One of the wildest adventures to come from Hanna-Barbera, and that's really saying something, Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles is now available on DVD. Not exactly one of the shows that leaps to mind right away when you think of either Hanna-Barbera, or classic Saturday morning cartoons, this one offers up some of the funniest, wackiest, animated episodes you're ever going to see, and will … [Read more...]
Back when Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure came out, I was impressed with the overall effort and quality of the Disney direct-to-video title. Largely besmirched and ignored in a "by definition" sense (and with good reason), Disney finally made a serious run at proving that they could offer solid entertainment through the medium, and that quality on every front didn't have to be several pegs shy … [Read more...]
I have several things coming up to get you excited for the June 1st release of Alice in Wonderland. Stay tuned for a great book, the Blu-Ray release itself, and more, but for now I have a virtual roundtable with Dermot Power. Artist and concept designer for the film, Dermot shared a lot of his work, and let us in on how many of the ideas came together. Also in on this event were David Jessen, … [Read more...]
The 1994 effort to bring Iron Man to the public was possibly a hopeless cause, at least using the approach it did, but it was a treat for fans, and will likely find a new lease on life now that the films have given the public some exposure. Available now on DVD, the 3-Disc set brings you every episode of Iron Man The Animated Series. A show that was pretty obviously put out with fans in … [Read more...]
One of the unsung heroes of the Disney collection has hit stores with all-new digital restoration, and it's really a must own. The Great Mouse Detective has long been a favorite of mine, and for fans and newcomers alike, this is one to put on the list. From a rather different era of Disney, and the first directing effort of John Musker and Ron Clements (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, The … [Read more...]
Now that Miyazaki is getting the sort of attention he deserves, he comes along with the least Miyazakian film yet. Ponyo, while a visual treat filled with the hallmarks that make the picture unmistakably his, is geared toward a younger-than-usual crowd, and lowers the bar on the level of complexity that is also something of Miyazaki trademark. None of this is a fault, but it should be noted … [Read more...]
The best thing about The Princess and the Frog may turn out to be what also keeps it from truly being great. It's a return to hand-drawn animation. A return to an "older" theory. A return to the Disney musical. In many senses, a return to the very roots of Disney feature-length efforts. These are all things the special features will play up at you rather specifically. But, somewhere in the … [Read more...]
Shane Acker's theatrical expansion of his animated short 9 is both the most exciting thing to happen in quite a while, and one of the bigger disappointments. Still, it's only so disappointing because it should have been great, and it's only very cool. It suffers from all the faults one might fear in a translation that grows from a short subject, and I suspect from a writer who really shouldn't … [Read more...]
Long ago I mentioned that Pixar has a curious ability to make movies I find wonderful, but virtually no ability to get me excited for them. That hasn't changed. Sure, now I'm just generally moved to anticipation because Pixar hasn't really ever put together a movie I couldn't stand, but it doesn't go much past that. I mean, old guy's house floats away on balloons sure, but what … [Read more...]
If you don't remember the mid-90s animated adventures of Freakazoid... well, it probably isn't all that surprising actually. You probably heard about it at some point, but it was a cartoon and a lot of people aren't going to be in that loop. Freakazoid is a wildly funny show about mild-mannered Dexter, who becomes a superhero of dubious superheroness. The show is a fast-paced … [Read more...]
