My Life As a Zucchini (2016)
Directed by: Claude Barras
Starring: Eric Abbate, Nick Offerman, Will Forte
Rated: PG13
Running Time: 1h 10m
TMM Score: 3 stars out of 5
STRENGTHS: Animation, Unique Voice
WEAKNESSES: Unexpectedly Serious
When young Zucchini accidentally kills his single alcoholic mother he is placed in a foster group home where he meets other children who are all in a similar plight and don’t know what to think of the new kid.
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Incredibles 2 (2018)
Directed by: Brad Bird
Starring: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Bob Odenkirk, Catherine Keener
Rated: PG for Action Sequences and Some Brief Mild Language
Running Time: 1 h 58 m
TMM Score: 4 stars out of 5
STRENGTHS: Pacing, Animation, Style, Messages
WEAKNESSES: Similarities to Original
Mr. Incredible is left at home with the kids while Elastigirl gets a new job saving the world.
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The Sword in the Stone (1963)
Directed by: Wolfgang Reitherman
Starring: Karl Swenson, Rickie Sorensen, Junius Matthews
Rated: G
Running Time: 1 h 19 m
TMM Score: 4 stars out of 5
STRENGTHS: Message, Charm, Animation, Pacing
WEAKNESSES: Episodic Storytelling, End Abruptly
A whimsical wizard takes a young boy under his wing to groom him for his future.
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Isle of Dogs (2018)
Directed by: Wes Anderson
Starring: Bryan Cranston, Koyu Rankin, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum
Running Time: 1h 41m
Rated: PG-13
TMM Score: 4 stars out of 5
STRENGTHS: Theme, Animation
WEAKNESSES: Pacing
In an alternate universe stop motion Japan, every dog has been exiled to trash island as the last step toward cleansing the island of Japan from the canine infestation. One dog, however, has a master that will not allow him to go silently into the night.
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Early Man (2018)
Directed by: Nick Park
Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Tom Hiddleston, Maisie Williams
Rating: PG for Rude Humor and Some Action
Running Time: 1 H 29 M
TMM: 3 out of 5 Stars
Strengths: Design, Charm
Weaknesses: Predictability, Many Jokes Didn't Land
A peaceful Stone Age tribe is kicked out of their serene valley by a more advanced hostile civilization. In order to win their home back, the tribe members challenge their enemy to a game of soccer.
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Mary and the Witch's Flower (2018)
Directed by: Hiromasa Yonebayashi
Starring: Hana Sugisaki, Yuki Amami; dubbed by Ruby Barnhill, Kate Winslet, Jim Broadbent
Rated: PG
Runtime: 1hr 42min
TMM Score: 3 Stars
STRENGTHS: Animation
WEAKNESSES: Simplicity, Derivative, Pacing
Staying in the country with her Great Aunt in the country is boring little Mary to tears. With no one to play with really, she follows a couple of neighborhood cats into the woods and finds a blue flower and a broomstick. The rare flower Mary has found gives her magical powers and the broom whisks her off to a magical school with a magical and terrifying secret.
To be honest, I was i bit disappointed in this film. Maybe it's just that I have been spoiled by Studio Ghibli movies but this first offering from new Studio Ponoc felt like well trod territory to me. If you have never seen Studio Ghibli films like “Spirited Away,” then I suppose this movie would seem extremely innovative. However, I feel about this film the way I felt about Pixar’s “Good Dinosaur”. It’s alright. In fact for an extremely young child it would be preferable to “Spirited Away” since that film is more intense.
That is the problem though. This film seems like a movie a kid might outgrow and certainly I felt like an adult in a kid’s movie as I watched.
That being said, the animation is beautiful. On par with Studio Ghibli movies you can certainly see the roots of the director in that company. Some of the flying sequences are squeal worthy, they are so fun.
But that is really the extent of it. I felt it was too slow, especially when the characters are as simple as these are. Even the story seems very derivative of “Spirited Away,” Narnia, and Harry Potter. What a unique idea. A kid has magical powers and ends up going to a magic school where she finds out that she holds the secret to destroying some great darkness.
Yup. No big twists here guys.
The simplicity of this film is the simplicity of a children’s book. It isn’t bad and even, I think, has its place. If you have young kids and tire of the latest Dreamworks drek and cash grab, this film will be quite refreshing, but if you are just and adult fan of anime, you can probably skip this one.
