We finally got around to watching this Dreamworks film a couple nights ago. It was a fun film. I wasn't terribly impressed with the animation, but as seems to be the case with Dreamworks films, it had plenty of funny jokes, some of which went over my kids' heads but were all the funnier to me because of it. Can I cite a specific example? No, I can't. I just remember a few laugh-out-loud moments where my kids asked what I found funny.
I thought the story was a little thin. It had its moments, but in general there wasn't much there. Gru is now a "dad" and has to think about his girls. So his evil scientist goes to work for someone else, and Gru finds himself recruited by an organization dedicated to stopping supercriminals (like Gru was) from destroying the world. There's a plot afoot, and it centers on the mall where Gru has a bakery called "Bake My Day". Gru is asked to look for the formula in the mall, and to find out who is the bad guy.
Of course, things don't go well. If I spill more of the plot, it will spoil it, I think. So I'll stop there, and say that while it wrapped up neatly and there were times that it was exciting, overall, I didn't like it as much as the first DESPICABLE ME movie.
My review: Not bad, maybe worth seeing, but far from Dreamworks' best effort...
*****
If you want to read a book about one family's strategies when vacationing for a week at Disney World, feel free to check out my title , Doing Disney: How To Spend A Week At Disney's Florida Resort It's available on Amazon for $2.99. I tried to write it for families who get to spend a week in the World every year or two and want to maximize their time in the parks and in the area. It doesn't try to be comprehensive, but I think you might find a few helpful tidbits within its electronic pages...
Thanks!
Showing posts with label Dreamworks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dreamworks. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Monday, November 26, 2012
Puss'n'Boots by Dreamworks
My kids chose this film to watch Saturday morning, picking it over John Carter, and they both enjoyed it. Me, I was a bit less impressed. It took a lot of the tropes from the Shrek films and used them to tell the story of the dashing swordsman, Puss In Boots, voiced by Antonio Banderas. We were treated to the cat's backstory, where it was revealed that he grew up as "brothers" with Humpty Dumpty. He left Humpty crashed into a bunch of pieces, after the Egg betrayed his trust. And when Humpty sends his feline thief to attract Puss to his lair, he's all about begging for forgiveness.
But from there, it's one plot twist after another, as the trio unites to kidnap the goose that lays the golden eggs from that kingdom at the top of that famous beanstalk. And for me, it was one or two plot twists too many. I've read reviews that suggest that this is one of Dreamworks' best efforts, but I sort of felt it was little more than an attempt to capitalize on the Shrek franchise a bit more.
I didn't hate it. It was good and entertaining, but I think I've come to expect more from Dreamworks. Like Pixar, they rarely lay an egg (no pun intended). And recently, I think they've hit some real home runs.
This one was more like a double. Doubles are good, but they don't score a run on their own, necessarily. Just my opinion.
*****
But from there, it's one plot twist after another, as the trio unites to kidnap the goose that lays the golden eggs from that kingdom at the top of that famous beanstalk. And for me, it was one or two plot twists too many. I've read reviews that suggest that this is one of Dreamworks' best efforts, but I sort of felt it was little more than an attempt to capitalize on the Shrek franchise a bit more.
I didn't hate it. It was good and entertaining, but I think I've come to expect more from Dreamworks. Like Pixar, they rarely lay an egg (no pun intended). And recently, I think they've hit some real home runs.
This one was more like a double. Doubles are good, but they don't score a run on their own, necessarily. Just my opinion.
*****
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Film Review: MADAGASCAR 3 - EUROPE'S MOST WANTED
Took my boys to see this one yesterday. I enjoyed the other entries in this series (the first more than the second - see my review of that second movie right here) and also have enjoyed the PS2 videogame based on the first movie. My sons were taken in by the advertising for this third installment and chose it over The Avengers and Men In Black 3. Personally I might have rather gone to one of those two.
But after seeing it, I was happy with the experience. It's a better movie than the second one, I think, with plenty of gags, and with a better love story than the others. As with many Dreamworks movies, there are plenty of jokes aimed above the kids' heads.
Chris Rock is really good again as Marty, and Ben Stiller does a good job with the voice of Alex the lion. The circus angle is fun, with the comparisons to Cirque Du Soleil. The new characters are fun, too, with the gruff Russian tiger, the silly sea lion, and the sexy cheetah adding a lot to the cast. The penguins, now stars in their own right, are really funny as well.
So I was glad that we picked this one to see. Dreamworks is generally good for a nice afternoon of entertainment, and this one is no exception. If I was rating it I'd probably give it 4 stars.
*****
But after seeing it, I was happy with the experience. It's a better movie than the second one, I think, with plenty of gags, and with a better love story than the others. As with many Dreamworks movies, there are plenty of jokes aimed above the kids' heads.
Chris Rock is really good again as Marty, and Ben Stiller does a good job with the voice of Alex the lion. The circus angle is fun, with the comparisons to Cirque Du Soleil. The new characters are fun, too, with the gruff Russian tiger, the silly sea lion, and the sexy cheetah adding a lot to the cast. The penguins, now stars in their own right, are really funny as well.
So I was glad that we picked this one to see. Dreamworks is generally good for a nice afternoon of entertainment, and this one is no exception. If I was rating it I'd probably give it 4 stars.
*****
Monday, November 8, 2010
Film Review: MEGAMIND
I took the boys to watch the only animated film out there right now (and they weren't interested in seeing Secretariat), MEGAMIND from Dreamworks.
For those who might not know, the story of this film is that two "babies" are sent to Earth for some reason, sort of a variation on the "Superman" theme where Clark Kent's real parents put him in some sort of spaceship and send him away from their dying planet. The two babies become Metro Man, protector of Metro City, and Megamind, who ended up as a child in a "prison" for the criminally gifted. Voiced respectively by Brad Pitt and Will Ferrell, these two grow up more or less together, attending a school together where Metro Man is always the beloved one and Megamind, with his giant blue noggin, is the outcast.
From there, the story is predictable, riffing on superhero/supervillain stories, with a love story that is just about what you're probably thinking it is. Tina Fey voices lovely news reporter Roxanne Ritchi, who Megamind is constantly kidnaping. That's played as the cliche it is in many of these sorts of stories, and because it's played that way, it actually works. Metro Man is the too-good-to-be-real superhero who is always foiling Megamind's plots, and if I wasn't seeing things, Ben Stiller was credited as the voice of the boring clerk Bernard, whose identity Megamind usurps in order to try to relate to Roxanne.
This movie didn't hold a candle to Dreamworks' last offering, How To Train Your Dragon, as far as the story goes. The look of the movie, especially the city vistas, is really cool. My kids loved the way the skyscrapers looked in Metro City, and I thought it was a beautifully animated movie. The 3D worked really well on this one, and I'm glad we saw it in that version.
And I don't want to suggest that it isn't a fun movie, because it is. Dreamworks' offerings are always a cut above all of the competition not named Disney or Pixar up until now, and this was no exception. It is one I will probably buy on DVD when it comes out.
*****
For those who might not know, the story of this film is that two "babies" are sent to Earth for some reason, sort of a variation on the "Superman" theme where Clark Kent's real parents put him in some sort of spaceship and send him away from their dying planet. The two babies become Metro Man, protector of Metro City, and Megamind, who ended up as a child in a "prison" for the criminally gifted. Voiced respectively by Brad Pitt and Will Ferrell, these two grow up more or less together, attending a school together where Metro Man is always the beloved one and Megamind, with his giant blue noggin, is the outcast.
From there, the story is predictable, riffing on superhero/supervillain stories, with a love story that is just about what you're probably thinking it is. Tina Fey voices lovely news reporter Roxanne Ritchi, who Megamind is constantly kidnaping. That's played as the cliche it is in many of these sorts of stories, and because it's played that way, it actually works. Metro Man is the too-good-to-be-real superhero who is always foiling Megamind's plots, and if I wasn't seeing things, Ben Stiller was credited as the voice of the boring clerk Bernard, whose identity Megamind usurps in order to try to relate to Roxanne.
This movie didn't hold a candle to Dreamworks' last offering, How To Train Your Dragon, as far as the story goes. The look of the movie, especially the city vistas, is really cool. My kids loved the way the skyscrapers looked in Metro City, and I thought it was a beautifully animated movie. The 3D worked really well on this one, and I'm glad we saw it in that version.
And I don't want to suggest that it isn't a fun movie, because it is. Dreamworks' offerings are always a cut above all of the competition not named Disney or Pixar up until now, and this was no exception. It is one I will probably buy on DVD when it comes out.
*****
Monday, March 29, 2010
Training Dragons...
I wasn't sure what to expect of the Dreamworks release How To Train Your Dragon (in 3D), but I got something better than I hoped. When I saw the previews I wasn't expecting a whole bunch, but I suppose I should have raised my expections. This is Dreamworks, after all, not one of the other creators of animated fare not named Disney.
I don't know why I doubt Dreamworks. Like Pixar, they seem to produce winners every time out. I'm not putting them at the same level as Pixar, but they are definitely a cut above the other studios. (For example, they showed two previews of animated films coming out later this year, can't recall the titles, maybe one was called Despicable Me, and the other was about guardian owls. Both looked pretty lame to me. Neither looked like it would hold a candle to either of these studios' releases, and that's from the previews, which supposedly show highlights that make you want to go see the picture.) Dreamworks' films always seem to work both for my kids and for me.
How To Train Your Dragon tells the tale of a young Viking boy named Hiccup, who just doesn't seem to fit in. He's a little too intellectual for Viking activities, most of which involve saving the village from marauding dragons. Whenever Hiccup gets involved, things seem to go wrong.
Hiccup has developed something he thinks will help - a sort of "cannon" that shoots out a weapon that can tangle the dragon and bring it down. He sneaks out, uses it on the dragon called a "Night Fury", one that is particularly devastating and has never really been seen. Hiccup doesn't exactly see it, but he sees something - and he fires his cannon at it, and hits it.
But then things go wrong and no one believes that he's hit a dragon. So he searches for it by himself, and finally finds it, and it IS a Night Fury. It's all tangled up in the thing Hiccup fired at it, and it seems resigned to its fate of being killed by Hiccup. But the boy can't do it. Instead he cuts the dragon loose.
And instead of killing Hiccup, the dragon tries to fly away. But he's injured, and can't fly. Hiccup figures out why, fixes it, and then trains the dragon. He learns about the dragons, and realizes that everything they know about the beasts is wrong!
Meanwhile, he's trying to win the girl (Astrid, voiced by America Ferrera), who is the toughest of the Vikings in training. And he's trying to impress his father, Stoick the Vast, who also happens to be the leader of their colony.
It's a story of compassion, of brains winning out over brawn, and of looking beyond the surface, and it works. The 3D animation was very well done, and gave the movie an extra punch that it may lack in traditional 2D animation. But the storytelling is strong enough to carry this picture. It doesn't rank up there with UP! or WALL*E, or The Princess and the Frog , but it works on the levels it is supposed to work on, and is a worthy addition to a catalog that includes fine animated movies like Shrek, Madagascar, and Over The Hedge. I don't know how much input Jeffrey Katzenberg has into these film projects, but it makes you wonder what Disney animation would have been like if he had been permitted to stick around there.
*****
I don't know why I doubt Dreamworks. Like Pixar, they seem to produce winners every time out. I'm not putting them at the same level as Pixar, but they are definitely a cut above the other studios. (For example, they showed two previews of animated films coming out later this year, can't recall the titles, maybe one was called Despicable Me, and the other was about guardian owls. Both looked pretty lame to me. Neither looked like it would hold a candle to either of these studios' releases, and that's from the previews, which supposedly show highlights that make you want to go see the picture.) Dreamworks' films always seem to work both for my kids and for me.
How To Train Your Dragon tells the tale of a young Viking boy named Hiccup, who just doesn't seem to fit in. He's a little too intellectual for Viking activities, most of which involve saving the village from marauding dragons. Whenever Hiccup gets involved, things seem to go wrong.
Hiccup has developed something he thinks will help - a sort of "cannon" that shoots out a weapon that can tangle the dragon and bring it down. He sneaks out, uses it on the dragon called a "Night Fury", one that is particularly devastating and has never really been seen. Hiccup doesn't exactly see it, but he sees something - and he fires his cannon at it, and hits it.
But then things go wrong and no one believes that he's hit a dragon. So he searches for it by himself, and finally finds it, and it IS a Night Fury. It's all tangled up in the thing Hiccup fired at it, and it seems resigned to its fate of being killed by Hiccup. But the boy can't do it. Instead he cuts the dragon loose.
And instead of killing Hiccup, the dragon tries to fly away. But he's injured, and can't fly. Hiccup figures out why, fixes it, and then trains the dragon. He learns about the dragons, and realizes that everything they know about the beasts is wrong!
Meanwhile, he's trying to win the girl (Astrid, voiced by America Ferrera), who is the toughest of the Vikings in training. And he's trying to impress his father, Stoick the Vast, who also happens to be the leader of their colony.
It's a story of compassion, of brains winning out over brawn, and of looking beyond the surface, and it works. The 3D animation was very well done, and gave the movie an extra punch that it may lack in traditional 2D animation. But the storytelling is strong enough to carry this picture. It doesn't rank up there with UP! or WALL*E, or The Princess and the Frog , but it works on the levels it is supposed to work on, and is a worthy addition to a catalog that includes fine animated movies like Shrek, Madagascar, and Over The Hedge. I don't know how much input Jeffrey Katzenberg has into these film projects, but it makes you wonder what Disney animation would have been like if he had been permitted to stick around there.
*****
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