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

How to Train Your Dragon 2 - Movie Review

First of all, I LOVED the first How to Train Your Dragon movie.  It was one of the best movies that year, animated or not and definitely one of the most visually stunning.  I knew immediately how amazing that movie was and I also knew immediately that it would not get the recognition it deserved, because it came out the same year as Toy Story 3...and that broke my heart.  With this second installment (of 3, yes, this was imagined as a fully realized trilogy!), I'm pleasantly surprised to see the first movie actually receiving a lot of retroactive praise, once separated by the (equally good) Toy Story competition.

Loving the first one as I did, I was simultaneously looking forward to seeing the second one and worried that it would let me down.  I. was. not. let. down.  Dragon 2 is full of just as many gorgeous flying sequences and rolling oceans as the first movie, but this time, they've amped up the CGI with a new technique that allows the designers to actually draw on top of it as well for an added realism and it worked.  Most reviewers are recommending we spend the extra $ for the 3D version, but I'm here to say although I did see it in 3D, this movie would be beautiful either way.

What really works in these movies are the themes.  The first movie had several unique and positive threads for kids and they worked because the Dragon movies don't treat children like children.  Most kid's movies have the same simple good vs. evil style themes over and over but these movies strive for more.  In Dragon 2, the lead character has matured and even has a love interest, but thankfully even that typical trope is set aside in favor of more important themes.

Now to mention my favorite part - Toothless.  I love Toothless, the main character's personal dragon.  It was modeled on a black panther, a wombat and your everyday house cat.  Toothless is loveable, loyal and as well rounded as any human character in the movies, and all this with no dialog.  I want a Toothless myself...

4 out of 5 stars