Tag: DreamWorks Animation

DreamWorks Curses! is more than Familiar with its Friday the 13th TV Series Style Horror Tropes and Vibe!

The educational content that’s offered in this series, puts Curses! above all other past DreamWorks Animated series and in par with Carmen Sandiego.

DreamWorks Curses! Promotional PosterDreamWorks Animation is still churning out the hits and one series fans may not know of is Curses! That’s because it’s exclusive to Apple TV Plus, and unlike Fright Krewe (review coming soon) which can be found on specialty cartoon networks, I suspect this company wants to keep a firm hold on where it can be seen.

This series is a lot better than the other one because it feels like an animated version of Friday the 13th the TV Series. This piece of 90s television was about cousins searching for cursed objects and if they can’t remove the hex, it gets sealed in a vault. In this cartoon, Pandora (Gabrielle Nevaeh) and Russ (Andre Robinson) have a similar task. However, instead of freeing the objects from their enchantment, if they can find where they were stolen from, the spell can be broken, and hopefully for every item returned, they can free their dad from being a statue!

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When Trolls Band Together, What Can Musically or Chaotically Go Wrong?

Three films in, DreamWorks is out to milk Trolls Band Together for everything they can musically put out, and all I have to ask, when will they sing showtunes?

Trolls Band Together Movie PosterSpoiler Alert

New musical puns and even more tunes have been Troll-matized in DreamWorks latest. Unlike the last film where fans get to discover various subspecies exist, Trolls Band Together broadens the world so that fans can find just how diverse it is. That is, it’s not entirely populated by these tiny singing Muppets. There’s other species who also love breaking out into song.

Although the Mount Rageons are rather creepy looking, perhaps the character design was intentional. They are either modelled after Gumby or are related to a toy line I never played with. However, I can’t help but think that cackling doll from the movie Poltergeist was an influence! When two of them (conveniently a sibling pair named Velvet and Veneer, played by Amy Schumer and Andrew Rannells) have kidnapped Floyd, one of Branch’s brothers, just so they can steal his mojo, I thought this film is a retread of the original.

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When Season 3 of Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight Packs Too Much In, Breaking It Up Is Important

As much as I enjoyed watching the Dumont bandits make their last hurrah in Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight, their fates are no longer intertwined and I’ll just leave it at that.

Kung Fu Panda The Dragon Knight ALT posterDreamWorks Animation

Po has certainly grown since becoming the Dragon Warrior back when Kung Fu Panda first started. He had to deal with classic wuxia style villains in the movies, face many foes in the television series, train a new generation in The Paws of Destiny and, with The Dragon Knight, prove his worth elsewhere. He’s lost the former title, and the difference may well rest in where he’s honoured.

Much of the third season takes place in England and it feels drawn out. After the events of the much shorter second season at Tikal to locate the Tianshang weapons, simply retrieving them and becoming the new custodians isn’t enough. They’ll have to destroy them. I had to rewatch much of the prior season to remind myself about what went on, and then realised, perhaps viewing the first again would also help refresh my memory.

Instead of sailing a straight line to that nation, a cruise through the Caribbean is required and they encounter pirates! (“The Trial of Mr. Ping” and “Baddie Issues”). Continue reading “When Season 3 of Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight Packs Too Much In, Breaking It Up Is Important”

When All You Need is Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken to Save the Day!

When Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken goes from being a zero to hero, this classic Hero’s Journey is appropriate.

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken Movie PosterRuby Gillman, Teenage Kraken, is definitely going to be expanded upon following its theatrical run. Whether one goes to see it on the big screen or after it’s run on streaming services, the room left for growing this world is certainly evident.

In what I loved from this coming of age tale is that the hero finds her self-worth. It’s an enjoyable film. Although what’s presented is no different from Turning Red, the legends to which this story borrows from is not limited to one legendary monster. There may be more hiding in plain sight, and we’re not just seeing it. Hopefully a television series is considered since this world is ripe for expansion!

What’s introduced is but a start for the title character (voiced by Lana Condor). She’s a very socially awkward teen who later learns she can command respect when she wants to make it so. But before she can become that hero, she has to learn about her heritage. That’s because when her parents left the sea life behind, they decided that it’s best not to tell her anything. Thankfully, it’s all disclosed later in the story.

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Diving Into Why Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken will be a Fantastic Summer Hit

The details and trailer is now here for DreamWorks Animation’s latest and Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken looks good!

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken Movie PosterStories about coming out of one’s comfort zone is often a winning scenario in storytelling. In Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken what’s presented looks like more than girl coming out of her shell. She will have huge challenges to face and one of them includes dealing with an eternal war between her species and an other.

As the title and trailer suggests, this young woman will have to not only deal with high school problems but also experience her Sweet 16 in a way that could potentially the attention of the world.

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DreamWorks Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is Beautiful Purrfection!

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is well worth the wait because production for this sequel wasn’t rushed and we have a tale that truly expands past what we know from past films

uss in Boots: The Last WishMild Spoiler Alert

What can a cat do when he runs out of his nine lives? In Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) latest adventure, The Last Wish, he has to seek a force beyond nature to grant him a new set of regenerations, like Doctor Who, to continue adventuring. Instead, his goal is to find a wishing star in true fairy tale fashion to regain those he lost in years prior. This simple premise keeps the story going forward because, throughout Puss’ adventure, he has to be careful in everything he does. Thus, any wrong step he makes might be his last. And along the way, there’s enough danger so he’ll have to consider taking that road more travelled. He never realised how reckless he’s become and all he ever wanted was to be remembered.

What makes this second outing better is that it delivers a fantasy not completely driven by concepts from Lewis Carrol and Aesop’s fables. As a result, this movie feels more like a good ol’ fashioned Pirates of the Caribbean style adventure, complete with some crazy encounters along the way. And what I enjoyed more is that I love the bad guys featured in this film! Here, we get a narrative that understands why Goldilocks stayed with the three bears. To see them become her henchmen makes sense even though we don’t know their whole story about turning into a crime family.

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