STORKS Review

I see what Warner Brothers Animation is attempting to do here and I can dig it. After finding great success with The LEGO Movie and the fact they acquired the likes of Phil Lord and Chris Miller who directed 21 and 22 Jump Street (as well as Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, to their credit) to helm that hit animated movie the thought of continuing to try their hand at bringing in R-rated comedy directors and seeing how they operate within the world of children’s entertainment is a ballsy, but interesting move. Much like with the case of The LEGO Movie Warner Bros. was likely hoping this formula might produce something both mature and goofy with the plus of remaining consistently funny throughout the majority of its runtime. It makes sense and what better way to test said formula than with the likes of Nicolas Stoller, director of such films as Forgetting Sarah Marshall and the two Neighbors movies, thus the reason we now have Storks. Because of this inclination to take someone known for one thing and put them just far enough outside of their element, their comfort zone if you will, I was inclined to be more interested in this seemingly agreeable animated family movie than I might have been otherwise. I love it when directors or studios cast an actor known for one type or style of work, especially comedians, and place them in a different setting where we see them challenged in new/different ways that usually result in a more fascinating piece of work by virtue of the outside influences and persona that performer brings with them. That is kind of what is happening here though maybe not to the extreme of, say, Jim Carrey in The Truman Show. Rather, Stoller is being challenged by the limits of a PG-rating and how far he can go with his comedy inadvertently forcing him to be more creative with how he comes up with the laughs needed for a 90-minute children's film. And so, how does all of this hype and build-up effect the final product? Well, in many ways this is a disappointment when considering the potential the film had considering the interesting premise, its insanely talented and funny voice cast, and of course the presence of Stoller in the director's chair. Instead of producing anything unique or of distinguishable value Storks more or less plays by the rules of Pixar and DreamWorks movies where the narrative sees a couple of characters going on a quest to achieve a goal that will allow them to discover new things about themselves along the way. There's nothing especially wrong with this structure especially when executed in fun and interesting ways and Storks certainly has its quirks, but more than anything the film feels far too routine to be a product of someone who should have really been challenging themselves.

FINDING DORY Review

It has been thirteen years since Disney and Pixar released their fifth feature length film together in Finding Nemo, a movie about a timid clownfish who set out across the ocean to try and find his son. With that film, Disney and Pixar achieved the worldwide domination that the Toy Story franchise thus far had suggested and that Monsters Inc. had more or less solidified two years earlier. With Finding Nemo the animation studio proved once and for all they were no fluke and that their originals could be just as compelling and inventive as their sequels. So now, thirteen years later, we finally have a sequel to one of the Pixar films that both could have remained a stellar single film while also (along with The Incredibles) being one of the Pixar films that audiences longed for a sequel to and would have much preferred over another Cars movie. Has the moment passed though? Even Toy Story 3 came in under the thirteen year mark, but it has now legitimately been a full generation (or two) since Finding Nemo debuted in thetaers. Of course, the answer is no as through the power of DVD's, blu-ray's and the ever-improving home theater experience children and viewers who were once children who now have their own children will continue to watch their favorite Disney and Pixar films no matter how much time passes. I will certainly show my child the magic of Finding Nemo once she's emotionally ready for those first ten minutes, but the point is to say that it was never going to be too late for Finding Dory and more than anything most audiences will be happy to know it's finally here. And so, with that said and with all of that to live up to, how is the actual film? In short, it is perfectly capable. It is extremely sweet and cute in all the right ways. The flashbacks to Dory as a baby with her parents (voiced by Diane Keaton and Eugene Levy) teaching her how to cope with her short term memory loss will absolutely make a puddle out of any viewer with a heart. Finding Dory also succeeds in not being a carbon copy of the original and offers a fair amount of new characters that are also fun, sweet, and cute. As the film draws to its close though, it becomes clear Dory will pack none of the emotional heft that many of the best Pixar films do. While there are certainly moments of great weight and substance in Dory's quest to locate where she came from the overall arc of the film never latches onto a specific idea or theme in a way that through the films execution comes to feel profound. Instead, Finding Dory is a fun, beautifully animated diversion and sometimes that is just good enough.

New Trailer for FINDING DORY

As the summer movie season draws closer Disney and Pixar have decided to share a little more of their follow-up to the massively successful Finding Nemo. Nemo was Pixar at the height of its critical and commercial power and so it is no surprise that as the companies have become more comfortable with the idea of sequels that twelve years down the road we have a sequel to one of their biggest hits. While the teaser we received back in November was exactly that what we have now is a full fledged look into what the story of the film might be as well as being introduced to a few new characters. Pictured above are two of those new characters with Kaitlin Olsen's Destiny (the shark) being highlighted as a childhood friend of Dory's in the trailer. Catch the name? Hint hint. It has admittedly been a while since I've seen the original film and will definitely have to be re-visiting it before seeing this Dory-centric sequel, but this trailer certainly gives off the general vibe I remember from the original with Albert Brooks returning as Marlin and Hayden Rolence taking over as Nemo. We'll be getting Toy Story 4 soon, a sequel to The Incredibles (finally!) and another Cars film (why? WHY?!?!) as well as some original films that hopefully continue to ride the wave of creativity Inside Out created last summer over the next few years, but this summer is all about Finding Dory and, if nothing else, the trailer plays off the indisputable charms of the titular blue tang fish. Ellen DeGeneres returns as the voice of Dory with Michael Sheen, Diane Keaton, Eugene Levy, Ed O’Neill, Idris Elba, Dominic West, Willem Dafoe, and Ty Burrell also starring. Finding Dory opens on June 17, 2016.

Teaser Trailer for FINDING DORY

The team of Disney and Pixar have had some massive hits, but their biggest in terms of initial box office and adjusted for inflation grosses outside of Toy Story 3 is that of Finding Nemo. It was kind of an odd pick as the story is simple: father searches for lost son. And the appeal was simply the branding of what the studio had delivered previously. Nemo was Pixar at the height of it's critical and commercial power-a kind of culmination if you will. It didn't hurt that the quality of the movie was nothing short of excellent. Twelve years down the road and Pixar has experienced something of a rough patch with originals like Brave not stroking the critical fire as highly as expected and sequels like Cars 2 (why? WHY?!?!) and Monsters University (I really enjoy this one, regardless) doing more or less what people expect if nothing more. And so, while Pixar is certainly on something of an upswing after this summer's smash Inside Out and looks to have another hit on their hands with The Good Dinosaur this Thanksgiving there is nothing better than a safe bet and thus why we are now getting a peak at a sequel that was apparently warranted after thirteen years. We'll be getting another Toy Story feature, a sequel to The Incredibles and another Cars film (why? WHY?!?!) as well as some original sprinkled in there somewhere over the next few years, but today is about Finding Dory and, if nothing else, the trailer plays off the charms of the original's three leading characters in hopes audiences will remember how much they loved Marlin, Nemo and of course Dory to the point they're willing to spend a whole lot of money on them next summer. Ellen DeGeneres returns as the voice of Dory with Albert Brooks, Diane Keaton, Eugene Levy, Ed O’Neill, Idris Elba, Dominic West, Kaitlin Olsen, Willem Dafoe, and Ty Burrell also starring. Finding Dory opens on June 17, 2016.

MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN Review

Let's just be up front about this whole Mr. Peabody and Sherman thing: it's a little weird. I mean, the whole concept and everything is a little out there when it comes to typical, safe family entertainment in that it's just straight-up odd to think about what is typically considered a pet adopting what typically takes care of said pet. That said, I'm not familiar with the original series that apparently ran as part of the Rocky & Bullwinkle universe and really had no idea of what type of story I was getting myself into or what adventure I was going to be taken on as I hadn't paid much attention to the marketing for the film, but as Dreamworks originals tend to go I expected to at least have a nice, colorful and randomly funny entertaining time if not receiving the deeper, more introspective character moments and more honest themes that come along with what we have become accustomed to with Pixar. Many people will disagree and say that Pixar has been slipping lately and I won't argue with you when it comes to defending the Cars series, but I enjoyed both Brave and Monsters University to a point that Mr. Peabody & Sherman can't even touch. Of course, this is really like trying to compare a January release to an Oscar-bait film as it seems Dreamworks productions have both lower standards and naturally a lower set of expectations for their final product than that of the major summer tentpoles Pixar is akin to putting out. Still, it is hard to discern the difference in the two when they exist in the same genre and are targeted (mainly) at the same audiences, but it is only when the first offering does well and/or have the right people behind it to truly invest and push it to something more, something deeper that we get the eventual sequels with a more pristine release date a la How to Train Your Dragon (we all saw how Turbo turned out last year when they through a non-franchise, non-re-make in the throws of summer). With Mr. Peabody & Sherman the studio has concocted what is essentially an extended TV episode and it feels this way without me, again, never having seen the original show. It is fine that it is episodic though because it is so brief of an experience that instead of coming away feeling short-changed, we feel satisfied with the amount of adventure packed into these pint-sized characters.