Contrary to popular belief, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is not the first feature-length animated film. That honour goes to an Argentinian film from 1917 called El Apostol (The Apostle). In fact, Argentina is somewaht of a ‘ground zero’ for feature-length animation, as the first four such films were produced in the country. Sadly,…
Amidst all this talk of the ‘Disney Renaissance,’ I find myself thinking back through everything that makes that particular string of films memorable. Truth be told, there are many aspects, but one that still endures in the memories of everyone who grew up watching these films is the music. Ever since Snow White and the Seven…
Well, this will teach me to open my big mouth. After the release of my Top 10 Animated Films list (available here) last week, a few conversations emerged on my personal Facebook page, all of which were quite nice and opened up positive discourse (something I’m always aiming for) but a few films came up in…
It occurred to me the other day that, for all my posturing, and championing of animation, I hadn’t really revealed my litmus test of what I consider to be ‘great’ animation; I also noticed how popular my listed entries seem to be on my sight, so I thought that while I was in the midst of…
The Looney Tunes are practically animation royalty nowadays, they’ve been around since the 1930’s and generations of children have come to love Bugs, Daffy, and all the other wacky characters that make up the Looney Tunes roster. Their longevity is testament to their popularity, as there are still TV series running now that carry on…
South Park was a natural escalation in the increasing trend of animation aimed towards adults. What the Simpsons had started in 1989 had been slowly building throughout the 90’s series such as Beavis and Butthead took the prerogative, but it wasn’t until South Park that the escalation reached its peak. Challenging taboo will always have…
While I do love reviewing films, I must admit that my motivation to do so from home has started to sag, resulting in me branching out into writing more about other subjects within the film world, the success of my Harry Potter and Robin Williams list formats tells me that there is an audience for that,…
Animation is a genre I’ve gone to bat for quite a lot in the past. Rather than seeing it as simple entertainment for kids, I’ve argued that it can be a vehicle for the most sensitive storytelling in film, when embracing a family-friendly tone, it can really portray complex issues in a way that will…
It isn’t very often I review a Netflix movie. In fact, I’ve only done two: Bright and The Irishman (although I saw The Irishman in cinema, during its limited release) two films at VERY distant opposites on the quality scale. This isn’t because I consider Netflix films any lesser than others, streaming is the future…
Those who have children, or have children in the family should remember the first Frozen with a mixture or warmth and dread. The film, and that dratted song, has been pretty much omnipresent in the half-decade since its initial release, making north of a billion dollars, and that kind of success simply does not go…
