Penguins (of Madagascar) Movie Review

 

In case you're looking for something to take the kids to see this weekend, I thought I'd go ahead and post my review of the latest animated fall film, Penguins of Madagascar.  Notice I didn't say, "In case you're looking for something to see yourself."  This one is definitely for the youngest audiences unfortunately. 

Penguins of Madagascar takes our stars on a somewhat nostalgic journey into how their bond was originally created (the most successful part of film), and then on to a mixture of James Bond type bad guy intrigue and encounters with Guardians of the Galaxy style good guys.  That all sounds pretty good, right?  I mean, a bit far fetched and overreaching, but good?  Uh, no.

We all love the Penguins and that's what made me thing it might be a film I'd actually like, but I was severely disappointed all around.  Even the Penguins were sub par most of the time.  Perhaps they simply can't sustain their sarcastic cuteness for an entire film.  Although there were individual moments of definitive laughter and their typical tongue in cheek maneuvers (mostly in flashbacks, if you can believe an animated movie has flashbacks), but the action and the plot were contrived to the extreme.  It was a thin line that threaded each scene together and at one point, I had to throw that out and take each scene as unrelated, though still lackluster.  Yes, there were a few cute moments and some clever comebacks, but this is definitely one that can be missed.

"The Movie Event That Will Blow Their Cover"? How about "The Movie Event That Will Just Blow"?

2.25 out of 5 stars

Big Hero 6 Movie Review

Big Hero 6 is an animated movie based on a comic book, but actually achieves live-action film caliber (think The Incredibles), about an extremely smart 14 year old boy named "Hiro" who deals with real grief and becomes a self-made superHiro, with the help of some friends, science and robots.  Maybe it's those themes that reminded me almost immediately of a movie I loved a few years ago that went largely unseen (Real Steel, which actually may see a sequel soon!).  The "Big Hero 6" is actually that entire group of friends, with a play on words for the main character's name, not the name of the cuddly robot at the center of the film.  From the beginning of the movie, it's clear that you're in for a well-rounded cinema experience, rather than just another Disney princess musical (blech!).  Big Hero 6 places an emphasis on science and problem solving to a highly believable and enjoyable degree. Not so underlying threads of "School is Cool" and "Girls in Tech" are more reasons to love this movie and to take your kids!  Also worth a mention is the actual caliber of animation in the film: The non-titular main robot in the movie is inflatable, which causes more interesting and comical differences to be portrayed in pixels than usual.  In addition, the science turned science fiction would truly need to be CGI'ed in a live action movie anyway.  In addition, the setting in the near future of the charming "San Fransokyo" is very believable if you've been to both San Francisco and Tokyo, which I appreciated.  Obviously even seeing itself as a regular big blockbuster superhero movie, there is even a postscript sequel teaser (featuring a special animated cameo) after the credits, like we've become accustomed to with The Avengers series, so stay til the end!  In addition, the animated short that shows before Hero, Feast, about a man and his dog, is definitely going to be up for an Oscar itself, so arrive early too!  On a personal note, Big Hero 6 reminded me of an early 70s Japanese tv show called Robocon, so that may have slightly influenced my review ;).

4 out of 5 stars

Planes: Fire & Rescue S'Movie Review

Full disclosure: I did not see the first Planes movie.  I was miraculously able to pawn that task off on another family member.  That said, I kind of really enjoyed this second movie.  It had a great story, with the heart and subtle humor of the first Cars movie, which it’s loosely based on.  Cars was so well written, I never expected much from sequels or spin offs, but somehow they managed to make another quality film.   

I’m a fan of puns and this movie was full of flying related humor that most children would miss, but is a prerequisite tongue-in-cheek aspect of these anthropomorphic animated films.  The fire fighting aspects of the plot (these planes are essentially fire jumpers) are actually pretty intense and with the current forest fires in the Northwest, I worried that even my 11 year old would be a little scared by it.  The soundtrack lends a hand to the enjoyment of the movie as well, in particular with the use strategic use of AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck”. 

Overall, it’s no 3D Dragon, but  I almost regret not seeing the first Planes movie…almost.

 

3.25 out of 5 stars