Tag: PIXAR

The Vintage Tempest’s Picks of 2017 Animated Films to See

Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)
By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

2017 is upon us, and this year seems light in comparison to last year’s stellar line-up of animated movies and direct-to-video products to must-see. DreamWorks Animation (one of my favourite studios) had three titles, but sadly with The Croods 2 dropped, the remainder does not seem as exciting. Time will tell, however, until official trailers for The Boss Baby and Captain Underpants are released.

In the international front, Tad Jones: The Hero Returns might be fun, though this title ranks more in the honourable mention front. Also coming is Howard Lovecraft and the Underworld Kingdom. No official word has been made yet, but if Arcana Studios is sticking to schedule, we can expect this release in September.

In a holdover from last year’s releases in the film festival circuit, a few reports is suggesting The Red Turtle will get a wider distribution. This winner deserves to arrive at more shores, as it’s a powerful story about a man stranded on a deserted island, and how he connects with a particular turtle. Leading the pack of movies I must see is one that is making rounds at festivals:

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Window Horses
(Please check local listings, Q2 wide release)

Director: Ann Marie Fleming

This colourful animation caught my attention when the National Film Board of Canada reported about its West Coast première at the Vancouver International Film Festival. If only it was playing the same or next day when I was in Vancouver, I could have gone to see it. Thankfully it will be getting a wider distribution in the new year.

When considering it is about a young poet of mixed descent going to Iran to learn about her past, I feel she will discover that the world is interconnected in more ways than she realizes. The unique character designs is also another selling point, and I’ll be anxious to see where the plot goes.

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PIXAR’s Animated Short, Piper, is a Huge Squeal of Delight!

PIPER – Concept Art by Jason Deamer (Production Designer). ©2016 Disney•Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
PIPER – Concept Art by Jason Deamer (Production Designer). ©2016 Disney•Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

PIXAR’s original animated shorts is quite often more amazing than their feature-length films. While there are a few exceptions, namely with Toy Story, Wall*E and Up as my top three favourites, in what I’m watching attached to their movies is nothing short of marvellous. In my list of best films in this category has to be (in order): Piper, Blue Umbrella and Lifted. I admit to a slight bias towards the last item on this list, since I adore UFO stories that are not horror scenarios.

Piper is this studio’s latest entry and it’s nothing short of amazing. I do not think I can even watch this short on Blu-ray (1080p) resolution. It is very deserving of a 4K (2160p) treatment! I was amazed at witnessing every grain of sand rendered and the detail along every feather of the hero. Piper is most likely the name of the baby bird, a Sandpiper, learning how to hunt for food. Unfortunately, in his first attempt, he nearly got washed away by an ocean wave! His reaction was priceless and his ruffled look had the audience in stitches! This piece was screened along with Finding Dory, so the themes were very similar!

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PIXAR’s Finding Dory is More Than Just a Sequel

Finding_DoryBy Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Spoiler Alert

Everyone’s beloved but yet forgetful Regal Blue Tang, Dory (wonderously voiced by Ellen DeGeneres), from Finding Nemo has her own sad story and although it took more than a decade to arrive, the wait is well worth it! Watching PIXAR’s Finding Dory makes me believe she has attention deficit disorder, and this movie offers to an older crowd a very good job of showing how we all need to have empathy and patience towards those who have conditions. To see Dory sometimes ignored by other fish in her need for answers is deplorable. Children may not necessarily understand it, but this film is a good start to impart good life lessons to young minds.

Marlin (Albert Brooks) and Nemo (Hayden Rolence) are Dory’s friends and they accept her for who she is. When she needs assistance, they are always there for her. Unlike other fish of her sub-species, which I see in her parent’s behaviour, she is the only one who is very absent-minded. During her moments of recall, Jenny (Diane Keaton) and Charlie (Eugene Levy) teach her a few techniques to sharpen her long term memory should they ever get separated.

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The Vintage Tempest’s Top Animated Picks of 2016

There’s plenty of animated films to look at in the new year. Some are more interesting than others and herein, I make my Top Animated Picks of 2016 to look forward to.

Top Animated Picks of 2016
By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

There’s plenty of animated films to look at in the new year. Some are more interesting than others and herein, I make my Top Animated Picks of 2016 to look forward to. Instead of glancing at the films coming out of North America, I’m looking world-wide and the movies I see offered get diverse.

But before I get to the list, the following are my honourable mentions: Just because Finding Dory is PIXAR and I loved Finding Nemo, that does not mean this movie will be excellent. Thirteen years have passed (an unlucky number for the superstitious) since Nemo went home. In another film, I’m thinking the cat featured in Secret Life of Pets is the next Garfield. For the story featured in Henchman, I’m figuring this film can easily fit in the world of Mastermind although this movie is developed over at BRON Studios.

Animal Crackers Movie Poster

Animal Crackers (TBD)

Not to be confused with the Marx Brothers film of the same name, this animated fare looks at a life of the Huntington family who finds a magical box of said crackers who can change the eater into the animal they have pulled out from the box. This film has promise when there is an all-star cast assembled to provide the voices.

What’s especially lovable is the fact that it’s tough not to love a cartoon that Patrick Warburton is featured in; ever since Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, he does a great job at voicing one of my favourite characters from Toy Story. Not to be forgotten, the other stars include: John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Ian McKellen, Danny DeVito, Sylvester Stallone, Wallace Shawn and Raven-Symoné.

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Remembering 2015’s Best Animated Works

The best animated works came from Netflix’s streaming service. And DreamWorks offered a lot which Loved.

Disney Pixar Inside Out Movie Poster
PIXAR’s film is a strong contender come Oscar season!

2015 was very good for many fans of the animation genre. The best animated works came from Netflix‘s streaming service. And DreamWorks offered a lot which Loved. Turbo FAST’s serialized offering was okay, but in what I loved was All Hail King Julian! Other programs like Dragons: Race to the Edge, Dawn of the Croods and Adventures of Puss in Boots shows that at least the studio is dedicated.

But what does that mean for other studios? Curiously, DreamWorks has not continued 2014’s Penguins of Madagascar movie. Has Nickelodeon said no to the studio making more or has Tom McGrath, the voice of Skipper, decided to move on? Currently, he’s working on Boss Baby, slated for release in 2017.

Disney/Pixar was busy with two releases, Inside Out and The Good Dinosaur, and while I favour the prehistoric adventure more than a look at what goes on inside a little girl’s head, I do see the former being a contender come Oscar season. I do have to wonder how long Minion-mania will last. It arrived in full force because of the movie and it showed no signs of slowing down over the holidays with merchandise being deeply discounted and the film put onto home video super early!

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An American Tale? The Good Dinosaur Goes West, A Movie Review

The one detail that the trailer to PIXAR’s The Good Dinosaur forgets to reveal is that the story takes place a million years after the planet Earth has dodged the bullet.

The_Good_Dinosaur_poster

The one detail that the trailer to PIXAR’s The Good Dinosaur forgets to reveal is that the story takes place a million years after the planet Earth has dodged the bullet. The asteroid that’s supposed to wipe out the life of these giant creatures have caused evolution to take a different direction. Since evolution is allowed to take place “normally,” these mighty creatures developed an intellect to conceive language, domestication and agriculture. They are no longer roaming beasts wandering the land in search for their next meal.

Henry (Jeffrey Wright) and Ida (Frances McDormand) are anxiously awaiting the birth of their three children, Libbey (Maleah Padilla), Buck (Marcus Scribner) and Arlo (Raymond Ochoa). The latter is the runt and is fearful of everything. That includes attempting to tame some primitive looking chickens and Henry decides that he has to teach his son how to deal with confronting his fears. There’s a few Studio Ghibli like moments with Arlo and Henry as they find a field of fireflies, but in what makes this film a sweet watch is the music. This movie is very much a love-letter to the Western, and it shows in the visual narrative and the orchestration.

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