Rating: MMMM

Review of latest animated children’s adventure fantasy from the Japanese anime maestro, Hayao Miyazaki – the story of a little fish who wishes to be a little girl.

Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Starring: (voices) Noah Cyrus, Frankie Jonas, Tina Fey, Liam Neeson, Cate Blanchett
Running time: 101 mins

Inspired by Disney’s animated classic A Little Mermaid, Hayao Miyazaki’s latest feature Ponyo is a fantasy adventure that like its muse, explores worlds both above and below the sea. Miyazaki’s tale is the story of Sosuke (voiced by Frankie Jonas, younger brother of squeaky-clean teen sensations The Jonas Brothers), a little boy who lives with his mother (Tina Fey) in a small cliff-top house by the sea. Sosuke’s father (Matt Damon) is a ship captain who is rarely at home, leaving Sosuke’s mother to run the household by herself.

One day, a lonely Sosuke is paddling in the shallows of a cove near his home when he comes upon what appears to be a little red goldfish. Playing with it happily, Sosuke names the fish Ponyo and makes her his pet. However, Ponyo’s father, marine wizard king Fujimoto (Liam Neeson) wishes to return his daughter to her underwater home – to ‘restore the balnce of nature’, which has been sent off kilter by Ponyo’s fraternisation with humans.

As with most of the Miyazaki canon, the enjoyment of Ponyo rests entirely in the audience’s suspense of disbelief – in this particular tale one must be willing to accept that a goldfish can turn into a girl and that said transformation is readily accepted by the protagonists. This kind of acceptance and engagement with the fantastic will be familiar to Miyazaki fans but may be something newcomers find hard to swallow. But swallow you undoubtedly will – the film is so beautiful, charming and unashamedly lovely that you really will believe a man can fly (or at least in this case, a fish can turn into a girl). As ever, Miyazaki presents a wonderful dramatic world, both convincingly natural and ethereal at times, using a bright and dazzling palette to create dreamy seascapes and fantastical creatures – the entity of Ponyo’s mother inparticular is nothing short of breathtaking, presenting a popular trope in Miyazaki’s work, the spirit world, seen previously in features such as Spirited Away and My Neighbour Totoro. Indeed, Ponyo draws on much in Totoro, both in theme, tone and age-range – Ponyo is clearly meant for a younger audience than Spirited Away or Princess Mononoke.

Much more satisfying than Miyazaki’s previous film, Howl’s Moving Castle, Ponyo is a gentle, beautiful story that is colourful, exciting, moving and entertaining. A sheer joy that proves that traditional hand-drawn 2D animation is still very much alive.

Rating: MMMM

Rating: MMMM

Review of new film from niche director Spike Jonze, his adaptation and big-screen realisation of one of the world’s most popular children’s books.

Director: Spike Jonze
Starring: Max Records, Catherine Keener, James Gandolfini, Catherine O’Hara, Forest Whitaker
Running time: 101 mins

Spike Jonze’s film, Where The Wild Things Are is under a lot of pressure, being the big-screen adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s 1963 picture-book of the same name, hailed as one of the most beloved children’s books of all time. But lovers of the book should have no fear as what Jonze has produced is an interesting, entertaining and thoroughly excellent piece of fantasy fare that while not necessarily following the book word for word (this is hardly surprising, given the length of the book and its limited word count), captures the essence and spirit of the source material. Jonze crafts a convincing and illuminating backstory for our hero Max, wearer of Wolf Pyjamas and soon to be king of all the Wild Things, introducing us to his mother (Catherine Keener) and hinting an element of dysfunctionality at play in the family unit – thus creating a believable and solid grounding for Max’s flight of fantasy and subsequent emotional journey.

A frustrated and alienated child, Max has a fight with his mother one evening and takes to the streets to escape his domestic troubles, perilously journeying by sea to a far away land of his imagination. For Max however (and the audience), this new world is completely real, presenting new joys and heartache not dissimilar to the ones he left behind. Once in the land of the Wild Things, Max stumbles upon some strange creatures with terrible teeth and terrible claws, most notably the statuesque Carol (voiced by Tony Soprano himself, James Gandolfini). The Wild Things, though wary of Max at first, soon accept him as a friend and elect him King, joining with him to build a massive structure where they can all live together (having destroyed their houses in a rather boisterous and violent game) as a rather unconventional and furry family group. However, as with the home environment that Max ran from, the Wild Things have their own personal problems and anxieties that hinder perfect social cohesion – Judith’s (Catherine O’Hara) constant downbeat mutterings paired with the possible romantic tension between Carol and KW (Lauren Ambrose) create a rather strained atmosphere between the Wild Things, which starts to effect Max’s role as King.

In Where The Wild Things Are, Spike Jonze has created a beautiful, enchanting film that explores the joys and tragedies of childhood convincingly, without condescension or pandering to purists. The story may have been altered a little, but those tweaks and changes only serve to make the spellbinding original story even more interesting and exciting. The acting from young Max Records is excellent, as are the voice talents who give the Wild Things their unique and charismatic voices, in particular James Gandolfini as Carol. In terms of cinematography, the film is also very well produced, the colour palette reflecting enough of the book’s illustrations with a few frames of lens flare that suit the tone of the piece (and link nicely with Max’s terrifying realisation that the sun will eventually die) very well. The Wild Things themselves, by virtue of being actors in big hairy suits, have a wonderfully physical presence, a masterstroke on the part of Jonze – a wonderfully palpable quality that CG creature design could not and probably never will be able to achieve.  Also notable and worthy of praise is the excellent soundtrack, provided by Carter Burwell with songs by Karen O (of indie rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs fame) which perfectly suits the moments of joy, wonder and childlike fun presented in the film.

Where The Wild Things Are is entertaining, moving and beautifully breathtaking film about childhood, its joys, traumas and wonders – a must-see film of 2009.

Rating: MMMM

Rating: MMMM

Review of animated post-apocalypse noir 9, directed by Shane Acker and produced by Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov.

Director: Shane Acker
Starring: (voices) Elijah Wood, John C. Reilly, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer
Running time: 79 mins

9 is set in the wastelands of a post-apocalyptic world, following a war between humans and machines. With human life all but extinguished on earth, the only survivors are the numbered cloth bag characters and sinister red lens-eyed beasts, which have more in common with the Terminator than our soft-bodied heroes.

The film opens with a confused 9 (Elijah Wood) apparently lost in the wilderness of what used to be a city. He happens upon fellow cloth-bag 2, who is something of an inventor, managing to fix 9’s broken voice box. The pair are then joined by half-blind 5 (John C. Reilly) but their meeting is cut painfully short by the arrival of the ‘cat beast’, a devilish mechanical feline who captures 2 and carries him off to its lair. What follows is a daring rescue attempt which accidentally brings about the reawakening of the huge machine ‘brain’ which appears hell bent on wiping out every last trace of life on earth. For an animated film with characters that are undeniably cute (their huge Bambi eyes are the clincher), 9 is in no way another computerised story for children.

Packed with moments that are unsettling, frightening and challenging, 9 cements itself as animated fare for adults, to the film’s credit – there are enough genuine horror devices to push the film’s 12A rating, one of which is a horrible dementor’s kiss type sequence that is truly disturbing. The film’s premise and story is highly original and fresh, told with clever flashback sequences that are part of the action and not merely exposition for its own sake. 9 also fundamentally has good storytelling, an element that more filmmakers should prioritise a la Andrew Lasseter and his team at Pixar. Acker presents the characters as rounded and unique (despite being numbered, not named) with neat touches such as 6’s striped asylum-like clothing linking his madman persona and a scene in which fat stooge 8 apparently uses a magnet to get high.

The voice talent is good, with an impressive set of actors enlisted to provide the dialogue, including Christopher Plummer as the aging 1 and Jennifer Connelly as the high-kicking 7. Yet the actors are given a script of such weakness that its cliché ridden holes threaten to bring down a film of such promise. The dialogue is terrible, composed of one hackneyed expression after another, which is disappointing indeed as the premise and plot of the film is original and fresh. However, the film is saved by its unique visual style and its wonderfully endearing cloth bag characters, a clever meeting of the organic and artificial, with their soft bodies and metal parts. Overall, 9 is a well paced, well structured piece of sci-fi animation, beautifully told with moments of terror and poignancy. Great stuff.

Rating: MMMM

Review of the adaptation of  Roald Dahl’s children’s book Fantastic Mr. Fox which opened the 53rd London Film Festival on 14th October 2009.

Director: Wes Anderson
Starring: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson
Running time: 87 mins

Fantastic Mr. Fox marks the mainstream breakthrough for director Wes Anderson, more famed for low-key cult hits such as Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums. In this adaptation of Roald Dahl’s beloved children’s book of the same name,  Anderson brings his usual eccentric, quirky style to the source material, delivering a film that succeeds on almost every level.

George Clooney voices the clever and charming newspaper columnist Mr Fox, who dreams of him and his family moving up in the world, quite literally, from an underground foxhole to a home inside a tree. Here he enlists help from real estate solicitor Mr Badger (voiced by Bill Murray) and subsequently settles into a lovely new home with wife Felicity (Meryl Streep), son Ash (Jason Schwartzman of Rushmore) and prodigy nephew Kristofferson (Eric Chase Anderson). However, after relocating the family to new residence, Mr Fox nostalgically remembers his thieving days as a professional poacher and pines for the life of danger and excitement he once led. Consequently, our hero hatches a plan for “one last big job”, aided in part by Kylie the possum to steal from the “nastiest, meanest farmers in the valley”, Boggis, Bunce and Bean. However, one heist leads to another and pretty soon Mr Fox, his family and neighbours land themselves in one big heap of trouble.

From the get-go, Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox is a fast-paced, charming and entertaining feast for the eyes and the heart. Visually stunning, the stop-motion animation used to create the world of the film and its inhabitants is flawless, perfectly capturing every nuance of the story (and the small changes in plot that Anderson has neatly added). In particular, the scene in which Mr Fox fights with the evil Rat (Willem Dafoe) is amazing (with the characters’ silhouettes illuminated by intermittent flashes of lightning), as is a shared moment between Mr and Mrs Fox in front of a waterfall. It is a testament to the charm of the film that where the animation could seem contrived and somewhat dodgy, there are instead endearing eccentricities – smoke being created from what appears to be a billowing mass of grey cotton wool.

Packed full of great comedy hi-jinks, character moments (where Owen Wilson’s Coach Skip explains the rules of cricket/rounders/baseball hybrid sport ‘whack bat’ is just priceless) and genuinely witty one liners, Fantastic Mr. Fox has all the ingredients of a truly excellent and entertaining film. The only minor drawbacks for this critic are the intertitles which appear throughout the film, far too fast for young children to be able to read in time and which more importantly, announce moments of drama which would be better left to the surprise of the audience. Sadly the use of these titles sells some moments of conflict and suspense rather short, and key set-pieces lose both their impact and poignancy.

However, this is a small price to pay in an otherwise perfect film. The voice talent is exceptional, the animation and visual style is great, the dialogue is superb. Those put off by the film apparently being ‘for kids’, for shame. Fantastic Mr. Fox is film that is (unashamed use of the pun) truly fantastic, and fantastic for all.

Rating: MMMM+

Reposting of my review of the new Disney-Pixar film Up, which I saw in June at Glastonbury Festival in the Pilton Palais cinema tent.

Director: Pete Docter, Bob Peterson
Starring: (voices) Edward Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai
Running time: 96mins

Up follows grumpy old-age-pensioner Carl Fredricksen following a life-long dream to visit South America, inadvertently bringing a new friend with him, in the form of the eager to help Russell – an 8 year old boy intent on helping Mr Fredricksen in order for him to gain his ‘assisting the elderly’ explorer scout badge. However, it is not the South American adventure section of the film which displays the usual Pixar magic; the portions of the film which take place in Mr Fredricksen and Russell’s home town seem to have a different quality to the rest.

The first meeting of Mr Fredricksen and his future wife Ellie is very well conceived and scripted with touches of physical comedy and charming characterisation – character development which is enhanced by a wonderful montage of Carl and Ellie’s life together (the couple’s families seated on either side of the church at their wedding is fantastic) from childhood sweethearts to elderly couple. This set-piece is heartbreaking, handling the highs and lows of their life with delicacy. Everything about Up’s presentation of the Carl-Ellie relationship is charming and delightful whilst never becoming saccharine-soaked and overly sentimental. Sadly as Ellie dies, Carl becomes a slightly bitter and grumpy old man, but remains endearing and likeable. He does typical old-person things with a familiar dislike of outside help (namely the ever-eager Russell and the prospect of living in a retirement home) which magically seem to maintain an element of freshness; Up demonstrates that characterisation can be thorough and well developed even with such limited running time.

As the action moves to South America (courtesy of the thousands of balloons attached to Mr Fredricksen’s house) the tone of the film shifts also, moving away from sweet and gentle and becomes more of a buddy comedy/road movie with the bickering Mr Fredricksen and Russell making an engaging (albeit slightly odd) pair – the sequences in which they pull the house along by a tether rope are particularly good. As the pair cross continents they meet an exotic wild bird which Russell names Kevin (despite later discovering Kevin to be a female with a number of baby Kevins) and a number of talking dogs – luckily these characters escape the usual Disney talking-animal schtick by ingenious collar devices which project what they are thinking through a speaker, a device which allows for some wonderful comedy, with the evil canine leader apparently having a voice hilariously incongruous to his stature and appearance. That the collars project what the dogs are thinking and not what they are saying means that with their ‘dialogue’ come random outbursts of typical dog behaviour, namely shouts of “SQUIRREL!!!” which are priceless.

With the film’s climactic final act come some excellent action sequences, involving planes and high-altitude antics all of which are well executed and visually impressive. However, as with the the early parts of the film, Up’s character-driven scenes steal the film, with the closing moments belonging to the now firm friendship between Mr Fredricksen and Russell. In all, Up is highly entertaining animated fun with a lot of heart and bags of charm.

Rating: MMMM

Review of the new Disney-Pixar film Up, not released in cinemas until October this year but screened at Glastonbury Festival in the Pilton Palais cinema tent.

Director: Pete Docter, Bob Peterson
Starring: (voices) Edward Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai
Running time: 96mins

Up follows grumpy old-age-pensioner Carl Fredricksen following a life-long dream to visit South America, inadvertently bringing a new friend with him, in the form of the eager to help Russell – an 8 year old boy intent on helping Mr Fredricksen in order for him to gain his ‘assisting the elderly’ explorer scout badge. However, it is not the South American adventure section of the film which displays the usual Pixar magic; the portions of the film which take place in Mr Fredricksen and Russell’s home town seem to have a different quality to the rest. The first meeting of Mr Fredricksen and his future wife Ellie is very well conceived and scripted with touches of physical comedy and charming characterisation, character development which is enhanced by a wonderful montage of Carl and Ellie’s life together (the couple’s families seated on either side of the church at their wedding is fantastic) from childhood sweethearts to elderly couple. This set-piece is very sweet and moving, handling the highs and lows of their life with delicacy. Everything about Up’s presentation of the Carl-Ellie relationship is charming and delightful whilst never becoming saccharine-soaked and overly sentimental. Sadly as Ellie dies, Carl becomes a slightly bitter and grumpy old man, but remains endearing and likeable. He does typical old-person things with a familiar dislike of outside help (namely the ever-eager Russell and the prospect of living in a retirement home) which magically seem to maintain an element of freshness; Up demonstrates that characterisation can be thorough and well developed even with such limited running time.

As the action moves to South America (courtesy of the thousands of balloons attached to Mr Fredricksen’s house) the tone of the film shifts also, moving away from sweet and gentle and becomes more of a buddy comedy/road movie with the bickering Mr Fredricksen and Russell making an engaging (albeit slightly odd) pair – the sequences in which they pull the house along by a tether rope are particularly good. As the pair cross continents they meet an exotic wild bird which Russell names Kevin (despite later discovering Kevin to be a female with a number of baby Kevins) and a number of talking dogs – luckily these characters escape the usual Disney talking-animal schtick by ingenious collar devices which project what they are thinking through a speaker, a device which allows for some wonderful comedy, with the evil canine leader apparently having a voice hilariously incongruous to his stature and appearance. That the collars project what the dogs are thinking and not what they are saying means that with their ‘dialogue’ come random outbursts of typical dog behaviour, namely shouts of “SQUIRREL!!!” which are priceless.

With the film’s climactic final act come some excellent action sequences, involving planes and high-altitude antics all of which are well executed and visually impressive. However, as with the the early parts of the film, Up’s character-driven scenes steal the film, with the closing moments belonging to the now firm friendship between Mr Fredricksen and Russell. In all, Up is highly entertaining animated fun with a lot of heart and bags of charm.

Rating: MMMM

Review of Coraline first published in a May 2009 issue of Spark*, the newspaper of Reading University Students’ Union.

Director: Henry Selick
Starring (voices): Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Ian McShane
Running time: 100 mins

Given its excellent source material (based on Neil Gaiman’s widely acclaimed children’s book) and with The Nightmare Before Christmas director Henry Selick at the helm, it is easy to approach Coraline with high expectations, and gladly these are not at all misplaced. From its highly original and meticulously detailed opening title sequence to its well-paced closing scenes, Coraline is a thoroughly engaging and entertaining piece of gothic-tinged cinema for children. Having said this however, it must be said that in places, the film verges on being just slightly too creepy and sinister (arguably not surprising to those familiar with Gaiman’s work which often draws on elements of horror) to be appropriate for very young children, as there are jumps, shocks and certain details in some scenes which would not be out of place in the work of John Carpenter or early Sam Raimi. Also the general tone of the film is altogether more disturbing and unsettling for it to be recommended for a very young audience – in comparison with The Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline is arguably much more disturbing. But the scare factor is just one of its many strengths.

The film boasts an excellent premise (to say more than very little of this would give away too much): a little girl discovers a doorway to another world and has to deal with the consequences when the two worlds she inhabits begin to collide. The film’s narrative and characterisation are very good, with Dakota Fanning being generally less irritating than usual as the voice of the eponymous heroine. Teri Hatcher does sterling work in the double role of Coraline’s Mother and ‘Other Mother’, as does Ian McShane as Mr Bobinsky. With Gaiman as co-screenwriter, it is no surprise that the script and storytelling is deftly handled and well paced. But it is truly in its visual style that Coraline excels. As previously mentioned, the opening sequence of stitching and textile work is fabulously detailed, as is the world in which the characters move – the light from Mrs Jones’ laptop on her face, the raindrops running down the windows and the eerie mist surrounding the house are just a few of the excellent visual subtleties at work in the film.

However, where director Henry Selick truly must be praised is in the stunning set-pieces which are nothing short of breathtaking (even more so as they have been achieved in stop-motion animation), inviting only a response of “wow” (this being only increased in 3D format, which for the purple tunnel connecting Coraline’s two worlds is well worth it). The garden scene in particular is nothing short of visually arresting, while the film’s climax involving a spider-web style netted sky and spiralling world is a sublime treat. With its highly original plot, visually stunning art direction, charming music and nice little touches here and there (Mrs Jones’ “I love mulch” mug, the piano that seemingly plays Coraline’s father), Coraline is a wonderfully entertaining, highly engaging animated noir that will leave you with a new-found creepy mistrust of dolls and buttons alike.

Rating: MMMM

Review of Bolt first published in a February 2009 issue Spark*, the newspaper of Reading University Students’ Union.

Director: Byron Howard, Chris Williams
Starring: (voices) John Travolta, Miley Cyrus
Running Time: 96mins

If there is one undisputable fact about Bolt, it is the level of cuteness of its eponymous hero, the ‘super’ dog Bolt. But sadly, for all his sweet fuzziness (and when I say he’s cute, I mean CUTE), Bolt never really pulls the heartstrings the way that Wall.E did. And this is mainly because he is totally outshone by Rhino the hamster, the “master of stealth”, who by his own words, is “awesome!!!”. As stories go, the premise of the film isn’t half bad, in fact its quite original. Performing ‘actor’ dog is the star of a primetime television show in which he routinely saves his beloved ‘person’ Penny from the clutches of the evil ‘Green-Eyed Man’. Bolt however, does not realise that in reality he doesn’t have special powers like his famous ‘Super Bark’, and begins on a painful journey of self-discovery, learning how to be a ‘normal’ dog in the process.

In terms of characterisation, Bolt (voiced by John Travolta), and his feline friend Mittens (voiced by Susie Essman) are both characters who maintain a tension between being mildly sympathetic and fairly irritating in equal measure. Penny, Bolt’s on and off screen owner, (voiced by Miley Cyrus) only just manages to hold the audience’s sympathy, partly due to her genuine concern and love for her dog, conveyed in the photos of the pair of them that she collects (pictures highly reminiscent of the travelling gnome in Amelie).

Rhino, as previously mentioned, is the best character in the whole film, injecting into the last 45minutes some much needed laughs. And it is this, aside from the essential charm, that is what really lets the film down. All the pacy and defty handled action sequences and set pieces (and these are in abundance) just cannot make up for good dialogue. The repartee between dog and cat is laboured and clichéd, with their in-fighting and grumbling becoming grating after only 20 minutes.

The film does have its moments of charm, with the introduction of some peculiar Italian American pigeons, a fleeting glimpse of the hamster-obsessed little old lady who Rhino manages to escape from and the sweet series of montages that chart Bolt’s progress in learning about the things that normal dogs do. However, these vignettes and sequences do not make up for the overriding sense of banality which pervades the film. The jokes fall flat, the banter is poor, and if you don’t like the dog after the first act, it will certainly hamper your enjoyment of the film. Solid family half-term fare, just don’t expect anything amazing.

Rating: MM

Rating: MM

Review of Igor first published in an October 2008 issue Spark*, the newspaper of Reading University Students’ Union.

Director: Anthony Leonidas
Starring: (voices)  John Cusack, Steve Buscemi, Sean Hayes
Running time: 87 mins

In the town of ‘Malaria’, the race of hunchbacked ‘igors’ are ridiculed as deformed and worthless beings, enslaved as assistants to the ‘evil scientists’ (apparently in abundance in this town) and forced to “pull the switch!” for their various malevolent inventions. One of these poor creatures is the eponymous Igor (John Cusack), the dutiful servant to the evil Dr Glickenstein (John Cleese) who doesn’t seem to fit the ‘evil’ cultural work ethic that abounds in Malaria. Naturally good-hearted Igor is accompanied by friends that he himself has created (in secret obviously), Scamper the immortal rabbit (a brilliant Steve Buscemi) and ‘Brain’ (the often hit-and-miss Sean Hayes). Together with these two trusty sidekicks, Igor embarks on a perilous adventure involving a potential coup-d’état, physics (and chemistry and biology) defying antics and saving the day right at the end.

In terms of voice talent, the cast is pretty impressive, ranging from A-listers John Cusack and Jay Leno to more offbeat personalities such as Eddie Izzard (wonderfully camp and gothed up) and John Cleese. Carving sympathetic, developed characters from essentially pixellated walking clichés must be a hard task and the actors pull it off well.

However, as an overall cinematic experience, Igor just can’t get past its overriding sense of formula. As someone who actually really likes childrens’ films (Horton Hears A Who! is clearly one of the best films of 2008!) and a generous helping of gothic-tinged cinema, Igor seemed like the perfect film for me. Sadly though, I couldn’t help but feel that it was punching above its weight, desperately trying to aim as high as Wall.E for entertainment value and engagement with the adults in the audience. However, Igor does in places boast a pretty funky jazz style soundtrack (making a great contrast with the film’s gothic noir look) and some really wonderful references and homages to Frankenstein. All in all, a fun night out for kids at Halloween, but for all its Tim Burtonesque influences, Nightmare Before Christmas this isn’t.

Rating: MM