Category: Animated

Disney Defrost

Frozen 2 – 2019 – PG

First let me say that if I am ever given the chance to come back in a future life I want to be Idina Menzel— as long as John Travolta never introduces me. If you are blanking on what I’m talking about, cue up Travolta at the 2014 Academy Awards introducing Menzel’s performance of Frozen’s Let It Go (which took home the Oscar for Best Song). Her voice is divine, a Heavenly treat, ear candy….add your superlatives. I did enjoy a few songs from Frozen 2 but most left me wishing I’d subscribed to the new Disney Plus service on my Apple TV so I could stream Frozen the original and just keep replaying Let It Go. Tip: be sure and stay through the credits so you can hear Kacey Musgraves sing All is Found. It’s already #1 on my iPhone Frozen 2 song list. Plus there is a funny Olaf and friends bonus clip at the very, very end, yes, after the “Caffeinated Team” listing. What is that? Starbucks runners? 

The musical show stopper was a mother/daughter duet, Show Yourself, featuring Idina Menzel (Elsa) and Evan Rachel Wood (Queen Iduna) at a carpe diem turning point for Elsa. Tracking a mysterious lilting voice, Elsa travels beyond the kingdom of Arendelle in order to discover the source of her magical powers and to learn the truth about her family’s past. Show Yourself musically accompanies Elsa on her dangerous journey, peaking as she plunges into the raging Dark Sea. There she encounters and tames the Nøkk, a water spirit that shapeshifts into a magnificent white stallion and brings her safely to Ahtohallan. Show Yourself is #2 on my song list. That’s it. A short hummable set. Perfect.

Ultimately Elsa, Anna, Sven, Olaf and Kristoff together will be called upon to set things right as it relates to the neighboring tribe of Northuldra and, in doing so, save Arendelle. Elsa’s quest for self-discovery, Anna’s sisterly protection of Elsa, Kristoff’s romantic pursuit of Anna and the unfortunate melt-down of Olaf all factor into a fairly complicated Frozen mythology of kings, queens and kingdoms; enchanted forests, trolls and spirits; and, personification of elements—Fire, Air, Water, and Earth. There are so many new characters and creatures introduced in this sequel that if (when) there is a Frozen 3, CliffsNotes will be sold as a popular concession item right beside popcorn and Skittles. 

The Frozen 2 animation and cinematography was exquisite and dazzling at times—the Earth Giants, the Nøkk, and Elsa’s frozen magical moves are prime examples. At other times, the technology was not so splendid. Olaf reminds me of a craft kit of cotton balls and toothpicks designed to be an easily manufactured stuffed animal. Bruni, a sweet, tiny salamander is super cute but so simple it would go well as a black line master in a Frozen 2 toddler’s coloring book. The ice sculpture images are reminiscent of a Macy’s Christmas Window themed around Department 56 Snowbabies. The last fifteen minutes of the film salvaged a tedious first half snooze fest. IMHO Disney can do better. 

Game of Moans

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil

Five years ago I saw Maleficent 1 and I think I liked it. Pretty sure but I don’t really remember. Now I’ve seen Maleficent 2 or Mistress of Evil. In five years I’ll remember this: I did not like it. There were a lot of strange creatures, the tiny mushrooms were, well, creepy. The “don’t raise your roots to me,” lurching tree people were, well, weird.  And then there were the fairies, so many strange little fairies. Ironic that during the same week NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Christina Koch marked the historic first ever all-female spacewalk, Disney delivered three female leads that led nowhere. We get pitiful, weepy Princess Aurora (Elle Fanning); conniving, evil, Queen Ingrith (Michelle Pfeiffer), and the great horned antihero Maleficent (Angelina Jolie). Character development was DOA. Relationships lacked chemistry, unless you count iron, Kryptonite to the Moorsfolk and I don’t. The storyline periodically collapsed, like the writers knocked off and took a contractual hiatus. Maybe they flipped on Game of Thrones and caught some episodes because there were several times in Maleficent when I felt I was watching a GoT rip-off. (Apologies in advance to those of you who won’t recognize these HBO series references). As the church in the human kingdom was barricaded and the poor, unwitting woodland creatures and harmless fairies, guests of the royal wedding, desperately struggled to escape a ruthless poison massacre, I’m thinking, damn, Red Wedding. When Maleficent inevitably erupts into a cosmic rage, she totally turns into Mad Queen Daenerys and annihilates Ulstead, homeland of vapid, dull-as-dirt Prince Phillip (Harris Dickinson). “You must stop! This is not war, it’s slaughter!” Sound familiar? Hear The Bells? I scanned critic reviews after the movie and several times the word “genocide” was used.  Yes, genocide. Disney? Good god. The Mistress of Evil is a Trojan Horse that drops R-rated mayhem full of treasonous pixies, hateful humans, and winged denizens of darkness into unsuspecting PG audiences. Seriously, who would knowingly take little kids to this movie? I’m sorry I took myself. 

A Journey Home

Abominable – 2019


If I were too hard on a $5 Tuesday matinee, animated kids movie, I would be forced to assign myself to the curmudgeon critic category. So, I’ll focus on Abominable’s pluses. Writer-director, Jill Culton, is the first-ever woman to solo direct an animated film with a female lead so I was witness to history for a mere $5. The beauty and splendor of China kept my eyes mostly open through the absolutely predictable plot. Everest, the captured baby Yeti, escapes a Shanghai lab, is relentlessly tracked by evil researchers and fortuitously hooks up with a trio of likable city teens who help defy the hunters. We meet independent, headstrong Yi who is grieving the death of her father, hip and trendy ladies’ man Jin, and chubby, rough and tumble Peng. These three kind of, kind of not friends accompany big-eyed, fluffy, snowkid Everest across China to his Himalayan home. This journey includes two memorable scenes of elegant, creative cinematography: a goldenrod field of flowers forms into a massive wave that slowly rises up and crashes down with the crescendo of a tsunami, and a billowing and flowing river of koi-like clouds swimming upstream across the sky. Along the way, Yi plays her father’s violin like a virtuoso, striking a synchronistic chord with nature that elicits pure enchantment. All pluses. It’s a sweet movie, definitely made for kids, no adult innuendo or subplots lurk at any level. The filmmakers skip over anything the least bit gnarly. The ‘how‘ of the death of Yi’s father and the ‘why’ of the respectful but strained relationship between Yi, mom and grandma are left to our imagination. Kumbaya hugs come at the end so I guess that’s enough. Then to quibble a tiny bit, how did the kids hop scotch through rivers, forests and mountains without so much as a jacket? At least they could have shivered once or twice. Ah, retreat to suspending belief. The magic of movies.  For sure, for sure, for sure stay all the way through the credits. There is an instant “Abominable, the Sequel,” roll out that will reward your patience and send you from the theater with a smug smile for anyone who up and left at movie’s end. 

Toys for Us Big Kids

Toy Story 4 – 2019

The Toy Story franchise more than holds its magical own 24 years after Randy Newman invites Woody & Buzz into our hearts, promising we’ve got forever friends in them. Toy Story 4 moves into a new developmental stage and shakes off the heretofore inevitable fate of toy obsolescence and discard. Of course, kids grow up and move on but, hey, so can the Sheriff Woodys and Bo Peeps of the world. Imagination and courage rejects passive toy box storage and closet dust bunnies for fearlessly setting off into life’s bold adventures. You can bet Toy Story 5 is ahead. A-Ok because Buzz, Woody, Slinky, Hamm, Gabby Gabby, et.al, never fear ‘cause you’ve got a friend in me! 👍

A Roaring Good Time!

The Lion King – 2019

Going in I wasn’t sold on talking real animals, skeptical at how that could possibly look and sound right. But, the animal mouths perfectly matched the words being spoken! Amazing! The cinematography was absolutely stunning. So many bugs and grubs, so little time. Timon & Pumba are hysterically the best! Even the teens sitting next to me were giggling and guffawing. Live action Simba, in my estimation, is far superior to animated Simba who always struck me as too goofy to be king. The storyline was completely faithful to the original. Music exquisite as ever. Our minivan was rocking all the way home with the kids singing Hakuna Matata at the top of their lungs. My Lion King moviegoers are lobbying for Disney to make a prequel and reveal why Scar is so bitter towards his brother. If you liked the original animated version, you are bound to dote on this live action version. At least it worked beautifully for me. We all enjoyed a rip-ROARING good time.👍🏼