Category Archives: Family

Flow

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Flow                      5 stars

The movie Flow by Latvian film director Gints Zilbalodis is the third animated feature I have seen recently and like the other two, this one hits it out of the park. (Previously, I saw The Wild Robot and Memoir of a Snail.) Flow is highly unusual as all the characters are animals struggling to survive in a setting where there are no humans. The unique thing is that all the voices are normal animal sounds you would expect from these creatures, unlike The Wild Robot. The filmmakers did not want to use simulated sounds and went to great lengths to record actual animal sounds for the characters. The result is quite impressive. The story follows a lone black cat in a very green forest who encounters various other animals and does his best to keep from getting killed by them. Early in the film the cat takes shelter in an abandoned house that could be from the early twentieth century. There are multiple carved figures of cats outside that were left by the previous occupant who must have been a skilled woodcarver. Later, the cat encounters a pack of dogs who end up pursuing him. After evading them, the dogs return in a hurry, ignoring the cat. Behind them is a herd of elk that nearly tramples the poor cat. Then we see the true danger: a giant wave of water that is sweeping everything away in its path including our friend, the cat. As the water continues to rise, he finds dry land but that’s not the end of his troubles. Finding a high spot to perch on, he is about to go under again when a wooden boat floats by just in time to save him. Once in the boat, he is joined by a golden retriever, a capybara and a lemur. Each of these other creatures became separated from others of their own kind before finding refuge on the boat. Each animal behaves in a manner consistent with their species, but they manage to tolerate one another. Then at one point they make contact with a flock of giant white birds that tower over them. The birds are unusual in that they seem highly confident and fear nothing. One of these birds is cast out from his flock and joins the cat and the others in the boat and is knowledgeable enough to steer it. Together, they form an alliance determined to survive this watery world they have inherited. No humans are ever seen, but there is plenty of evidence of their past existence from the ancient towering ruins in this watery world. There is no explanation of their demise or the cause of the great flood. It is left to our imagination. The animation is very fluid and colorful but has an unfinished look to it as though it is from an earlier time, perhaps twenty or so years ago. The film’s message is clearly about individuals putting aside their differences and working together to survive. It ends on a hopeful yet inconclusive note. The film is suitable for all ages and at one and a half hours is the right length. I actually rate it above The Wild Robot, but that is my personal opinion.

Soul

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Soul       4 ½ stars

Disney Pixar’s award winning animated film Soul is a bit of a departure from the studio’s usual productions. While intended mainly for young audiences there is a blend of metaphysical wisdom mixed in with the colorful magic that only the more mature watchers will appreciate. We meet Joe (Jamie Fox), a middle school band director who hasn’t reached his dream of being a jazz performer in New York despite years of trying. He gets his chance at a great gig when due to an accident he finds that he is transported to an otherworldly realm referred to as the Great Before. This is the place where souls receive their personalities before they travel to earth to be matched to a new body. Joe is mistaken for one of the mentors, old souls that have lived their lives and now pass on their wisdom to the young new souls. Joe meets one unfortunate new soul called Soul 22 (Tina Fey) who has rejected past mentors like Abraham Lincoln, Ghandi, Copernicus and Carl Jung for thousands of years and is an irritation to the Counselor Jerrys that run the Great Before. Then because of an unlikely accident the pair travel to earth together to be united with Joe’s body, though not in the planned way. It is then when the real magic happens with 22 encountering real life in the city and must learn to appreciate the many wonders of living while Joe struggles to find a way to make his appointment for his jazz performance. There are some moments of great tension and scary scenes, but they are done with enough care so are still appropriate for the young viewers. Still the message comes through that our hopes and dreams are what makes our lives worth living. Be sure to give Soul a try if you haven’t already.

Pinocchio

Pinocchio             3 ½ stars

Last year’s Pinocchio by Matteo Garrone updates the Disney animated movie to a live action version, where the bright fairy tale gets converted to a much more grimy version about a wooden boy puppet who desires to become a real boy. Having never seen the Disney cartoon I didn’t have anything to compare it to, but I understand that it is more true to the original novel than the 1940 Disney version. Pinocchio and company live in a fantastical world where fantasy and magic abound. We can understand why the puppet wants to run from Gepetto (Roberto Benigni) and find a better life. The problem is that Pinocchio is not all that smart and constantly finds ways to get into trouble, leaving others to rescue him including a fairy who looks out for him. The movie is long but is suitable for children and brings with it a message about the consequences of mischief and disobedience.

Encanto

Encanto                4 stars

The newest animated Disney movie, Encanto takes us to the mountains in Columbia where an extended family all live in a magical house in an isolated village. The main character is Mirabel, a young woman who sings around town and generally brightens everyone’s day. In this family every member is granted a special magic gift as they grow up. Mirabel’s sisters and cousins all found their gifts but when it was Mirabel’s turn she was told by the house that she had none, a burden that is hard to accept. She then takes on the mission to find out the family secret involving a hidden vision, a lost uncle and impending signs of doom in the small town. With plenty of whimsical songs, colorful scenes and amusing characters, the movie provides the expected Disney magic that is well suited to children. Some of the original songs were composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, but they may not be as memorable as his best works. The film brings an encouraging message that our families are not perfect, but we can be willing to accept them for who they are and celebrate what they bring to our lives.

Turning Red

Turning Red                        4 stars

Pixar’s 2022 animated film Turning Red takes a different twist on the coming-of-age theme. This first full-length Pixar film to be directed by a woman (Domee Shi) tackles the subject of puberty and menstruation in a teen-age girl by using a metaphor in the form of a giant red panda. 13-year-old Chinese Canadian Mei lives with her immigrant Chinese family in 2008 Toronto and is a normal kid, though anxious and an overachiever in school. Her mother, Ming (Sandra Oh) is very controlling and likes to keep a watchful eye on her only daughter. Mei likes to hang out with her girlfriends and talk about their favorite boy band. Things seem perfectly normal, that is until she experiences a sudden change in her mood and finds herself very attracted to a certain boy in school. It is then that she discovers that feeling strong emotions makes her transform into a giant red panda with extraordinary strength. This is symbolic in movie terms of something powerful going on in her body, making her temporarily lose control of her emotions, a common occurrence in teenagers. Naturally, she tries to hide the transformation from her friends; that is, until she finds it can be a way to be more popular. Then the trick is to hide the change from Mom and her family. The girls secretly scheme to use Mei’s gift to raise money so they can attend a concert of their favorite boy band, 4 Town. (Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell wrote much of the original music that makes the boy band seem genuine.) But then there is more to the story when it is revealed that the giant red panda is really a sort of family curse that is visited upon all the female members of this family. Traditionally, they must perform a ritual that will keep the panda in check. The movie is a tactful yet amusing way of presenting the change that will relate to teenage girls while likely be over the heads of, yet be fun to much younger viewers. Turning Red adds to Pixar’s list of successful films dealing with certain human conditions that includes Coco, Soul and Inside Out. In a way, Inside Out 2 addresses the same subject as Turning Red but is a little more abstract. Unfortunately, for Pixar, they were forced to remove the movie from theaters and show it exclusively on streaming platforms because of pressure put on them from concerned parent groups who found the subject matter too controversial for their sensitive tastes. But at least young audiences have a way of seeing this colorful, action-filled film from Pixar. Domee Shi is an Academy Award winner having previously made the animated short film, Bao, about Asian parents becoming empty nesters.

The Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid          4 ½ stars

In 1989 Disney started a new era in their animated films with The Little Mermaid, a fairy tale featuring a female lead that became an instant hit and a classic. Now they have continued with their latest trend of making these animated stories into live action films bringing The Little Mermaid to life with heavy use of CGI as part of their movie magic. The star of the film is relative newcomer Halle Bailey who previously has appeared in sit coms and in some movies as a child. Now she combines her very expressive face and angelic voice to this fairy tale. We follow the story of Ariel, the curious mermaid who longs to see what is out there in the world of humans and so challenges Triton (Javier Bardem), her father’s thinking about staying isolated from the humans. Her curiosity only grows when she spots Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King) on a passing ship and has the chance to rescue him from drowning when the ship encounters a violent storm. Everyone knows the story of the mermaid and her transformation into human form, giving up her voice, so she can be with the humans. I will just mention some of the better performances as I saw them. Beside Bailey there is Sebastian (Daveed Diggs from Hamilton) the crab who must keep an eye on Ariel and follow along with her mischief. He does an outstanding job with the Disney classic song Under the Sea. The most comedic role goes to Scuttle, the confused pelican played by Awkwafina of Crazy Rich Asians. She combines with Sebastian to perform a rap number called Scuttlebutt that is very entertaining. Of course Melissa McCarthy is appropriately villainous and glamorous as Ursula the sea witch who schemes to get Ariel’s voice and doom her to captivity. We get a little of her backstory about her being Triton’s brother and a tragedy than befell their mother. Credit must go to the animation too with all the musical numbers that feature the various dancing sea creatures. While making them alive with color and movement, we still get the feeling that they are animated and not just realistic images of animals generated by a computer. Lin-Manuel Miranda, a producer of the film played a significant role in rewriting the lyrics, giving them a more modern take. The film has a length of two and a quarter hours having been expanded from the animated version. This may be a little long for very young audiences, but hopefully it will keep their attention. All this was put together by director Rob Marshall who previously gave us Chicago, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Into the Woods and Mary Poppins Returns. It looks like he has another hit.

Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom

Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom  4 ½ stars

In an Academy Awards first, a movie from the mountainous country of Bhutan was nominated for an Academy Award in the Foreign Language category. Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom takes a familiar theme of a new teacher assigned to a class of poor students and gives it a new take, with a setting in the Asian village of Lunana, a real village in Bhutan that must be one of the most isolated spots in the world. Ugyen is a young man who is fulfilling his government contract as an elementary school teacher who really wants to move to Australia and perform as a singer. His boss remarks that he is the most unmotivated teacher she has ever seen so gives him the assignment to serve one term as teacher in the remote mountain village of Lunana where a post is available. Ugyen, who likes to listen to music on his iPod most of the time has no choice but to make the journey to Lunana, a trip of six days on foot through the mountains accompanied by two guides and three horses. When he finally arrives he is greeted by the village elder Asha who has great respect for teachers who “touch the future”, along with most of the village and the children who are to be his students. Lunana is without running water, has only solar panels for electricity and the main source of heat is burning yak dung because paper is too valuable to burn. Ugyen undergoes something of a transformation from thinking of teaching as an annoyance to seeing its value and having a sense of purpose when seeing the enthusiasm of the students even amid such conditions. He also learns more of the local culture by hearing the music dedicated to the life of a yak herder. The audience feels the transformation going on as Ugyen’s experience progresses. The movie’s premise may sound like a cliché, but it is moving especially since all of the cast has never acted before. The real life residents in the village had never even seen a car or a camera before. The movie’s film crew had to manage in the remote location for a three month shooting schedule as well as make the long journey on foot. I will leave it to you to discover what Ugyen decides to do at the end of the movie.

Haunted Mansion

Haunted Mansion            2 stars

A number of years back Disney came up with the idea of making a movie based on a Disney ride and voila, Pirates of the Caribbean appeared on movie screens and became an instant success. Then just a couple of years ago Jungle Cruise came to the theaters and delighted many movie goers. Now we have the latest Disney release based on a Disney ride but this time you would be better off going to the park than to the theater. Haunted Mansion features a young woman named Gabbie (Rosario Dawson) and her nine-year-old son, Travis, who have taken possession of an old mansion that is over two hundred years old only to discover that it is inhabited by ghosts. She goes looking for help and finds a priest named Father Kent (Owen Wilson), a quantum physicist (LaKeith Stanfield) who has lost his wife, a medium (Tiffany Haddish) and a past his prime college professor (Danny Devito). None of the team can turn down the job because they all discover that once they enter the house, a ghost travels with them wherever they go, so they have to take on the challenge of removing the ghosts from the mansion. After many missteps involving spooky portraits and endless hallways with trap openings they eventually discover there is one ghost present who was a terrible man named Crump, (Jared Leto) who is collecting hundreds of souls in the house, tormenting them for eternity. With the help of a spirit trapped in a crystal ball (Jamie Lee Curtis) and a quest to find an artifact belonging to the horrible Crump some of the group leave on a venture to complete the challenge and rid the world of Crump. It’s quite a gathering of funny talented people that should make it an entertaining movie. The trouble is that it feels like a collection of poor CGI effects that make constant reference to the Disney ride and other past Disney movies. There are the obvious portraits with moving pictures, the descending floor, the guy playing the organ and the dancing spirits. There are even chairs that pick up characters and try to eject them from the property. It all feels like the movie makers are trying to inject everything they can find to mimic the ride. I had grown tired of the silly action by the time it was over. What a waste of comedic talent. I did find Hadish to be funny in her role as the medium and enjoyed seeing Jamie Lee Curtis if only briefly. Nice try Disney. Maybe you should make the movie first and then make the ride based on the movie. Another ghost movie called Ghostbusters comes to mind that I would gladly see again for more laughs.