Title: The Secret of NIHM
Year: 1982
Director: Don Bluth
Cast: Elizabeth Hartman, Dom DeLuise, Derek Jacobi, Arthur Malet, Shannen Doherty, Wil Wheaton
Rated: G
Running Time: 1hr. 22mins.
My Review: In my opinion, one of the best animated movies ever created. I believe this is Don Bluth's master piece. It's very surprising this being his first animated feature away from Disney, and the look, feeling and style of this film couldn't be farther from Disney. Even though it's a little dark, I love the tone of this film, and is still able to be lighthearted. The animation rivals anything Disney has ever done, even though I love this film, I do have some problems, mainly with the third act. I don't understand where the red stone came from or why it has such magical powers. With the background of the rats being science and technology, why is there magic in the stone. Other than that it's great. 9 out of 10 Impudent piglets
Jonny's Review: This is one of my favorite animated movies of all time. Don Bluth was the Hayao Miyazaki for America, until he went soft. Everything is right about this film, it’s has a great balance of drama, magic, color and presentation. This adaptation from the original story “Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIHM” was done just flawlessly, there is nothing I don’t like about this movie. You really get the idea of how Mrs. Brisbies struggles, and how dedicated she is to her family. Not only do you really enjoy the characters with the great choices of voice actors, but you also really enjoy the music and background paintings. This movie is one of the only films that has a great presentation of dark story telling that is great for the whole family to watch, this is rare. I understand the major plot hole at the end of this movie, but there is just too much good that I let it pass, if you can’t let that pass, you can just lick me. This movie took a lot of work and dedication to make this movie work, so much so, that the most of the animators put their homes up for mortgage. This movie is worth owning and to watch it over and over again. 10/10 pieces of string
Title: The Iron Giant
Year: 1999
Director: Brad Bird
Cast: Eli Marienthal, Vin Diesel, Jennifer Aniston, Harry Connick Jr., Christopher McDonald,
Rated: PG
Running Time: 1hr. 26mins.
My Review: This movie is one of the most Highly under rated films ever, infact I had no idea of it's release in theaters for several years. I love the work of combining 2D animation with 3D animation, it appears seamless. The voice actors do an excellent job. The story being very simple, is highly engaging through out the entire film, and surprisingly Vin Diesel is the voice of the robot. After this and "The Incredibles" I'm always anxious to see what film Brad Bird comes out with next. 10 out of 10 squirrels in pants
Jonny's Review: I’m not really sure why this movie never really got noticed, there is nothing wrong with it. I liked the story line, presentation and animation. Plus, this is a little boys dream, to have a robot fall from the sky and befriend him. This movie was done pretty well, there are no parts that are slow or too fast, and I like the bad guy in this film. He’s someone that can actually show up in your neighborhood and make due with his threats. I even like the mentor character Dean, he isn't like most mentor characters only offering advice, he’s there to bail you out if it’s within his power. However, there is something about this film that seems …off (lack for a better word). I don’t think it’s slow, I don’t think it’s corny, or just for kids. It’s something I just can’t explain. So ….8/10 chocolax bars.
Title: The Secret of Kells
Year: 2009
Director: Tomm Moore
Cast: Evan McGuire, Christen Mooney, Brendan Gleeson, Mick Lally
Rated: G
Running Time: 1hr. 18mins.
My Review: Another very under rated cartoon movie that didn't have a lot of advertising in the US. Every shot of this movie could be framed on the wall as a work of art. Everything from the backgrounds to the character design, make for beautiful eye candy. It should be in the collection of every animation fan. 10 out of 10 goose feathers
Jonny's Review: This movie is pretty, it’s mysterious and unique in it’s animation. Unlike most animation where they use water color or oil paintings for back grounds, this movie keeps it their vector style of animation, which you usually only see in TV or web animation. Yet, it’s not lame like those styles, this movie is the word "unique" in style. And it sort of has to be, The Book of Kells it’s self is the peak of graphic art, and I think vector is the right choice to produce this movie. But, I kind of thought the story was a little lacking. You don’t really get to know some of the major characters, like the girl in the forest. Nor do you really feel the great danger of the evil in the forest, because it only lasts for a short time. And the ending just, stops. But, what works about the film is the mystery feel they want. It really does feel like an old folk tale from Ireland. I just don’t really like how sometimes it speeds up and then just ends. 7/10 ghost cats
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