It must have seemed like such a good idea. Take the loveable little yellow minions from DESPICABLE ME and star them in their own movie. Certainly the eponymous MINIONS features much of what made them so irresistible. There’s that burbling mélange of human and Minion-esque language. The ebullient nature, the eagerness to please, and that… Read More »
HOME is Where the Heart is
Based on the novel “The True Meaning of Smekday” by Adam Rex, HOME is a sweet animated film that is equal parts cheery and poignant. Aimed more at kids than at adults, it takes the time-honored themes of friendship, family, and keeping promises and wraps them in an imaginative new package as shiny and inviting… Read More »
Tiffany Ward & Rob Minkoff Bring MR PEABODY & SHERMAN to Glorious Life
You better be careful when you take on a classic. For more than one generation, Mr. Peabody and his boy Sherman were must-see television, as were the other denizens of the Jay Ward animation world, which includes Rocky, Bullwinkle, and Dudley Do-Right. Other adaptations for the big screen of Ward’s work have not been successful,… Read More »
OLD DOGS
OLD DOGS has a strong cast fighting a script that is labored, stale, and obvious. That cast is led by John Travolta and Robin Williams, both of whom are no strangers to comedy, nor to miscalculations when it comes to choosing scripts. They are Charlie and Dan, pals and business partners of 30 years. While… Read More »
JUDY MOODY AND THE NOT BUMMER SUMMER
JUDY MOODY AND THE NOT BUMMER SUMMER is a diverting flick, full of bright colors and lively animation, that is calibrated to synch up with, and only with, the attention span of smaller children. The characters are of the stock variety, but, in the spirit, if not the strict interpretation, of the Cammedia dellArte, they… Read More »
Mark Henn & Mike Surrey Invite Us to Meet THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG
I’ve always said that animators are among the happiest people on the planet, and Mark Henn and Mike Surrey were no exception. Tasked with bringing Tianna and Ray, respectively, to life in Disney’s instant classic, THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG, they were delighted to talk about the pleasures and perils of returning to a completely hand… Read More »
Mandy Moore & Zachary Levi are TANGLED
Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi share more than their voices in common with their characters from TANGLED. Like Rapunzel and Flynn, these two know how to make their banter sprightly. It was what I enjoyed most about our conversation when I spoke to them on November 7, 2010. Which is not to say that hearing… Read More »
Rich Moore Gives WRECK-IT RALPH Serious Depth
Rich Moore spent a healthy part of his youth playing video games, which ultimately paid off when the time came to come up with the story for WRECK-IT RALPH. When I spoke to him on October 17, 2012, the first thing I wanted to know was how he got from video games in general to existential… Read More »