When a film is released without a press screening, as was the case with DOOGAL, one expects to find in it a certain level of ineptitude. Here, though, is something that transcends merely being bad, merely inspiring a torrent of vitriol before consigning it to the more insulated portions of one’s memory. This has done… Read More »
CHICKEN LITTLE — DVD
The treat of having CHICKEN LITTLE on DVD is that it can be on call anytime the need arises for an egg-centric story featuring such endlessly fascinating characters as Fish Out of Water. It manages to be whimsical and sweet without sacrificing wit, not to mention a few on-target swipes at over-budgeted films that are… Read More »
CARS
CARS isn’t just a great animated flick, it’s a great movie that’s not just a, you’ll pardon the expression, character-driven story, but also an irresistible paean to life in the slow lane. The jaw-droppingly detailed and inventive animation takes second place to the dialogue, which, along with the 116-minute running time, might make this less… Read More »
CHARLOTTE’S WEB
A spider that sucks the blood out of her victims is a tough sell as the sympathetic heroine of any story, much less one directed at kids. Yet, using the perfect blend of warmth and bite, and not a little humor, CHARLOTTE’S WEB has been doing that for over 40 years. A film version, such… Read More »
RATATOUILLE
The story of Pixar’s latest animated triumph, RATATOUILLE, is as audacious as its hero. Not only is it as light and airy as a soufflé, it’s also as complex as the precise physics and flavorings that makes it a miracle. The hero is an unlikely choice in animal hero, a rat, albeit one drawn with… Read More »
RATATOUILLE — DVD
The only thing better than watching RATATOUILLE in a theater is watching the DVD of RATATOUILLE at home with a lovely big bowl of the eponymous fare on which to dine while watching it. And perhaps a side of toasted cheese and mushrooms. If you’ve seen the film, you’ll get why. The adventures of Remy,… Read More »
PIXAR SHORT FILMS
Art school geek meets basic math and the result is the magic that is the Pixar Studio. This collection of 13 short films starts with the very first, “The Adventures of Andre and Wally B.”, from 1984, and runs through 2007. Esthetically and historically, they are wonderful, but it’s the commentary that is the real… Read More »
MR. MAGORIUM’S WONDER EMPORIUM
In MR. MAGORIUM’S WONDER EMPORIUM we discover that neither bright and shiny sets nor silly socks a fun film makes. Sprung from the sadly underfevered imagination of Zach Helm (STRANGER THAN FICTION), this fable is like something imagined by Turgenev during what would have been even for him one of his more bleak interludes. The plot… Read More »
THE PIXAR STORY
There is nothing short of a giddy delight in watching the fine folks who founded PIXAR living out their dreams in ways much larger than even they could ever have imagined. It covers all the usual ups and downs of any show biz story, but PIXAR is not just any show biz entity, and the… Read More »
ROVING MARS
What Disney does better than anyone else out there, and has for fifty years, is take real-life science and fill it with all the wonder that the people involved feel for it. ROVING MARS is a prime example. This 40-minute documentary about exploring the red planet for signs of life, past or present, with the… Read More »