, I was able to see this short before its March 15-16th release on Vimeo, but that was all the access I was given. Anyway, this is my quickie review of Blackheads by director Emily Ann Hoffman.

The story follows a young woman named Sofia, voiced by Chet Siegel. She is currently dealing with the stress of being in a relationship that just ended with a guy named Mars, voiced by Doug Goldring. While talking to her therapist Dr. Blady, voiced by Robin Brenner, she looks back on the relationship and other sporadic thoughts while also dealing with a blackhead on her nose.

So, this short is a mix of drama, fourth-wall-breaking meta narrating, and subtle comedy about relationships and identity. Dealing with a breakup is tough, and it makes you look at yourself wondering what happened and what may or may not have caused the breakup. Oh, and it also has a little conversation about popping zits. It’s a fairly substance-filled short, as you watch Sofia try to talk to her therapist about the situation, but is constantly thwarted by Blady’s thoughts about relationships and the role of men and women. It’s also creative with how they tie in the whole popping zits thing with the relationship and the thoughts from both the therapist and our lead character. You would think it would be gross, but there is a lot to take away from it, including the fact that the act of popping a zit is destructive, but it’s also a way to start clean and to get rid of what might be built up inside of you.

I dig the animation as it mixes stop-motion, 2D animation, and 2D elements within the stop-motion. I adore seeing the faces and eyes being hand-animated on top of the stop-motion dolls, as it gives it a spike of personality that makes it stand out from the other shorts that I have seen this year.

My only complaint is that I wish the short was longer. Due to the short runtime, I was surprised when it ended, because my mind was engrossed in the story and Sofia’s situation. It would have also given more of the themes and ideas time to flesh themselves out. However, if I’m only complaining about wanting more, that’s a good thing! In general, I enjoyed Blackheads, and I hope this short can get some traction and support. It’s unique in its animation, it’s funny, intimate, and personal. If you can see it, please check it out!

The Other Side of Animation 154: Missing Link Review

(If you like what you see, you can go to camseyeview.biz to see more of my work on video game reviews, editorials, lists, Kickstarters, developer interviews, and review/talk about animated films. If you would like, consider contributing to my Patreon at patreon.com. It would help support my work, and keeps the website up. Thanks for checking out my work, and I hope you like this review!)

SPOILER TALK HEADS UP!: Due to a certain joke occurring in the movie, I am going to be talking about one of the most important scenes of the film, and talking a little bit about where I stand with the situation.

As I sit here and type this review, a cloud of sadness and frustration looms over me. Not because of the movie I’m reviewing itself; it’s because of the current state of what thrives and dies within the current Hollywood theatrical film climate. It’s this uneven balancing act between the studios and the audiences to make this dance work, because when both forces aren’t synced up, good films end up falling by the wayside. People want original ideas and films, but then don’t go to see them, and instead, go see something that is based on a pre-existing property. However, studios need to know that not every film they release needs to be making billions, or cost $300 million. Because of the current climate, certain films seem to be popping up less and less on the big screen, but then flourish on streaming services. Maybe stop-motion animation should join that list due to today’s review, Missing Link. Directed and written by Chris Butler, Missing Link is the next film in Laika’s long line-up of beautifully-crafted stop-motion features that garner high praise, but sadly, underperform or bomb. Missing Link seems to be suffering from that scenario as of writing this review. Maybe this film’s box office was more elusive than the Missing Link himself. Let’s see what’s up!

The story revolves around Sir Lionel Frost, voiced by Hugh Jackman. He is an explorer who seeks out legendary and mythical monsters to prove that they exist. His main goal is to join this Adventurer’s club, but is constantly rejected for lack of proof of his adventures. One day, after getting back from another adventure, Lionel finds a letter that says that the individual in the letter is Big Foot, and tells Lionel to meet him in the Pacific Northwest to find him. Once getting there, Lionel meets the Big Foot in question, Mr. Link, who later goes by Susan, voiced by Zack Galifianakis. Susan asks Lionel to take him around the world to where the Yetis live, to help him find his own kind, and to find his place in the world. Along the way, the two are joined by Adelina Fortnight, a widow and old love interest of Lionel, voiced by Zoe Saldana, and avoiding the grasps of Lord Piggot-Dunceby, voiced by Stephen Fry, and Willard Stenk, voiced by Timothy Olyphant. Can Lionel help Susan find his people? Will Lionel make it into the club?

I think what I love the most about this movie, is how laid back it is. It’s a grand adventure, but it feels smaller in scale, due to how intimate the story is. For me, what makes the low-key charm of the film work is the chemistry between the three main characters. I know when the first trailer for Missing Link came out, people were worried, for some reason, that Laika was going to give up on their identity to be more mainstream. Well, to all of the skeptics out there, I was right, and had nothing to worry about! The character interactions in Missing Link always felt natural, especially the scenes with Lionel and Susan. They hold this movie together, and they work off each other well. Both characters have the same goal of being accepted and being a part of a community, but they cleverly show off the difference between the two. Susan wants to find the Yetis, because he is the last of his kind, and wants to find his way in the world, and being with the Yetis might help him, because they are “relatives”. Lionel wants to join this adventurer club for the sake of doing so, because he was told “no”. One is obviously more selfish than the other. Both characters though share that drive of wanting something so much, that it hurts when they aren’t able to get it. It also deals with themes of identity and looking at the bigger picture. While I know some were disappointed that Lionel is Laika’s first adult protagonist, because they think kids really want to see themselves as the heroes, I like him. He’s entertaining and enough of a jerk that you don’t just hate his guts throughout the entire film. Susan, voiced by Zack Galifianakis, is easily the most likable character. Either because of the writing or great directing, Zack makes Susan a very funny character. I know it’s easy to label Galifianakis as the inept weirdo comedy relief due to the Hangover trilogy and other films, but I think he has proven that he can be more than that, and this film is a great example of it. A lot of the humor is very witty and British in tone, and I think that makes it a more watchable film for the years to come. People will be coming back to this one more than any Illumination or Blue Sky comedy. It shows how smart comedic writing that’s not loud, fast, and pop-culture-focused can work. I also adored Zoe Saldana as Adelina Fortnight. She was a strong, fiery female who would always call out Lionel for his buffoonery, and it’s one of the few animated features that have the male and female lead not end up together. Good! Not every animated feature needs to have the male and female lead get together.

Of course, I can’t talk about this film, without talking about the gorgeous animation. This is easily the most ambitious animation Laika has done. You just see the blood, sweat, and tears put into the detailed environments, the characters, the movements, how smoothly everything moves, and the colors. It’s a beautiful movie to look at and be amazed how a lot of it was made by hand with very little CGI used. Even if you aren’t fully on board with the film or its characters, you can’t deny that the animation is well done. The voice cast is, to no surprise, good! I know there is this push for more voice actors to take lead roles, but you also have to understand that most casual movie audiences don’t know who famous voice actors like Tom Kenny, Jim Cummings, or Tara Strong are. That’s why they use celebrities, and while sometimes you can’t separate the actor from the character, here they do a good job with their respective roles.

I think the biggest issues this film has can be attributed to a few different criticisms. The first one revolves around the villains. I get what they were going for with Piggot and Stenk, with them being villains that you would have seen back in the old action adventure movie days, but they are easily the weakest characters of the film. They are played well by Stephen Fry and Timothy Olyphant, but they are a touch too simple. There was also another tired male prisoner joke in the film. It’s short, but I’m getting tired of seeing this joke being used. I also wish they did more with the Yetis. They aren’t in the film much, but are more of an obstacle that the heroes have to overcome than actual characters. It’s a shame too, because Emma Thompson, who voices the lead Yeti, probably has the best joke in the movie. It seems like sometimes, Laika has a problem with their third acts with how they are paced. There is also a joke that I have seen split people down the middle about when Mr. Link decides to go by the name of Susan. It’s a touching scene, but I can see why it sparked some debate if it’s unintentionally hurtful due to the fact that Lionel will sometimes, either accidently or the script forgot to make that change, will call Susan, Mr. Link. I have heard many opinions on the gradient of this discussion, and I don’t really have a fully-fledged opinion. I don’t think it’s as bad as others make it out to be, but I’m not dismissing the fact that it could be taken the wrong way. I think it’s unintentional in its execution. While I loved the chemistry between the characters, I wish there was maybe one more scene with the characters bonding. It’s one of the few times a film that’s 95 minutes long, could be almost two hours due to how laid back and enjoyable it is.

While I am mad that people are not seeing Missing Link, and are instead going to see Pet Sematary and Little, and Laika not having enough resources for marketing, I still love Missing Link. It might not be Kubo and the Two Strings or Coraline, but I love this movie. Heck, I love all of Laika’s movies. If people truly desire and want new or original stories and films, then they need to not hesitate on seeing films like Missing Link, because it’s stop-motion. Go see the film, and if you love it, that’s awesome, and if you didn’t find it to be impressive, then that’s okay as well! What matters is, is that you went to see and supported an original property. I can’t wait to own this flick on blu-ray when it comes out. Well, while we wait to see how enjoyable or cynical Ugly Dolls is in May, let’s check out one of DC’s newest films with Justice League vs. The Fatal Five. Thanks for reading the review! I hope you all enjoyed it, and I will see you all next time!

Rating: Criterion/essentials