Tag: Illumination Entertainment

After Illumination Entertainment’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie, What’s Next is Far More Promising

Thankfully, these key intellectual properties show Illumination Entertainment is not giving up on those works that made this animation studio famous.

Illumination Entertainment Logo with MinionChris Meledandri has plans for several franchises that Illumination Entertainment helped bring to pop culture. Ina recent interview with Variety, he talked to Brent Lang and Ethan Shanfeld about the future of Sing, Despicable Me and Secret Life of Pets. While the team is focussed on the release of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, what’s being advertised as next is Migration.

“It represents Illumination’s ongoing commitment to telling original stories, which I think is essential to culture,” Meledandri said to Variety. The characters in this next feature is about ducks, that’s sure to not run afoul of critics. The response for the current film has so far been very mixed.

But what I am excited about is in the projects he’s involved in beyond his own studio. He also collaborates with DreamWorks Animation and Shrek might come back! In summary, the fifth movie is going to be a “reboot,” and it should bring back the original cast. This CEO said, “Talks are starting now, and every sign that we’ve gotten is there’s tremendous enthusiasm on behalf of the actors to return.”

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Breaking Down The Super Mario Bros. Movie – Not Quite the Smash It Should Be.

The only good part of The Super Mario Bros. Movie is in how Mario Kart gets reimagined.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie PosterSpoiler Alert

Before The Super Mario Bros. Movie came to the fore as the better motion picture, Super Mario Bros existed. It’s almost confusing to know which film is being talked about, since there’s two missing words to distinguish between the two. But for those in the know about the older work, perhaps it’s best not to. That live-action take reimagined the game as a gangster flick, and not everyone enjoyed it.

After Wreck It Ralph, fans were wondering when we’d get a motion picture that’s truly a love letter to Nintendo’s product line. The nods in this latest showed what’s possible with the cameo. The game is about a plumber saving the princess from Bowser, an evil turtle who is holding her hostage. In this take, the changes to the story are different.

The movie version (voiced by Jack Black) puts the citizens of each world into a prison, and Mario (Chris Pratt)’s brother is the latest victim. Um, what happened to honouring the game? This movie directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic for Illumination Entertainment and Nintendo set out to build a cinematic universe rather than respect the original premise. Although they stick in plenty of references to this company’s past games and Easter eggs to distract, only the hard core will know.

Continue reading “Breaking Down The Super Mario Bros. Movie – Not Quite the Smash It Should Be.”

It’s No Secret. Who Will Dominate The Charts When The Rise of Gru is on Home Video?

With the Rise of Gru on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K, the stage is set for next year’s return to the Despicable franchise

Minions Rise of GruAvailable to purchase on Amazon USA

After a brief stint direct to digital, Illumination Entertainment‘s latest Minions film is now on home video. And if their proliferation is any sign, they are everywhere! With the Rise of Gru on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K, the stage is set to hint at next year’s return to the Despicable franchise, where Gru has to contend with his nasty twin brother, Dru. When watching this movie again, I get the feeling Wild Knuckles will play some kind of role in this upcoming film.

Where this tale concerning the pill-shaped compatriots’ relationship with the Gru guy takes place is years after Marlena and Felonius have settled down. It seems to ignore a few details from the last Minions movie concerning how they found their new leader and when he accepted them.

My review back in July goes into greater detail, and what I’ll look at here is the bonus material offered in this home video release.

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On The Rise of Gru, Minions and Fatherhood. For Better or Worse, How Bad Can It Get?

To see how the Despicable Me franchise started requires watching this prequel, Minions The Rise of Gru.

Minions The Rise of GruSpoiler Alert

Fans of the Minions’ antics can only take so much before going bananas themselves. Their craziness can’t carry a film from start to end, and the latest (subtitled The Rise of Gru) puts this lead back to the fore–sort of. As a result, we finally get to see why these little yellow guys are adored by him. That’s because their relationship with Felonius (Steve Carell) is steadfast, and it’s cute to see how often they’re helping each other out.

Throughout the film, I was sad to see this boy on his own. Marlena, his mother, doesn’t always give him the attention he needs and she’s even kookier than ever at her young age. Although we know where his other parental unit went (most of that story was revealed in Despicable Me 3), Gru really needs a father figure in his life. All he needs is love.

Pretty soon, we find Wild Knuckles (Alan Arkin) is the man with the plan! His drama and Gru’s are similar enough to help them bond. Continue reading “On The Rise of Gru, Minions and Fatherhood. For Better or Worse, How Bad Can It Get?”

It’s Time For Sing to Sing 2 a New Beat

Sing 2 Movie PosterIllumination’s Sing & Sing 2 available to purchase on Amazon USA and available to stream.

Had Garth Jennings’s animate hit series Sing been a CGI animated series, I’m sure there’d be more Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey) stories to tell. The sequel wastes no time in seeing this motley crew of talents get their act together and put on a show.

This leader of the gang has his theatre rebuilt and while local critics are raving about his latest show, someone else doesn’t think so. He has to convince Jimmy (Bobby Cannavale), a wolf who runs Crystal Entertainment, that his troupe has what it takes to make it to the big leagues. He also has to pull someone else out of “retirement.” I love the fact Clay Calloway (perfectly voiced by Bono) is a play on Cab Calloway, a jazz entertainer whom The Blues Brothers gave new life to.

This team’s life is a highway and to succeed really means living’ on a prayer. Musical pun references aside, the challenge in keeping viewers invested is in being able to get this film out fast enough so fans can remember what happened last time. This film was ready for a late 2020 release and sadly, nearly every movie got pushed back one or two years. The pandemic is to blame here.

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The Deets on Sing 2 Collector’s Edition!

Sing 2 Blu-Ray + DVDUniversal Studios Home Entertainment

Home Video Release:
March 29th, 2022

Available to digitally view or preorder on Amazon USA

Buster Moon and his crew are back preparing to launch their most dazzling extravaganza yet in Sing 2, now available to own digitally. Hailed as “the best animated feature this year” (FOX-TV Houston) and earning a 98% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, fans of all ages can now sing, dance and laugh more than ever with this collector’s edition, brimming with exclusive bonus content, including 2 never-before-seen mini movies with some of your favorite characters, sing-alongs to the hit songs from the film, a dance-along with renowned choreographer Sherrie Silver, outtakes with the star-studded cast and more interactive fun for the perfect family movie night.

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