Toon Talk: Love as a Mostly Robotic Thing

Save for a few romantic subplots here and there, love stories have not exactly been at the forefront in the Pixar feature film canon. The “boys’ club” at the Lamp have been more naturally drawn to the “buddy film” concept more often then not, from Buzz and Woody all the way up to Remy and Linguini. Perhaps being absorbed into the Disney family -- known for their fairy tale “happily ever afters” after all -- has rubbed off on them, for if Pixar’s latest computer animated crowd pleaser WALL-E is anything, it’s a love story.

Told with a gentle hand and a big ol’ heart on its sleeve, WALL-E is yet another homerun for the animation powerhouse, proving yet again that no one (not even their parent company) comes close to creating films in their chosen art form quite like they do these days.

Click here to continue reading my Toon Talk review of WALL-E at LaughingPlace.com.

UPDATE: WALL-E is now available on DVDfrom Amazon.com.

Toon Talk: Stone Cold

Stuck in-between 101 Dalmatians and The Jungle Book on the Disney animated feature list is The Sword in the Stone, easily the most uninspired of those produced during Walt Disney’s lifetime. In fact, if it weren’t for the fact that it was indeed released in 1963, one could easily mistake it for another example of the fallow, “after Walt” years known as the 1970’s.

Newly re-released on DVD as a “45th anniversary edition” (available today),the film, based on the King Arthur legend as retold in T.H. White’s book of the same name, plays like a set-up for the inevitable wackiness of Jungle Book, regardless that the subject matter certainly calls for a different approach. On the other hand, the only time the film truly comes alive is in the raucous “wizard’s duel” between the daffy Merlin and the loony Mad Madame Mim. Only in this sequence, with the two practitioners of magic imaginatively transforming from one creature to another in a bid of prestidigious one-upmanship, does the film truly exploit the medium of animation to the fullest.

Otherwise, we are confined to the rather pedestrian story of Wart, who, regardless of the fact that he is the once and future king, is without a doubt the blandest protagonist in all of the Disney canon. No wonder Merlin, winningly voiced in a most befuddled way by Karl Swenson, steals the movie, lock, stock and magical barrel.

Click here to continue reading my Toon Talk review of the new Sword in the Stone DVD at LaughingPlace.com.

Toon Talk: Hulk Smashin’

It doesn’t happen until late in the movie, but when the emerald-skinned behemoth known as The Incredible Hulk finally says his key comic-born catchphrase “Hulk SMASH!”, it is well worth the wait. After a poorly received Ang Lee directed film version just five years ago, the not-so-jolly green giant is craftily reinvented in this, the latest big screen superhero extravaganza, a lean mean fighting machine of a summer movie, in theaters now.

Indeed, the Hulk does do a lot of smashing in director Louis Leterrier’s (of The Transporter films fame) take on the beloved pop culture antihero; also, a fair share of leaping, howling and general mass destruction. But, as in his original Stan Lee/Jack Kirby comic book form, as well as subsequent four color incarnations and the equally classic 70’s television series (which was basically a variation of another tube classic, The Fugitive), the dramatic aspects of a man whose very body is out of his control is explored … amidst all the smashing, of course.

Click here to continue reading my Toon Talk review of The Incredible Hulk at LaughingPlace.com.

UPDATE: The Incredible Hulk is now available on DVDfrom Amazon.com.

Toon Talk: Whip Crackin’

Twenty-seven years ago, on movie screens all over the world, a hero was born, and his name was Indiana Jones. Inspired by the swashbuckling adventurers of the past, this hero was a classic in every sense of the word: honorable, intelligent, patriotic, even a little rough around the edges. As brought to life in the motion picture Raiders of the Lost Ark by director Steven Spielberg, producer George Lucas and actor Harrison Ford, Dr. Henry “Indiana” Jones Jr. embodied heroism for many a moviegoer in the summer of 1981 … and beyond.

And although his follow up film adventures (his trip to the Temple of Doom in 1984, his so-called Last Crusade in 1989) may have failed to live up to the pure wonder and adrenalin of his first escapade (at least in my eyes), his stature as one of the great movie heroes has never wavered (he was even named the number two movie hero of all time in an American Film Institute poll in 2003). Through the years, a television series, comic books, video games and Disney theme park attractions have been added to the mix, and now, nineteen years after his last big screen adventure, the man with the whip is back in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (in theaters now).

Does the new film live up to the legacy of Raiders? Not quite, but it isn’t a poke in the eye like Lucas’ Star Wars prequels either. What it is is a fun thrill ride of a movie that only really jumps the tracks at its somewhat preposterous climax; but in the meantime, it delivers a rollicking cinematic adventure that should satisfy most fans who’ve been jonesing for this particular brand of Indy action for almost twenty years now.

Click here to continue reading my Toon Talk review of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull at LaughingPlace.com.

UPDATE: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is now available on DVDfrom Amazon.com.

Toon Talk: Hot Wheels

From Popeye to George of the Jungle, many a cartoon has tried to make the transition from pen and ink to flesh and blood, but none so spectacularly as Speed Racer. Zooming onto the big screen with a mixture of pedal to the metal pyrotechnics and hyperactive visuals, this live action take on the old school anime series is all kinds of crazy cool fun.

Speed Racer began its pop culture life in the 1960s as a Japanese manga (comic) and animated television series called Mach GoGoGo. Created by anime pioneer Tatsuo Yoshida for Tatsunoko Productions, the show (inspired by such western influences as Elvis Presley and James Bond) was quickly picked up for American syndication and given its now familiar name and iconic theme song. Over the years, the original series became a touchstone for both Baby Boomers and Generation X-ers alike, so a full-fledged movie version was inevitable.

And it is finally here; after seeing the kaleidoscopic images that only today’s digital technology could create, you’ll be glad they waited. Helmed by the visionary minds behind The Matrix trilogy, Larry and Andy Wachowski, this Speed thrills, exploding off the starting line and never letting up, laws of physics and plot densities be damned.

Click here to continue reading my Toon Talk review of Speed Racer at LaughingPlace.com.

UPDATE: Speed Racer is now available on DVDfrom Amazon.com.

Toon Talk: Heavy Metal

Tired of seeing their classic superhero characters make tons of money for other people, Marvel Comics has set up their own film production shingle, with Iron Man, the first big blockbuster wannabe of the 2008 summer movie season, as their first offering. And if this one is any indication, it was a move they should have made long ago.

And although you may not know this Iron Man from the Iron Chef, this is an action-packed superhero flick with a brain … and just the right amount of a sense of humor about the whole enterprise … that makes any ignorance of the character’s history irrelevant.

Click here to continue reading my Toon Talk review of Iron Man at LaughingPlace.com.

And in related news: What does $200 million worldwide in one weekend get you? Iron Man 2 in 2010. Plus: Thor, Captain America and The Avengers.

UPDATE: Iron Man is now available on DVDfrom Amazon.com.

Toon Talk: ¡Ay, Caramba!

Just in time for Cinco de Mayo, Disney has re-released two of its minor animated pictures, Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros, in a one disc Classic Caballero Collection ...

Below are some excerpts from my Toon Talk review of the new DVD release(click here to read the full article at LaughingPlace.com):

Born out of the Disney Studios involvement with the war effort in the early 1940’s, Saludos Amigos was commissioned by the US State Department to improve relations with our Central and South American neighbors (hence the “hello friends” title … as in “hello friends, don't join the Nazis”). Walt Disney and a staff of writers, artists and composers flew down to Rio, as it were, to soak in the local colors, music and cultures of the various Latin American regions as inspiration for future cartoons and features.

Surprisingly (in retrospect), Saludos was a big hit, necessitating a follow up: The Three Caballeros. However, aside from their humble origins and a few superficial details, these two films couldn’t be any more different. Where Saludos is a thin documentation of some nice folks traveling through exotic lands, Caballeros (the first feature film to combine live action characters with animated ones) literally bursts with outrageousness. You’ll be wondering what exactly the artists found in those foreign ports to “inspire” them to exceed even Fantasia-levels of surrealism.

Bursting out from a piñata, Panchito shows up, a sharp-shooting rooster from Mexico, launching the threesome into their classic title song production number. The trio hops aboard a flying serape for a tour of Panchito’s native land, where Donald gets an eyeful of the “hot stuff” on Acapulco Beach (this duck was quite the wolf back in the day). Dora Luz pops up to croon the future standard “You Belong to My Heart” to the love struck Donald … and then things get really weird. What follows is a psychedelic, neon-colored fever dream with Busby Berkeley bathing beauties, a chorus line of dancing cacti and a very randy leading duck, leading up to an explosive finale. This one is just too weird not to miss.

Toon Talk: Summer Nights

Since Jaws and Star Wars and the dawn of the "Summer Movie" just over thirty years ago, film studios know that when the sun is high and the kids are out of school, all they want is something to do; if they are entertained in the process, all the better. And what better way to have fun then to sit in an air conditioned theater and watch the latest blockbuster with all your friends.

Which explains the steady stream of superheroes, sequels and superhero sequels that strike when the summer season surfaces, see? Si.

Click here to continue reading Kirby's Toon Talk preview of this summer's new movies at LaughingPlace.com.